Chapter Twenty-Nine
"Laurence, I don't want to go downstairs for dinner please, I'm scared, " said Arianna nervously.
"I would be there with you baby. You can't hide here forever," said Laurence. The apartment search and finalisation would take some time. They couldn't stay locked upstairs till then.
They went downstairs late for dinner. Strangely Lisa wasn't there. Only his parents sat sipping their wine after dinner. Laurence was surprised that no one had called them for dinner. He was very disappointed with his family. He went into the kitchen as Sandra had already left. He searched inside the refrigerator for the dishes that the chef might have made for dinner. He took out and heated them in a microwave. A nervous Arianna helped him too, looking every now and then at his parents sitting outside in the living room. Strangely they ignored both of them completely, not even looking their way.
He and Arianna carried their plates towards the dining table and started eating their food. His dad got up for a refill. "How long will this vacation last son? Don't you need to go to work?" He asked with disapproval.
"Yes, we will be on the streets if you laze around like this," said his mom, getting up and going for a refill too.
"Don't worry mom, I've earned enough for the last four years. I can afford to take a few days off from work. Till I ensure my wife's safety, I won't return to work, " said Laurence grimly.
"Why should she be unsafe here?" Retorted his mom.
"Mom, please let's not go into that again," said Laurence.
"See Harry, how he's answering back to me? That filthy girl has taught him all this. She's destroyed the cordial environment at home, " muttered his mom.
Laurence got up and picked up his as well as Arianna's plate. "Can't we get a moment of peace to eat even?" He shouted at his mom for the first time in his twenty-two years of life. "Come on Aria. We'll go upstairs to eat. From tomorrow onwards our cooking will happen at my apartment," he stated, walking off towards the elevators. Arianna meekly followed him.
"That won't be necessary son. We will continue to eat together like always. I will talk to your mom," said Harry Lennard gravely. Penny Lennard was quiet. She didn't want them to have their own food cooked. How would she poison her food then? Laurence didn't answer, he was really pissed off with his parents. No wonder Lisa didn't return for days to such a horrible environment. He would have to call her tomorrow.
Arianna wept in his arms and he felt heartbroken for her. He comforted her and afterwards they had their dinner. They didn't have any wish to make love. Both were very upset. Arianna didn't wish to get her stuff from Isabella's house. "Can I go and live there till our house is ready?" Asked Arianna in between sobs.
"We'll see about that tomorrow, " said Laurence. He didn't wish to stay away from his Arianna but didn't find any other feasible option too. They dozed off to sleep.
The next morning, Laurence received a call from his office. An emergency had come up and he had to rush. He instructed Sandra to take care of Arianna and get her the food upstairs to their floor. He called Lisa and asked her to return home to take care of Arianna. Lisa declined since her dad had hit out at her with fury when he discovered that she was supporting her brother.
"Bro, I'm not coming home. Dad hit me with his cane," she sobbed and Laurence closed his eyes. They didn't really deserve this life.
"Shh sweetie, don't cry. I'm buying us a new home and you can stay with us. Okay?" He conforted his sister.
"When will you buy bro? I can't wait," she said.
"Soon sweetie. Troy's looking already," he informed.
She calmed down at last and he disconnected the call. The whole day, he was busy, solving the urgent matter at hand. To make matters worse, Tim suddenly gave in his resignation and left his job, having decided to go back to his village with his wife. He refused to serve a notice period too.
The whole day Arianna didn't go downstairs to eat. Each time the doorbell rang she got scared and agitated but thankfully it was just Sandra. She came in with Arianna's lunch and sat down with her.
"What's wrong Sandra? Do you want to say something?" Asked Arianna when Sandra sat beside her fidgeting with her fingers nervously while she ate.
"Don't eat anything that Penny Lennard offers you," she said softly, whispering nervously as if the walls had ears to listen to what she was saying.
"Why?" Asked Arianna in confusion.
"Penny Lennard today served your lunch herself. Strangely she was quite excited about it. Then when I left the kitchen, I saw her adding and mixing something into your food," said Sandra.
"How did you see after you left the kitchen?" Asked Arianna, not understanding her statement.
"The glass panelling on the door reflected what she was doing inside. I saw her clearly from the living room," said Sandra. "After she left, I threw away that plateful and served you a fresh plate," informed Sandra.
"Do you think that she mixed poison into my food?" Asked a scared Arianna.
"I'm sure Arianna," she said. Arianna closed her eyes. She would have to tell Laurence about this.
"Don't tell Laurence yet. Let me observe a few times first. Laurence will blast her and I would lose my job," said Sandra nervously.
"Okay Sandra. I'm indebted to you," said Arianna. She finished her dinner and Sandra left with her plate.
Arianna waited impatiently for Laurence to return home. She had missed him so much throughout the day. He returned home, tired by dinnertime. Arianna had become too bored by then. She hadn't brought her books from Isabella's house to study for her exams.
She ran into Laurence's arms, "I missed you," she said, embedding her face into his neck.
"Me too. How have you been? I was worried sick of you. Did you eat anything the whole day?" Asked Laurence in one breath.
"Relax, I'm fine. Sandra took good care of me. Have you eaten anything the whole day?" She asked him worriedly.
"Yes a sandwich. Tim left his job today. Now I would have to look for a new chauffeur, " said Laurence tiredly. He could trust Lisa and Arianna only with Tim but now finding a replacement would be difficult.
Sandra brought them their dinner and left for the day. Arianna didn't inform him about what Sandra told her. She would first have to be sure before she made any accusations. They made love and went to sleep in each other's arms.
The next two days passed by in a similar manner. Troy had checked two properties and Laurence liked one of them. Sandra was sure by now that Arianna's food was being poisoned. Arianna decided to speak to Laurence about it but after lunch, she kept throwing up again and again the whole afternoon.
Sandra was very worried. "I swear to God that I had served a fresh plate for you. How did you get food poisoning?" She asked.
"I have no idea. Don't worry, it will pass," she reassured her. But to her dismay it worsened. By night she was worse. She couldn't eat anything at all. The chef had left and Sandra wasn't allowed to cook anything extra for her apart from what Penny Lennard served her on a plate.
Sandra sneaked out a box of ginger crackers for her. Laurence returned and immediately wanted to take her to the doctor but Arianna didn't have any strength to go. So they went to sleep.
The next morning, Laurence called a doctor before going to his office. He couldn't stay much as he wanted to since he had an emergency meeting that he couldn't postpone.
The doctor came and checked Arianna in Sandra's presence. She informed Arianna that she was pregnant. She took her blood sample for a test. The reports would be delivered by evening.
Penny Lennard was very worried that the doctor would detect the poison in Arianna's blood sample. "This is going too far, Harry. Laurence has checked out a house today. If he shifts with the bitch all our plans would be shattered. We have to act now, " she told her husband.
"Yes you're right," agreed Harry Lennard. Penny Lennard went to her bedroom and took out a good sum of money from her safe. "What are you upto?" He asked her.
She went up to Lisa's room and hid the money. "We will accuse that bitch of theft and throw her out of the house. When she leaves, you can ask your hitman to do his job," suggested Penny Lennard.
"Splendid, " said Harry Lennard, calling his hitman and asking him to arrive as soon as possible.
Penny Lennard summoned Sandra,"Yes ma'am, did you need something?" She asked Penny Lennard
"Yes, call Laurence's wife, here. Now," she ordered.
