After seeing Stella off Adam quietly made his way to the study room, followed by Blake. Once they were in, he locked the door so that no one could bother them, not that someone would.
"What is it?" Adam asked him taking a seat on the couch.
"How do you know I wanted to talk to you?" Blake asked him as he sat down next to him.
"For someone who loves his sleep more than anything in the world, you sure woke up early today. And even dragged your sister out so that she could take Stella somewhere out." Adam replied.
"Yeah! So getting to the main point. The lead was a dead end." Blake said leaning hi back against the couch.
"What do you mean the lead was a dead end?" Adam asked him gritting his teeth.
"We finally found the man in those pictures, but not alive. My men found it suspicious when he didn't leave the motel room he was staying in for two days. So, they broke in but only found his body. He was already dead." Blake explained it to him slowly. He could feel the air around Adam getting chillier by every passing second.
"Did you find anything else in his room?" Adam asked, his hands clenched into fists as he tried to control his anger.
"No. Other than his own belongings, we didn't find anything else. No traces of some other person in the room, or some physical struggle. Nothing at all." Blake replied.
"Great!" Adam exclaimed as he threw a punch on the table before him.
"Hey man! Take it easy. There's no need to get so worked up. You can just keep her here with yourself if you want to protect her. You guys are in a relationship, so I don't think she will mind staying here." Blake suggested, giving him a pat on his shoulder.
"Do you think it's that easy?" Adam scoffed.
"Maybe not. But I know you, you will definitely find a way." Blake replied with a grin. "Look man. We don't even know who exactly is behind this. Keeping her with you here, is the best option we have to keep her protected." He continued.
"I will find a way." Adam heaved out a tired sigh. Making her agree to stay with him for the long term, wouldn't be an easy task for him.
-------------------------
In a high-end commercial district,
Stella followed Katherine closely as she stepped into a clothing outlet. Two of the four walls were made entirely of glass where a number of mannequins were placed sporting some fancy clothes for both males and females. On the top of one of the two glass walls, one could see 'SPARKLE' written in cursive writing, where each letter was carved out of high quality wood and had a little amount of golden dust brushed over them.
Stella was simply awestruck when she stepped inside the store. The interior of the place was in no way less than it's exterior. It gave you a classy yet chic vibe. The salespersons were all dressed in black, busy tending to the needs of the customers with utmost professionalism.
"I love this place." Stella spoke up after a while, still trying to take in the surroundings.
"You do! Then it's my pleasure sweety." Katherine replied with a wide grin on her face.
"Wait! Is this your store?" Stella asked her with a bewildered expression.
"Yeah!" She nodded in response. "This the only outlet in the city. If anyone wants to buy my brand, they have to come here." She continued to which Stella nodded.
"Let me give a tour of the place. Grab anything you like, it's on me." Katherine said dragging her to the racks.
Three hours later, Katherine dropped Stella back with a bunch of shopping bags with sparkle written on them.
"Won't you come inside?" Stella asked her when she sat back in her car after helping her out with the bags.
"Nope. Though I want to, but I am busy and have something to deal with." Katherine replied and drove away after giving her a flying kiss.
Before Stella could pick up the bags, the old butter came out with two servants and asked them to help her with the bags.
"Just place them in my room." Stella added softly. "Except for this one. I will take it myself. Thank you." She said taking one bag back from the servant.
"Uncle Rob? Do you have any idea where I can find Adam?" She politely asked the old butler after the two servants had left.
"Young Master is in his study." The old butler replied.
"Blake's still here?" She asked him.
"No, he left half an hour later after you did." The old butler replied.
"Alright! Thank you." She made a beeline toward Adam's study after thanking the old butler.