Natalie Hutchinson- Lyndon was a beautiful, ethereal woman close to her fifties perhaps- Isaiah could not ascertain. However, she was someone who took care of her appearance and image to the extreme, judging by her expensive casual clothes and immaculately made-up face that looked perfectly natural. He recognized her immediately from as there was a picture of her taken and published in Forbes. Looking around at the small, exclusive café decorated with a French theme, Isaiah was not surprised to see that she was the only customer.

She must have reserved the entire place just to have tea.

Upon stepping in, a waiter took his coat and led him to where Natalie Hutchinson-Lyndon was sitting, stirring her tea. When Isaiah sat down opposite her after thanking the waiter, she looked up at him and he was reminded by her consuming black eyes of a predator scrutinizing her prey intently from imposing shadows.

"Hello, Mrs Hutchi…" He could hardly begin when she waved a graceful hand in the air to dismiss formalities.

"Isaiah Raily. You’re Elijah’s brother? Call me Natalie. So, you’re my Valentine’s Day date." She spoke stately, her hazel-tinted gaze piercing right into his eyes but he did not flinch. Raising a brow slightly, she took her cup of tea and leaned back against the velvet cushioned chair, sipping her tea slowly- deliberately. The waiter came over and quietly asked Isaiah if he would like anything. Isaiah asked for black coffee.

Natalie pushed a lock of her lustrous auburn hair behind her ears and set her cup down. "What do you wish of me? If you’re afraid of offending me, let me assure you that I prefer it if you’re direct. I hate men who are wishy-washy."

Isaiah cleared his dry throat but before he could speak, the waiter came back with his coffee. He could name the diabolical charm this woman possessed but his heart pounded with fear- the irrational fear that she would think badly of him. Unfairly beautiful people probably caused some unexplained chemical reactions in others. He took a drink to calm his nerves.

The cup settled back on his saucer with a soft clang. By then, he was already relaxed and she no longer stressed him just by mere presence. She seemed impressed by his steadiness for she smiled approvingly.

"I’ll cut to the chase, Natalie. Elijah’s mansion was burned down and now, he’s suffering from amnesia. He doesn’t remember anything but he had a feeling someone’s after him. I know about your affair with him and what happened after…"

"So you’ll like to know if my husband still harbored resentment towards him and hired thugs to commit arson- maybe rough him up again?" Natalie finished for him as a slight bitter smile crept up her lips. Isaiah was slightly baffled by her expression but kept his face as expressionless as ever. Elijah probably won her affections that way- Natalie seemed to be the sort of woman who believed that men should never let emotions grace their face, actions and thoughts.

He nodded. She sipped her tea again before a shimmer of tears shone in her eyes. He noticed that her breathing was deeper- a sign that she was trying to contain her tears.

"Gregory’s in poor health for quite a while- I don’t think he has time for petty vengeance when he’s fighting for his life. I’m here for a reason other than answer your questions. Though there’s peace for a while, please tell your brother to never harass me or my daughter again." Natalie softly commanded Isaiah. He tilted his head, puzzled by her request.

"Come again?"

Natalie laughed shortly- acidly. "Last year, your brother somehow hooked up with my daughter. I don’t know by what devious means he found her and crept into her heart. You can imagine my shock when she brought him home to meet me. He was using her to get close to me- using her as a hostage so I will give in to his demands. My daughter loves him dearly and he’s propositioning me- demanding we reconcile. When I refused and threatened to expose him, he promised me he would be cruel to my daughter and he was. He broke her heart by cheating on her, being cold to her and finally told her that he was only using her to get to me. Thank goodness Lydia’s a strong girl- she was depressed for a while but I pulled her out of it. Elijah, by his sinister devices, had drawn me closer to my daughter. I have to thank him for it." She spat the word of gratitude.

"Lydia’s happy now and she has found someone pure who loves her. I’m enjoying my peace and quiet too. If Elijah dare comes near me or Lydia again, I will make sure that it’s not his house that gets burned down…" She leaned over and breathed her threat into his face.

"You’ll be lucky to recognize his ashes."

Isaiah refused to be scared though he was disturbed, terribly troubled by Elijah’s act of harassment and her warning. He felt pity for Natalie’s daughter and shamed by his brother’s callous deeds. Her accounting caused him to realize that he really did not know Elijah- the old Elijah at all. Suddenly, he grabbed her right hand tightly, shocking her.

"Let me go now or I’ll scream!" Natalie hissed, not wanting to create a scene as well.

Isaiah glared at her- though he could sympathize with her plight, he loved his brother more.

"Did you hire anyone to burn his mansion and hurt him, maybe even with the intention of killing him?" Isaiah interrogated her gruffly, scourging into her eyes to reach deep into her soul. For a split second, he felt a connection with her and before she even replied, he knew the answer.

"No. I didn’t. I don’t sink to his level." She spoke through clenched teeth, her black eyes furious.

Isaiah released his grip. The momentary bond he forged with her was broken. "I’m sorry."

She snatched her hand back immediately and glowered at him. "It’s a good thing I can understand your worry for your brother, Isaiah Raily, or I’ll have you thrown in jail. And if you must know, I’m sorry too. Sorry for making the worse mistake of my life- that of ever hiring your brother’s services."

***

Peia Fox was disturbed by her vibrating mobile lying on her desk. The static caused her LCD screen to flicker and its inbuilt speaker to screech.

Letting out an irritated sigh, Peia grabbed her slim Nokia and retrieve the message. When she finished reading the short, terse message, her eyes flared in anger. However, she remembered the enigmatic man with jet black hair and to-die-for emerald eyes. After all these years of working in her line, she had learned to read people very well.

Edward was very fortunate to have an elder brother who cared about him so much. When he first came to her- dispassionate on the outside but desperately needing help in actuality-, she had really thought that he had no family for he resembled a boy left to grow wild. In the end, the boy probably felt helpless at losing control over everything and sought to control himself such that he became such an unfeeling freak.

A terribly beautiful, unfeeling freak though. Yes, she remembered him very well indeed.

"Isaiah Raily… you’re almost making me feel bad. What are you? A walking piece of conscience?" She spoke softly to herself before switching off her mobile and continued watching the share prices fluctuating on the monitor.