The woman in a mask.

“Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned...”
—William Congreve.

Maverick.

"I thought she loved you, I didn't know that she was just infatuated. I'm so sorry, everything that happened is my fault. I wish I didn't arrange this marriage. I'm so sorry, I'm sorry."

Victoria's words kept playing in his head like a broken record.

Maverick was shocked at the information she fed him. She explained to him that Leticia threatened to commit suicide if she did not get married to him, and to cover up for her daughter, she disguised it as an arranged marriage to make herself seem like the bad guy.

"Why am I just knowing about this?" He had asked, to which she replied that at first she wanted to protect her daughter but she realised that the more she protected her, the worse she turned out to be. Prior to that, she had to be responsible for her misdeeds and know the gravity of her actions.

"So... everything was a lie," Michelle said, dragging him out of his reminiscence.

Maverick scoffed, lifting himself from his recliner. He strode to the tinted window, pulling down the ash-coloured blinds and adjusting his checkered necktie.

He massaged his temple in a bid to reduce the headache he was feeling.

"I can't believe it. Does she lack a conscience? How could Leticia be this black at heart behind such an innocent face? I'm just so pained right now."

As Michelle spoke, Maverick could only feel the way his blood was rushing rapidly. He wished that his mother, who so believed that her Leticia was not capable of hurting a fly was a witness to her mother's statement. Her behaviour was all an act, a mask to the scheming fox that lay beneath.

Nobody was as pained as he was in the matter.

He pulled his phone from the pocket of his trouser and made a call.

"Good day Mr Wagner," the man on the other side said.

"Good day Habib," Maverick replied. "What's the latest?"

There was a pause before the man answered. "We've still not gotten any information, sir. The last place she was seen was in front of Cruiseville, and no one else saw her after then, not even a trace."

Maverick pinched the tip of his nose, trying to control himself not to lash out at the detective.

"What is she? A spirit? Have you tried other means? Did you track her phone?"

"Yes sir, but her phone is at your residence."

He shut his eyes as he remembered that he did not let her take anything the day he sent her out.

"Look Habib, I need that woman found before the week runs out."

"B-but sir, today is Wednesday, that doesn't seem p-possible," Habib stuttered.

"Well, I don't care. Just make it happen, I need my money's worth-"

"Mr Wagner I-"

"I've said the needful." Maverick hung up the call after that and slipped his phone back in his pocket.

Michelle stood from the couch and walked towards her brother who was clenching and unclenching his jaw.

"Bro, just chill. It will be fine, we'll get through this," she said, patting his shoulder.

Chill? He didn't think that was possible in the current situation.

If it was that Leticia was obsessed with him when she threatened to end her life, it would have been a different case entirely, but it was not.

In this case, she wormed her way into his life just so she could get his money.

Before meeting Leticia, Maverick never entered any serious relationship.

Relationships we're a waste of time according to him because, at that point in life after his father's death where only he was left to assist his mother, he could not afford distractions.

Definitely he had girls flocking around him, but when he never gave in to their advances, they let him be.

At the time, when his mother suggested he get married, he was a little bit angry, but on second thought, he felt it was not a big deal.

It wasn't so hard to like Leticia, but her low self-esteem was something that pushed him away, although he still found himself being drawn to her regardless.

A waste of time and feelings, and he learnt it the hard way.

Sometimes he asked himself what Oscar had that he did not have.

"Good morning, Mr Wagner."

He snapped out of his thoughts and tilted his head to get a full view of the person that called his name.

"Mr Akin, morning," Maverick said with a slight nod, walking back to his recliner. "Please have your seat."

"I'm here regarding the Blume project, sir."

The project!

He had completely forgotten about it since the whole issue started.

"Uh..." He sighed, drumming his fingers on the desk.

"The mall is halfway done. We have completed the interior design and the wire works, the flooring and interlocking of the parking lot and walkway are incomplete ones. Hopefully, it will be completed by next week. Then the goods from China will be arriving by the second week of March, while those from the US will arrive by April, the same as those from Korea." Akin dropped an office file on the desk before continuing his speech.

"All the records and reports are in this file, sir. Do you have any other inquiry, sir?"

He started at Maverick expectantly.

Maverick shook his head. "You may leave, I'll look into the file. Thank you."

"Okay, sir."

"Blume? What is Blume?" Michelle asked as soon as Akin stepped out of the office.

Yup! He had forgotten how inquisitive his sister was.

Asking Leticia not to work without any reason seemed like a selfish demand, but the reasons were best left unsaid as he had wanted to surprise her.

He felt that she was too intelligent to work for others, so he started the project which was Blume.

Except for her self-esteem issues, she was very capable of handling the mall.

Blume was the shopping mall that Maverick was constructing for Leticia. The biggest shopping mall in western Nigeria with space for two hundred and fifty shops and two thousand five hundred parking bays.

It was a big project that had been going on for three years, and a lot of funds had been put into it.

The plan was to officially open the mall on their fourth wedding anniversary in August as a gift to her.

Asides from himself, his mother, Lara, and the contractors, no other person knew about it. It was better that way.

Thinking about it, he was thankful that he decided to keep it a secret because if he had done otherwise, the embarrassment he would face would have been too much.

"Bro, are you seriously ignoring me right now?"

He sighed and gave his sister a dull look, but she glared back at him, making him cringe.

He could get used to everything that Michelle did except her glare. She had a way of making him flinch with the intensity.

"It's just a project," he replied and shifted his gaze to the desktop computer.

"What project? Does mom know about it?"

"Yeah, she does. Don't you have better things to do than lounging around my office all day?" At least talking to Michelle will help to dissolve his anger. He didn't want to admit that he was hurt.

"Well, I don't have any movie shoot until next month, and thanks to you, I don't have a boyfriend either," she retorted.

Maverick cocked a brow at her last statement.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Slow poison. Is it not because of what you did to Efe that other guys refused to come near me?" She sulked and threw her legs on the couch.

"I only put him in his place," Maverick replied and picked up the file that Akin brought.

Efe was Michelle's first and long term boyfriend from her teenage, for the fact that Maverick was not around at that time.

When Maverick arrived back in Nigeria and learned that Efe was Michelle's boyfriend, he wasn't so pleased but he kept quiet about it until he discovered that Efe was playing his sister.

Maverick went ballistic and dealt with Efe so bad, it was not an incidence to recall at all.

"The right man will come. Any other one who tries to misbehave with you will have me to contend with," he said, giving Michelle a stern look.

She huffed and shifted her gaze.

"Well, I plan on going to Abuja to stay with mom until I get back on set. And you'd better not miss me," she sassed.

He shook his head and continued to go through the file. Currently, there was an issue on ground.

The mall would soon be completed, but Leticia was at large.

Obviously, after everything she did he had to reconsider his plans. However, the legal work was also almost concluded, and he had already put the mall in her name.

How was he going to be able to change it at the last minute?

"I'm going abeg. This your office is so boring, I'm going on a hang out with Theresa," Michelle said, arranging her stuff in her handbag.

[Abeg: please]

Michelle and designer stuff, Maverick thought with a sigh.

"How much did you buy that bag, Tomi?"

"How does it affect you? Did I use your money?" She retorted.

He had also forgotten how quick-witted his sister could be.

"I'm just curious now, I didn't mean any harm."

"Well, you don't need to know. I'm..." The loud sound that rang out from her phone ceased her sentence.

She grabbed the phone from the couch to check who was calling. A foreign number appeared on the screen.

Maybe it was one of her directors.

She accepted the call and put the phone on her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello? Michelle, is that you?"

Maverick diverted his attention to his sister when he heard her bad drop.

"Kini?" He asked as he saw the expression on her face.

[Kini: what]

"Leticia?"

Like flash, Maverick had reached where she was standing and yanked the phone from her hand.

"Michelle it's me, please I-I need your help— I was abducted, please get me out of here, I beg you."

Maverick chuckled cynically, tapping his forehead with his index finger.

A fresh swell of fury aroused in his chest and his body trembled.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now!" The volume at which his voice rose had Michelle flinching.

"Ricky please calm down, " Michelle begged, grabbing his bicep.

He jerked his arm out of Michelle's grasp.
"Yes, I'm listening. So... You were abducted, right? My God, Leticia, you've got some nerve. You called my sister for what?" He barked.

"M-maverick please listen to me, I need your help please," Leticia sobbed.

"In what manner?" He lowered his voice back to normal.

"I... I uh... Was kidnapped and I can only get out of here with the help of a family member. I don't—"

"Shut up. Shut the fuck up, Leticia. I'll find you, and when I do, you'll wish so bad that you never toyed with me, I swear." He hung up the call and threw the phone back to a frozen Michelle.

"Ricky you should have listened to her! Leticia sounds terrified, what if something bad has happened to her?" Michelle said.

"She hasn't even started being terrified." He walked back to his desk taking his phone out of his pocket.

He dialled a number and the receiver took the call after the first ring.

"Habib, track this number now."

Chapter seventeen done and dusted. I'm so glad that we're progressing😂. Very soon we'll get there.💃💃

I know I delayed my update by two days, and I'm sorry please🥺🥺

Thank you so much for sticking to this story so far. Torn Within has reached 800 reads and 200 votes🤯🤯, I'm so happy and thankful🥳🥳🥳.

I'm grateful to y'all, and God bless everyone that contributed to this success😩🥺

See y'all next time❤

Your favourite noise maker
—Caupcayke/Chubiley😂😊😊😊😊🤭