A/N:

I had quite a productive month. I managed to write about two chapters, but I'm posting this one first, as I'm making the other longer.

For any grammar mistakes and inconsistencies, do post a review or pm me. I will try to amend them as best as I could.

Chapter 54- What goes around, Comes all the way back around

The first thing that crossed his mind the moment she walked in is that he had just unknowingly found himself into the eye of a storm. Were he to compare how she looks an hour earlier, he would have thought it is her evil twin that entered the room. The female concierge of the Imperial Lotus Hotel looked like she was about to murder someone. Ms. Miko Sawaguchi is positively angry.

"Uh-oh. That expression doesn't bode well." Natsuki muttured in passing, taking his seat away from his brother, Satsuki, who was busy scribbling notes on a piece of hotel stationary without bothering to look up.

Hopefully, its not them, Ms. Miko Sawaguchi is mad about. They were supposed to meet up again after roughly fifteen minutes. But the fifteen minutes stretched to almost an hour and a half. Ren is starting to worry that maybe she is having second thoughts about her agreement. Ms. Sawaguchi possessed a fearsome reputation, and even before they decided to ask for their help, they were already intimidated. She's supposed to be very strict and wouldn't hesitate to put one in place if she thinks what he is doing is wrong, guests included.

But then, this would be better rather than the possibility of changing her mind to help them in their cause.

Steeling himself for a reprimand or a scolding, Ren Jinguuji gestured for her to sit down. The remnants of the coffee, tea and sandwiches she has thoughtfully provided for them were scattered on the table in half-eaten states.

He could see she was hardly keeping her composure in control, not even glancing at the food they have yet to finish. She looked slightly disheveled; the smooth chignon she was sporting earlier has now come undone as if she ran her hand several times through the strands like a woman in great distress.

"Gentlemen, what are we dealing here?" Ms. Sawaguchi is barely suppressing her anger now.

His brow knotted in puzzlement. "I don't understand.." he began.

"Oh, save me the bull talk. You will see, soon enough." Ms. Sawaguchi snapped, placing a slim laptop in front of her and typing a few keys of her passcode.

The screen lit up in a brilliant blue color, illuminating her spectacles perched severely on the bridge of her nose. Her fingers flew over the keyboard, wherein a download program is almost reaching 100 percent. She flipped through the file folders, looking for the video format; once she found the correct file, clicked it open and the file began to play.

The scene shown in the video player looked normal enough: four video screen feeds split the screen into equal segments, each showing different areas. Two cameras show two sets of hallways, one at the emergency exit doors, leading to the exit stairs and another showing the lift lobby.

"What are we supposed to see?" Natsuki asked a little impatiently, leaning behind Ms. Sawaguchi. Ren clucked his tongue in warning. Natsuki stuck out his like a brat and focused his attention on the laptop.

"I had my security staff filter through our video records on the dates you estimated. And your information is still accurate so far Jinguuji-sama. We managed to narrow down the specific room you booked."

Ren shrugged carelessly, "Anri liked her comforts, I only need to try to remember key items inside the room and how far it was from the lift lobby."

"The Rose room is one of our finest rooms. It is scheduled to go under renovations next year. Luckily for you, your accurate descriptions of the wallpaper made it easier to remember. We moved the pair of Rodin sculptures to the Blue room." Miko pointed at the screen. "That's the room you need to pay attention."

The video showed a few people walking up and down the hallway, lugging suitcases, while housekeeping staff brought extra towels and room service deliver trays of food ordered- all fast forward about four, maybe five times. Ren squinted his eyes so that he wouldn't miss anything.

"There's Anri." Satsuki said, pointing out to the couple at top right hand segment.

Ren felt himself winced slightly, as he watched his past self walked arrogantly through the hallway while he pulled Anri behind him. Even so, he can see from the different angle how wobbly he looked. He shifted his foot, suddenly uncomfortable with the sense of déjà vu. Like he was transported back in time and instead of seeing the laptop screen, he was there on the hallway, walking past the rooms and looking for their assigned slot. He can almost smell Anri's perfume trailing around him, luring him with her scent while in a vulnerable state of intoxicated mind.

"About an hour." He said, remembering a few more details. "We checked into the room, and after an hour I fell asleep, exhausted."

"I'm not interested in how many times you guys did it." Natsuki raised his eyebrows, irritated. "Please don't go to that detail."

Ren glared at him to shut up. Natsuki shrugged, unaffected, but his brother nudged him to behave.

"If they knew what they were doing, they only needed about half an hour to one hour at most. But it depends on how savvy they are and what information they wanted to extract." Satsuki held up his pen like a professor giving some form of trivia to his students.

Ms. Sawaguchi leaned back on the sofa, a triumphant glow in her eyes. "Yes, about an hour is right. Your lady friend received a couple of guests."

"You don't say!" Satsuki's eyes were wide with disbelief, his hand poised to record what they will see. Satsuki's decision to write down everything they talked about is a smart move. Natsuki's hand phone is used as a tape recorder to anything they might miss out during their discussions. Brainstorming the whole day tend to convolute the information they have gathered so far. So recording it would help them paint a much clearer picture of what is really going on.

Silently, they watched the video intently. Ren wished the video could have recorded their conversations. Video recordings like these can only tell half the story. Recorded conversations are as important too. However, they have to make do with whatever information they can unearth.

There were two men who seemed to knock softly on the door where Ren and Anri entered earlier. One is a tall, lean man with blonde hair, while the other is shorter, sporting darker hair and carrying a couple of heavy-looking suitcases. Nothing really suspicious except maybe for the suitcases. And they couldn't see the faces of the men clearly. Though Ren is sure he'd seen the blond man somewhere, but he couldn't pinpoint who it was exactly.

"My security staff thought the two men are bringing in some personal items so he did not find the scene so suspicious." Ms. Sawaguchi explained.

"Looks like they only stayed for about fifteen to twenty minutes." Natsuki observed, running a finger on his chin. "I'm guessing the short, stocky guy is a professional." He nodded towards the screen, urging Miko to hit the pause button. "See the company symbols behind his shirt?" he pointed with his index finger, expression grim. "Soltis Solutions. They are a private entity hired by moneyed people who need investigative works done. I remember one of our friends who hired their services to look for his missing brother in the Caribbean about five years ago."

"Excellent." Ren murmured. "We can look into asking information from them too." He thoughtfully tilted his head, trying to think. "It would be tricky though." He admitted.

"Companies like these who value discretion as their main selling commodity will not willingly part with client information." Natsuki warned. "Not unless they are obliged by law to divulge whatever they know that will help build a case."

"Let's deal about that later. The need may arise in the future. And if that happens, I can persuade my father to help me. He would be most willing to extend help." Ren noted. And indeed, he is sure that Takumi would be interested to do so.

He turned to Ms. Sawaguchi, observed that the woman is still simmering from whatever annoyance she is harboring earlier. "Ms. Sawaguchi. There's more isn't it?" he gauged shrewdly.

She nodded. "Yes." She turned her attention again back to the laptop and opened another folder. Inside there were more than two dozen of file video formats. She moved the cursor arrow to the first one and clicked play.

"I want you to focus on the woman and the blonde guy. After your visit, you might think we have seen the last of them. They laid low for several months."

Ren furrowed his brow in disbelief when he saw the dates stamped on the video recording. Anri and her mystery man booked the same room for a day or two on several occasions starting about six months since Haruka disappeared. He estimated he is in the middle of his search for her when Anri continued seeing this man. They certainly were not in a relationship yet at that time.

He reached out for the laptop. "May I?" he asked Ms. Sawaguchi for permission.

"Go ahead."

Ren expertly took control of the laptop, ignoring the Shinomiya twins behind him as they gathered once more to watch the video feeds. Neither spoke a word of protest and allowed him to take control. He paused the video every now and then, but the facts are laid bare before him, Anri is displaying suspicious behavior. He didn't want to believe it. The truth is such a bitter pill to swallow. But there it is.

"I want to see his face." He tried not to show his frustrations when he couldn't do much except zoom in and he always get pixelated images.

"Let me."

Ms. Sawaguchi took the laptop from him and panned the video to give a better view of the man who is always with Anri on several occasions.

"My staff had a pretty hard time scouring the videos for a better view of his face. He seemed to be a little spooked that this man is quite knowledgeable on hiding his identity as much as possible. He knows how to turn his head to avoid the cameras. Coincidence or not?" Ms. Sawaguchi muttered under her breath. "There."

Ren stiffened when he finally caught a clearer grasp on the man's face. "That's Louis!"

The Shinomiya twins swung around to look at him.

"Who?!" Natsuki demanded.

"Louis..." Satsuki furrowed his brow as if trying to remember something important.

"That's Louis de Montfort! Anri's nephew. Well, technically, her late husband's nephew. What the hell are they doing together?" Ren frowned, feeling a little disturbed by this discovery. Should he be concerned that Louis is spending so much time with Anri? But to be honest, he only met her grown-up nephew a few times, never really managed to get himself acquainted much with him- he always seemed to be in a hurry, or preoccupied with something else.

"Louis is Anri's deceased husband's nephew, the only son of his sister, who is also holding the other portions of shares from Anri's company which she inherited the bulk from her husband when he died." Ren explained to his audience.

Satsuki rested his chin on his thumb, "No wonder the name seems familiar. Are we talking about the Louis de Montfort? The guy who assaulted a female staffer during one of the economic conventions two years ago?"

Ren frowned. This is something new. "I don't know him that well..." His voice trailed off. Then he swore, light dawning on his face. "Damned it! You are right! I did heard about that issue!"

"The female staffer who turned out to be a daughter of a former senator. Yes, that's the one." Satsuki nodded in agreement. "I only attended the convention for one day, but that was big news within the community. The charges were later dropped. Rumors were circling around that they agreed on an unspecified amount as a settlement."

"How come you are so clueless about these things?" Natsuki demanded, shaking his head at Ren accusingly. "Your supposed future wife doesn't even care that her so-called nephew was involved in such things? Give me a break!"

"I merely assumed he and Anri were not that close. I mean, he is almost the same age as me. I thought there was some hostility going on between them, what with Anri inheriting most of her husband's company shares. Her deceased husband doted on his nephew but I understood that Anri has more business acumen, so the old man changed his will at the last minute." Ren said defensively. "I never could have imagined they are having an illicit relationship."

"Looks to me that whatever hostility they are supposed to display is just bullshit." Natsuki pointed at the screen where Louis had his arm around Anri's waist. "Even from some stranger's perspective, no one can mistake they are having an affair behind your back." He said scornfully.

"Shut it." Annoyed at pointing out the obvious, Ren threw him a look that could pulverized a rock.

"Natsuki." His brother held up a hand warningly, "Calm down. We are all aware of what's happening. No need to rub it in too much." He turned towards Ms. Sawaguchi, who is watching their tense exchanges with a thoughtful expression. "Is that all we have, Ms. Sawaguchi?'

Miko raised her eyebrows at him. "No. I saved a couple for last." She leaned forward and opened another folder, this time containing two sets of file videos. "Though, I have to warn you that it's not a pretty sight to behold."

"What do you mean?" Satsuki asked curiously.

"You'll see." She replied in a grim tone, clicking the play button.

The video was zoomed in to show a staircase landing wherein Louis loomed over a cowering man. Judging from his familiar uniform, he looked like one of the bellhops employed by the hotel.

"He threatened one of my staff employees six months ago." Miko started to grind her jaw in anger. "I was livid when I found out. The security personnel failed to report this issue to me personally, him being a newly hired guy and was unaware of the protocols."

They watched as Louis seemed to be threatening the life out of the poor bellhop as he continued to receive whatever insults the blond man was hurling at him, shaking like a leaf. Whatever the bellhop did, they did not know, even as Louis began to slap the man's face cruelly, pointing something out and then continuing with his tirade.

"What happened?" Natsuki frowned in concern. "Was he alright? Your staff, I mean?"

Mika shook her head. "Physically, he is okay. But my staff still shows signs of trauma from the incident. He seemed a bit more jumpy, and won't meet people in the eye sometimes. I remember him being very cheerful during his first eight months with us. But around the time of this incident, he became less cheerful. I attributed the change to some form of family issue."

"I don't blame him." Satsuki agreed.

"Why threatened him then?" Ren asked, clenching his fist. Somehow, he felt that Anri is directly involved.

Ms. Sawaguchi stared back at him. "He was eyeing and admiring your fiancée. It seems that Louis did not like it and waited until he caught hold of my staff and informed him that the next time he catches him looking at her, he would, to quote, 'remove certain appendages from his body'."

Ren felt ill and cold at the same time. His senses, already aware that there is more at stake in this development unfolding before them, tingled with caution. Come to think of it, he thought it was just his imagination, but hasn't he ever felt uncomfortable with Louis' presence? Didn't he always get the feeling that he was constantly watched whenever he is around on some business occasion that Anri is involved with? Has he forgotten a few instances wherein he would find Louis whenever he comes for a surprise visit with Anri?

With these suspicions stalking up against her, he is convinced that he might have enough leverage to confront Anri and cancel the wedding. Except he doesn't want to think how this will affect their unborn child.

"There's more." Ms. Sawaguchi clicked the next file, "When I queried my security staff on this particular individual, one of them has taken note of his presence with interest. He cited that it caught his attention when he overheard the two of them call each other 'Auntie' and 'nephew' inside the lift car when they went down the reception to check out. At first he thought it was nothing, but when he saw them again, they were all over each other." she admitted a little uncomfortably, eyeing Ren's growing anger evident on his face.

The video feed showed how many times they checked into their usual hotel room. One edited feed showed them exchanging kisses on the hallway before entering their assigned room. The last feed was taken roughly four months ago.

"Is that their last visit?" Satsuki asked, scribbling madly on his notepad. "Did the affair cooled off? Is that why she is most adamant to marry you now?" he quizzed Ren. "As retaliation?"

He shook his head slowly, unsure of what to answer. All they have are speculations and theories on this. Nothing much, except for the fact that Anri has been cheating behind his back for a few years now. "Maybe."

"Maybe got fed-up with her affair and wants out, Jinguuji-sama." Ms. Sawaguchi said thoughtfully. "I mean, these kinds of illicit affairs are volatile, you know."

Suddenly Satsuki sat up. He was carefully scanning all the notes he had taken so far and was flipping several pages behind. "Hang on." He eyed Ms. Sawaguchi carefully, unsure whether he wants her to hear what he was about to say.

Ren nodded his permission. "Go ahead."

"You told me Anri used to be involved with you courtesy of your father. Did it ever occur to you that she may be planning some form of revenge against your family?"

"The thought did occur to me one or twice." Ren admitted, standing up to stretch his legs by pacing around the room. "But I never even sensed Anri harbouring such thoughts of vendetta-"

Ms. Sawaguchi gave a snort. "Oh please! Don't be so dense, Jinguuji-sama." She shook her head in disbelief, staring at the men before her. "Women are known for harbouring such grudges that last years, even decades! How long do you know your fiancée? And are you really sure she doesn't have grand plans to make the Jinguuji family come to heel? Think about it." she leaned closer on her seat, hands clasped together, "If you all say Anri is a shrewd business woman, then these bizarre incidents going on under your noses are orchestrated by such an intelligent villainess. See, that's the problem with you men! Women only need to pout at you and display innocent expressions, never suspecting underneath those angelic exteriors, they are as ruthless as other men!

I may only be basing on scarce facts I have on my laptop, combined with the hints I picked from our conversations in the past two hours. Anri may be out to get your family name and fortune. Make no mistake! If she is already a successful CEO of her own smallish company, what's stopping her from aiming high? She has already proven her worth when she inherited her husband's company. I bet it would be the biggest coup of all time if she succeeds in securing a prized seat in the board of directors soon."

Hey, girl
Is he everything you wanted in a man?
You know I gave you the world
You had me in the palm of your hand

Ren leaned back on the wall, digesting Ms. Sawaguchi's theory. He has to admit, Ms. Sawaguchi has a few legitimate points there. Despite the fact that he has known Anri previously and they have been spending together for the last 3 to 4 years, it's hard to admit, he has known so little about her except those times when they were being intimate. Sure, he can guess her moods, he knows she likes being pampered, and he knew what happened to her after she disappeared. He only has a vague idea on her family too, and he never even tried to pry information from her; he was aware that there are some family tragedies she doesn't want to talk about that he would know, by instinct, was indirectly caused by his family. The Anri he knew from before may have completely altered her personality into the Anri he is with now.

These may sound like superficial things, but now that he puts much thought into it, he doesn't know what she is always thinking; or what are her future dreams together with him; whether she ever wants to retire from handling her deceased husband's company, or whether she longs to travel and get more out of life. What are her goals when she gets older? What are her plans for their child? And he never really questioned her about it all. Not at all. Which is puzzling really. If he really is committed to marrying her, shouldn't he be talking about those things to her in the first place?

And once again, he realized what an idot he has become. Half of the unfortunate things happened to him is because he was too absorbed with his music and career to pay attention to anyting else. Really selfish of him.

But the same thing can be said about her, he reasoned inwardly. She never attended his concerts even once, nor listened to his music. She can discuss business with him only to a certain degree, but when he talks about his work, she seemed not to be interested. How can he ever consider sharing a married life with her if the basic requirements of a long-lasting relationship has not been met?

The funny thing about that is
I was ready to give you my name
Thought it was me and you baby
And now, it's all just a shame
That I guess I was wrong

Ahh, the kinks to their relationship are even more prominent.

Ren touched his neck, feeling the invisible noose of rope tightening.

If some of the theories he has heard up until now might be true, then the web Anri has spun is certainly intricate. He need a plan to execute-a smart one, or else, everything will be game over. If he can get rid of this problem, he can certainly concentrate much better on getting Haruka back.

His eyes focused on Satsuki, who seemed to be studying him. "In any case, what do you intend to do with all the information you have now, Jinguuji?" He asked simply.

Natsuki crossed his arms over his chest, gauging him for his reaction.

Ren had a lot of things on his mind right now, but with the unexpected help of these people, he suddenly began to hope that maybe it's not too late for him yet.

He stood up, a determined look on his face. "I'm going to see my father. I have a rough idea on what my next step will be. But, I need a bit of time to plan it. If we are to sniff out Anri, the necessary words we need must come out from her mouth herself. We have proof, but I am not satisfied with these alone. I intend to make her spill everything out." Extending a hand to Ms. Sawaguchi, he said, "I am grateful for your helpful. You went above and beyond what we have requested. I would be forever in your debt."

"You can count on me if you need the evidences to back up your claims should you decide to make legal actions." Ms. Sawaguchi replied in approval. "I'd like those two to take responsibility for their harrassment of my staff."

Ren nodded in agreement. "I will carefully consider all the possible options of building a strong case when the time comes." He then turned towards the twins. "It would really help me if we all go to my father. Your contribution is vital if I wanted this to succeed."

Satsuki and Natsuki exchanged looks in a typical brotherly fashion before Satsuki nodded his consent. "If it means we can finish this thing as soon as possible, by all means, let's get going."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Anri is feeling irritated when she arrived home after shopping for some baby clothes. The maid informed her that Ren came home and was looking for her. But since she accidentally left her phone behind that day, he wrote down a quick note for her to meet him for dinner.

"Why didn't you passed me the note immediately as soon as I arrived?" she scolded the maid, who flinched a little, hands trembling as she extended the cream linen envelope to her with Ren's distinctive handwriting indicating her name.

"My apologies madam. I thought you would like to take your tea first and get settled." The maid squawked. She motioned for another maid to quickly finish removing the empty teacups and dishes, lest she became a little more irritable.

Anri resisted the impulse to throw her bag at her maid. Really, hired help are too presumptuous sometimes. "I am not paying you to gauge whether I am in the pleasant mood or not. If certain things needed my attention, I expect to be informed as soon as possible." She lowered her voice sharply, "Stay there while I read this. I might require you to do something for me."

"Yes, Ma'am" she replied in a meek tone, backing into a corner.

Anri settled more comfortable into her mint green settee, feeling a little luxurious after treating herself to a massage and spa once she has satisfied her shopping cravings. Everything is running smoothly than she ever dared hope: the cake would be fabulous, her wedding dress would be dramatic, the flowers would be exquisite. Booking the reception venues has been a nightmare, but she earns a pat on the back for managing to secure the exclusive Mirabelle chateau built during the early 1900s. The mansion was inspired by Romantic architecture, with pretty windows and dark-blue roof tiles contrasting beautifully against the grey stone walls. The whole are is surrounded by rolling hills and vibrant green grass. A man-made lake sit like a clear mirror nearby, creating a magical atmosphere. It was the most perfect place just outside Tokyo. And it was even better than where she had originally planned. The day of her wedding reception would be unforgettable.

Really perfect, she told herself as she tore open the envelope. A few more days and everything would be official. Ren would be hers for all eternity, she will be giving birth to her child soon enough, and the rest of the Jinguujis won't be able to touch her now with her elevated status. More doors will be opened to her, all thanks to acquiring the Jinguuji name. And her real agenda can begin. She would crush them all one by one.

Smiling like a cat that ate the canary, she read the short note written for her.

Dinner at the Jinguuji estate on 8pm. Don't be late, please.

He did not signed the note, merely putting his initial at the bottom. Anri lowered the thick paper to her lap, contemplating the sudden dinner engagement. She always knew that the rest of the family doesn't like her. Hell, even during the tea party, she was barely acknowledged by his father and his brother. His mother was civil enough, but her greetings only came so far as briefly introducing her to some of the family members and leaving her alone to entertain herself. It was not the kind of treatment she was expecting for someone about to be married to their eldest son, the heir of the Jinguuji empire.

No matter. It will all change soon. In a week and everything would be drastically different. The most important thing is she gets the name legally attached to hers. She can always work on persuading them all to her side, in any case.

Smoothing the envelope between her fingers, she checked her watched and realize she has about three hours to prepare. Not enough time, but barely. Without looking up, motioned for the maid to come near.

"Call my hairdresser to come immediately. Check whether Ramon is available to do my make-up. I will take my bath while I wait for them." She narrowed her eyes towards the nervous maid who jumped at her every word of command. "And don't mess things up."

She stood up and headed upstairs, her mind full of thoughts on what outfit would best suit her mood tonight. Something beautiful yet simple, that will help cement their image of her as the future wife of Ren Jinguuji.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

A/N:

Ugh, I have to admit I'm having difficulty editing the next chapter. I keep on thinking its bad, so I am taking a bit of time revising some here and there, and tweaking it more to make it a little better. I wrote them in one sitting last week. The first time for this year. I kept on writing without even stopping and I remember thinking to myself "Oh what the hell, I will just trim it down if it needs to be trimmed down. Or edited. Whatever."

Thank you for the reviews. I wanted to reply, but as the usual case I have a lot of things on my mind and I keep on playing scenarios inside my mind for the climax and the end. I started this story with a clear ending, except getting there is a little complicated. And it took me years to finally get here. So, thank you very much for sticking with me. Once this series ends, alternative endings might take a bit more time to write, but rest assured it will be posted. Plus, I would be happy to get back to my other "neglected" series. My fingers are itching to pick up where I left off. Hahaha.

Anyway, just to share, I am also preoccupied with watching the latest animes. And I am totally obsessed with K Project [the anime] soundtrack. OMG! I'm like squealing all the time when I watched the OVAs shown in select theaters here in Singapore. I keep on scouring for a blue ray copy, but I guess they will release it soon.

Happy with the update? Reviews please!