Sweeter Than Sin – Act 1 Chapter 3 Part 2

Monday, January 15th 2024 8:02 AM

“Great job, kids.” Mauricio complimented. Maverick jumped to the his dad’s side.

“Do you think we got enough information from him?” Maverick wondered.

“No, but it’s still our job to put the puzzle together.” Mauricio sighed as he raised out of his seat.

“…Dad?” Maverick’s voice trailed after his father as Mauricio made his way to the door. His body soon followed.

“Wha?” Mauricio’s voice was infused with annoyance. “You guys are doing a good job together. I think you can handle the rest of the interviews without me. I’m tired.” Mauricio then escaped and made his way back to the one place that could relax his body…and it wasn’t a bed.

The sound of Marlene’s shoes echoed through the hallway, all the way down to Room 302. She took a deep inhale before slowly opening the door.

“Mrs. Sato, welcome.” Maverick greeted as the brown skinned beauty entered the room. Her eyes cut across the room towards the pair. All of Bianca’s research on Marlene mentioned one thing – she was beautiful. And it was true.

Bianca watched the way that Marlene pressed the hem of her blazer into her skirt and twirled the biggest diamond she never laid her eyes on, around her dainty finger.

“Please, have a seat,” Bianca guided as she watched the woman make her way to the chair. In a way to ease Marlene’s nervous, Bianca ceased the opportunity to schmooze Marlene.” I saw some of your modeling pictures, Mrs. Sato. Absolutely stunning.”

A small laughed escaped Marlene’s lips. “My prime.”

“Mrs. Sato, we’re well aware of the attacks on your family. Can you tell us about the latest one?” Maverick interrupted the women to get straight to business, something he quickly picked up from a certain someone.

“It was at my holiday charity event at the Blue Velvet in Willow Creek. It was a small event I had put together for the locals. There was an open bar all night with donations “encouraged” for my charity, Every Child Deserves. By the end of the night, the donations were stolen. I checked with the venue after, surprisingly they don’t have any footage of the thief.”

“Has your charity been targeted before?”

“Yes, actually. But very small attacks. Like empty donations and signing up our email with spam emails. We never had money stolen from our pockets. That was a first.”

“How long have you had this charity?”

“About 17 years or so. I founded this charity for my son, Ken Jr. When he was a toddler, he was diagnosed with a rare heart disease. He had to have open heart surgery which was rare for children because their hearts are so small. They also had to insert this a special made device into his chest to help it function. We were scared he wasn’t going to make it but of course, my son the fighter, made it through.

While Ken was going through that horrible experience, we watched as other children died in the hospital. It was truly heart wrecking. After seeing what all those children suffering in hospital beds when they should be playing outside or home with their parents, pained me. I founded this charity because I truly believe that every child deserves a chance to live and I wanted to help every child that I can.”

Bianca deeply exhaled. Was that rehearsed? “That’s lovely, Mrs. Sato. What other attacks have you encountered?”

“Well, the reason we moved from Mt. Komorebi was because one day we receive a mysterious package at our front door.

At first, my mind didn’t register what I was looking at. I thought it was a toy. But as soon as I grabbed it, I knew exactly what it was.

We later learned that it wasn’t a human heart. But it sure looked like one! I really thought… it felt so real. I remember touching it and it was still quite warm as if they delivered that heart straight to my doorstep like a pizza.

I immediately thought of my son. To me, that heart in that box was a way of taunting us about what he went through.

I felt threatened and exposed. I couldn’t even sleep in my own bed. Especially during the nights when my husband was away on business. Nearly every weekend, I was begging my sister to fly all the way out to Mt. Komorebi. Of course, she couldn’t do that. She has her own life to live. But she is the person who gave me the idea to move closer to her so we did just that.

Living in Willow Creek has been enjoyable so far. The charity, the wedding and renovating the house has been keeping me busy. Most importantly, I haven’t been looking over my shoulder as much but occasionally I still find myself becoming uneasy.”

“The wedding?” Maverick questioned.

“Yes, my son is getting married this spring.”

“Has there been any disturbances with wedding planning?”

“I think a few hiccups here and there but that would be a question for Natalia. She has decided to forgo the professionals and put together the whole thing herself.”

“Are you two close?” Maverick questioned.

There was a petit pause before Marlene answered, “I’m not sure what that has to do with anything.”

“I think what he’s trying to ask if there is anyone outside of your immediate family who knows what’s going on, like Natalia.” Bianca interjected. She could see Marlene’s chest release.

“Well, Natalia only knows because she lives with us. She has lived with us for a few years now. My sister, Sabrina, knows as well. Besides them… no. We try to keep family business within the family.”

“So no close family friends know… like the Lees?” Bianca asked.

Marlene took another moment to think before answering. “Viv knows we’re being stalked but she doesn’t know the depth of the stalking. Quite honestly, I wouldn’t know what Alan knows; we barely talk. Their daughter, Elizabeth, may be privy to what’s going on. I can imagine that being shared with her.”

“Would it bother you if she knew?”

“No. Not at all. She’s very close to our family. My husband loves her like a second daughter. Also, she is married to Jonathon, my husband’s assistant. Not to mention, Jonathon used to live with us too.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Quite some time ago. His mother was apart of our staff. She cleaned, cooked, ran errands, did childcare, and whatever else it took to take care of the household. Eventually, she just moved in along with her two sons, Jonny and Danny. At the time, it just made sense for all of us since she spent so much time at our home and all of our children were around the same age. She worked for us for about 12 years.”

“Where is she now?”

“I’m not too sure. Somewhere back in Mt. Komorebi, I assume. She was only hired to take care of the house and the kids as I continued my modeling career and Ken advanced Sato Technologies. I eventually quit modeling when Ken’s mother, Annie’s health started to diminish. Annie eventually passed away and my daughter left to college so there was no longer a need for live in help. She continued with her life and so did we.”

“Do you have any other close friends that we should be aware of? ” Maverick questioned.

“No. My sister, Sabrina, is my closest friend. That’s it. Do you think it’s a family friend that’s doing this to us?”

“Potentially. It would be easier for someone close to you to have access to your home than a complete stranger. But it’s too early to point any fingers. We’re just trying to find a lead. Is there anything else you would like to tell us?”

Marlene took another pensive thought. “No. Not at the moment.”

The couple allowed Marlene to make her way through the doors and back into the busy San Myshuno streets before huddling.

“Do you think she’s being honest?” Maverick questioned.

“Honest… I’m not sure. I don’t think an omission of truth aligns with being honest.” Bianca stated.

“What do you mean?”

“A woman with no friends, get comfortable enough with an employee that she allows this employee and her children to move in with her. This employee takes care of everyone including the husband’s sick mother. And then when the mother dies, her services are no longer needed? And they both just move on with their lives? That makes no sense! Especially since all of their kids are still super close. There’s something that happened between the two of them that is missing from the story. We’re getting the filtered truth.”

“…You’re right.” Maverick admitted.

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A/N: Hellllooo. Sorry for the long wait. A lot of major life changes happening right now. But I’m back and I wrote this part and the rest of the chapter already. Just finalizing editing for them. 🙂 I hope enjoyed this part. Were you surprised by what was in the box?