Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1175

In the dimly lit room of the county jail, Blake's heart skipped a beat the moment he laid eyes on Tarquin.

"Mr. Bradford," he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.

Tarquin stood there, his expression as unreadable as a poker player's.

Blake fidgeted nervously before taking a seat opposite Tarquin.

Breaking the silence with a calm demeanor, Tarquin inquired, "You know about Elysia's background, right?"

Blake nodded furiously, eager to please.

"Yes, yes, she's... she's the daughter of the richest family in Oceanopolis!"

Just thinking about Elysia's pedigree made Blake feel like someone was twisting a knife in his gut. If only he'd known she was such high society, he would have treated her like royalty, for sure. Imagine the Hawkins family showing up for a family reunion—he'd be rolling in dough!

Instead, fate handed the Thorne family a priceless gem, and what did they do? Treated her like a stray cat, tormenting her on the daily. Now he had zilch to show for it and was constantly on edge, dreading the day Clayton might storm into the prison to settle the score.

Tarquin, eyes gleaming with a hint of mockery, saw right through Blake's anxiety.

"Don’t worry about the Hawkins family coming after you. You'll never get the chance to meet them."

Blake blinked, bewildered. "Huh?"

Tarquin cut to the chase, "I’ve got questions for you. Answer honestly, and I’ll get your family out of here, send you all abroad."

"But if you don’t cooperate, well, let’s just say, your time’s up."

Blake's eyes widened in panic. "What... what do you want to know?"

"Where’s Winona?"

At the mention of Winona's name, Blake's face turned an ashen shade.

"What do you know?" he blurted out.

"I’m asking the questions here."

Blake's breath came in quick, shallow gasps, and his eyes darted around the room. "I... I don’t know anything."

Without another word, Tarquin turned to leave.

Blake, desperation creeping into his voice, called after him, "You're not gonna ask anymore?"

"I recorded the whole thing on the sly."

Tarquin asked, "Zane hasn't killed you to cover it up because of this video?"

"Yeah, I told Zane that if anything happened to us, the video would go public."

"Where’s the video?"

"I... I buried a copy under the oak tree in my yard, and a friend of mine has another copy."

Tarquin pulled out his phone, showing Blake a picture of Sarah. "Is this the woman?"

"Yes, yes, that’s her! She’s got something going on with Zane."

Tarquin sent a quick text to Lowell, instructing him to dig up the Thorne family yard for the video.

Returning his focus to Blake, Tarquin asked, "Who took Winona from your place?"

"I didn’t recognize them. They seemed like traffickers. The lead guy had an eye patch. I heard someone call him 'One-Eyed Jack.'"