FULL NOVELXO Chapter 71: Sarah Is Alive
After the event, Ethan and Amanda took the opportunity to introduce Samantha personally to the rest of his family, his uncle, and some of his cousins.
They were all welcoming of Samantha, especially after learning that she was the General's daughter.
Samantha could not deny it, being granted back as her father's daughter had its advantages. Ethan's relatives had no questions about her background, merely advocating her skills as a chef and her beautiful face.
While Winfield and Samantha still needed more time to heal all the wounds, she was at least happy that they were now trying.
Since their reconciliation, Winfield had visited their home once and even fetched the children on one occasion, having lunch at the First Diamond Hotel with her.
While Amanda further dragged Samantha to other tables, Ethan asked for private time with the General.
It confused Winfield why there was a need to talk with Ethan at another table, away from his grandchildren, but he followed the man's suggestion, regardless.
From one corner, on an emptied table, Ethan sat down with the General and told, "General, I wanted to know... your relationship to one Blake Taylor."
Winfield had just sat down on the seat in front of Ethan. He leaned back, hearing the name, and answered, "Blake Taylor? He was dismissed from the military. Why?"
"Is he... close to you or to Catherine?" Ethan probed.
"No." Winfield's brows furrowed before adding, "Not that... I know of... but if you are curious about him, we... we used to be close."
"Blake, he - he was my competition in the military ranks. We were both assigned to the middle east together." He grimaced recalling how they returned with a piece of bad news and resumed, "Back then, we returned learning that his wife had cancer."
Winfield sighed and told, "Elizabeth Taylor only lived a few months after our return."
"He always told me how lucky I am that I still had Sarah." Winfield shook his head and said, "I don't even know why I am saying this, but anyway, he just disappeared out of nowhere at the same time when Sarah died. His family was old rich. He did not really need to be in the service, but it was a surprise to me that he abandoned his commitment to the army when he was one of my toughest competition." "Hmmm," said Ethan. "Well, seems like Catherine knows him well. She is off to see him on the east coast. In Jansu Island."
"What?!" It shocked Winfield to hear this from Ethan.
"I have some men follow Catherine and Annie." Ethan turned to look for Connor and he came in with a laptop.
Ethan carefully placed the laptop on the table and after opening his screen, he showed several pictures to the general and said, "It was late in the afternoon when they arrived today, but they settled in this mansion on the rockiest side of Jansu Island."
"I had my men ask around the small town and they all say that the house belongs to... Blake and Elizabeth Taylor," added Ethan.
"The thing is, according to the locals, Blake's wife is... alive and well," said Ethan. "Strange, right?"
"No, Elizabeth died of cancer. I attended her burial," insisted the General. "I don't know who he has up there with him, but it surely is not Elizabeth."
There was a brief pause before Ethan looked around the nearly empty venue. He loosened his tie and proposed, "General, you know that my mother had always been suspicious of Catherine, right?" With a sigh, Winfield answered, "Yes, she had always suggested she had something to do with Sarah's death."
Looking straight into Ethan's eyes, he asked, "Is that why you still followed them around? You are just wasting your time and money -
"If I can prove it, then it is not a waste of my money. I would do anything for my wife and for my mother," Ethan cut off the General's thoughts. "Besides, I am curious... about this Blake Taylor." Ethan typed his fingers on the laptop before he showed it again to Winfield. He revealed, "These are bank transactions that my men have recovered over the past fourteen years, and here it shows that Catherine had sent Blake one million dollars. Why is that? And where did she get the money?"
That utterly made Winfield frown. He recalled how Catherine suddenly struggled financially before their marriage. It was apparently because she sent all her money to Blake, but why? These were the thoughts that lingered in his mind.
While Winfield was in deep thought, Ethan had been studying closely the reaction of his father-in-law. Seeing the puzzled expression on the General's face, he knew he had no idea what was going on. "Anyway, General -
"Call me father, Ethan," suggested Winfield. "Call me father."
Ethan's lips curved up. He blinked a few times before he answered, "Father... I have all the connections I need to get what I want, but I also know... you have easy access to the satellites."
"Just one-time big time. Help me get an aerial view of the home, scanning the entire estate. I'm curious to see what I can find out," he resumed.
A hiss left the General's lips. He shook his head and responded, "I don't know about that, Ethan -
"Just say that you are investigating some AWOL servicemen," suggested Ethan. "Just an entire day of satellite surveillance. I'm sure, the higher-ups have no questions against the General." Seeing Winfield's reluctance, Ethan reminded, "Like I said, father. I don't need your help to get this done, but I could do it faster with your help."
"Okay... I'll see what I can do," answered Winfield before taking a deep breath.
***
Two days passed.
Winfield received a call from the office in charge of satellite surveillance. He was told that all videos have been sent to his network folder.
The general thought about forwarding it immediately to Ethan, but something in him urged him to open the files and watched the videos for himself.
For a good two-minutes, he saw nothing, but a guarded house. It puzzled him what Blake was keeping in his home, that it seemed to look like he was protecting something or someone so dearly.
He was about to stop watching when he noticed a woman walk out of the lanai area, facing the sea.
The same woman had a guard following her around, but what particularly struck Winfield was her golden hair and built. It felt utterly familiar to him.
Winfield leaned closer to his laptop, knitting his brows together. He could not get his eyes off the figure. He felt his heart racing and everything around him turned mute.
Suddenly, the woman looked up to the skies, allowing him to perceive her face.
It was the shock of his life! Winfield felt his hands trembling as his mouth fell off his face! With his voice shaking, he muttered, "Sa - Sarah?"
All the more, he could hear nothing but the drumming of his heart, and his eyes could not help but water. Everything inside him was telling him the woman was his wife!
Just as he was gawking, stunned at seeing a woman that seemed to be like his wife. Another woman came from behind, swiftly turning Sarah around and slapping her in the face!
While the images were small, Winfield could make out the figure, and he was 80% sure the other woman was Catherine.
The next series of footages brought more security in aid of the woman whom he suspected as Sarah and another man who seemed to look like Blake Taylor.
Winfield gulped and stared blankly at his screen. He had so many questions in his mind, but one thing he knew; his questions would remain unanswered, not unless he would go to the island himself!
He did not know how long he sat on his seat that afternoon, but as soon as he came back to his senses, he called Ethan and reported, "Ethan, I think... Sarah is alive."