(A.N: I am very sorry for the impromptu break, but I had several exams and projects due… the only reason I am even able to write now is because of the 2 weeks easter break we have been given which gives me enough time to do this... although you would notice that I did not put as much time into as i would have.
The update pattern might be slightly off but i hope you don't mind.)
The phone kept ringing.
Lily stared at it for a second longer than she should have as she stood frozen in place.
"Do I have to tell you to pick that up as well?" Jensen questioned.
Lily nodded and immediately moved over to pick up the call.
She answered the call and kept it on speaker, trying to prove to Jensen that she had nothing to hide.
"Hello, this is Lily Baker."
There was a short pause on the other end before a calm, professional voice replied.
"Good morning, Miss Baker. This is Detective Harris from the Oakland Police Department. Am I speaking to Miss Lily Baker, daughter of the late Mr. Arthur Baker?"
Lily's grip on the phone tightened slightly upon hearing her father's name.
"Yes… this is her."
"Thank you. I'll keep this brief, Miss Baker. I'm calling regarding a matter that may concern you directly."
Her heart rate picked up, but her voice stayed steady.
"Go on."
Another pause.
"We've identified a deceased individual this morning. Based on identification found on the body, we believe him to be Mr. Edward Baker."
For a moment, Lily said nothing as her mind went completely still.
"…I see."
Her voice came out quieter than she expected.
"I understand this may be difficult news," the detective continued, his tone still even, practiced.
"The body was discovered in an alleyway roughly thirty minutes from your current residence."
Lily slowly sat down on the edge of her chair although she disliked her uncle, she didn't want him dead.
"Do you know what happened?"
"At this time, we are treating it as a homicide." The detective paused before he continued perhaps sensing her grief.
"There were multiple stab wounds," the detective added. "We are still processing the scene, so I won't speculate beyond that."
Lily closed her eyes briefly.
"I understand," she said.
"Miss Baker," the detective continued, "given your relation to the deceased, we'd like to ask you a few questions and possibly arrange a formal statement and we would appreciate your cooperation."
"Of course," she replied immediately. "I will cooperate."
"Thank you. For now, I just need to confirm a few things."
"Go ahead."
"When was the last time you had contact with Mr. Edward Baker?"
Lily opened her eyes again.
"It's been a few days," she said. "We've both been busy with company matters."
"Understood. Were you aware of any threats against him? Business disputes, personal conflicts… anything out of the ordinary?"
"…He handled most things on his own," Lily said carefully. "If there were any issues, he didn't share them with me."
"That's fine. If anything comes to mind later, please let us know."
"Of course."
There was a soft rustle of paper on the other end.
"One more thing, Miss Baker. Given the circumstances, we may have officers in the area making routine inquiries, there's no cause for alarm. It's standard procedure."
"I understand."
"Good. We'll be assigning a lead investigator to this case, and I'll likely be your point of contact moving forward. I'll send you my details shortly."
"Thank you, Detective."
Another small pause.
"Miss Baker… I'm sorry for your loss."
Lily didn't respond immediately.
"…Thank you."
"Have a good day ma'am," the detective said.
"You too."
And then the call ended, Lily lowered her head and the room fell silent.
For a few seconds, she just sat there, staring at nothing, then her eyes shifted… toward Jensen.
"He's dead," she said simply.
"I heard." Jensen replied in a simple manner as he observed her reaction. 'Good thing I didn't mention it.'
'Seems like while their relationship wasn't good, it wasn't to the extent that she wanted him dead.
"While I am sorry about his death this presents a good opportunity for the Morvath Family." Jensen continued in that calm, calculated tone that he was slowly getting used to.
"Shareholders will hear about this soon so would everyone else and the stock price will most likely crash even by a little."
"I want you to get the rest of the company as soon as possible then we can move to the next step in my plan." Jensen continued.
Lily nodded understanding Jensen's point.
It wasn't like she didn't consider that he might have been the one that killed her uncle it was just that everything that happened until now pointed to the fact that he didn't seem to know until now.
All his plan so far banked on her pushing out her uncle and slowly taking over the company… not killing her uncle.
While his lack of sympathy might have suggested otherwise, she could see while he didn't care much about it.
Afterall, he didn't even know the man.
"Get dressed and get to it." Jensen ordered.
Only now did Lily realise that she was effectively half naked all this time.
She blushed seemingly forgetting the death of her uncle and immediately rushed to get to work.