Longing For The Beach Billionaire Daddy
Chapter 195

*Michael*

“Mr. Astor?” Agent Ramirez asked. He had dark hair and a mustache that twitched as he spoke. His partner was more serious looking and didn’t attempt to add any more information.

All of the room felt as though it had begun to spin. I sat with my hands on the desk for a long moment.

I noticed the expectant look on the officer’s faces, and I knew I had zoned out of the conversation completely. How could this be real?

“I’m sorry, but what did you just say?” I asked in a state of disbelief. “Marmie’s dead?” I still wasn’t processing it completely–and I wasn’t sure why they were talking to me about where I’d been the night before.

“Yes, Mr. Astor. Ms. Carmichael Radcliff’s penthouse caught fire in the middle of the night last night. Our officers have been there all morning working the crime scene.”

“We have a daughter together–Lauren,” I said, my heart suddenly seizing in worry. “Was she there? Is my daughter okay?” I knew she’d called me, but I wasn’t sure exactly when. I thought it hadn’t been long enough ago for her to be in danger, but I wasn’t sure.

“There was only one body discovered at the scene, Mr. Astor. We have it on good authority that your daughter is safe. She was pulled in for some routine questioning last night and was driven back to her apartment later that evening by one of our officers,” Agent Johson explained.

The fluttering of my heart slowed at the news that Lauren was definitely okay. Even with our rocky relationship over the past year, the thought of losing her had made my heart drop through my stomach.

“You said there was a body recovered from the penthouse? Has someone identified Marmie?” I asked, wondering who was unlucky enough to receive that call.

“We believe it to be her, Mr. Astor. The body was burned beyond recognition, but the height of the body does match that of Ms. Radcliff,” Agent Johson said.

My mind instantly rushed back to all of the research I had done when we found out that Blaine had faked his own death. I had gone down an internet rabbit hole for days on end trying to understand how someone could possibly get away with faking their own death.

I was disturbed by my findings of a black market where people could buy a body physically similar to their own. I couldn’t help but wonder if Marmie had attempted the same thing. She was known to act desperately when she felt like she was being cornered.

“Are you sure it was her?” I asked, trying to keep the suspicion out of my voice.

The agents looked at me strangely, “Do you have reason to believe that she was not at her residence at the time of the fire?”

I rubbed my hands over my face before taking a deep and steadying breath.

“Honestly, I have no idea where she would’ve been last night. I haven’t spoken to her in a while. Our relationship was nothing but contentious at the best of times. I’m sorry. I think I’m still in shock at the news,” I said.

“I understand, Mr. Astor. This is a lot to process,” the FBI agent said, his mustache twitching.

“How did this happen?” I asked, my voice quieter than I had anticipated.

“It seems as though her coffee pot malfunctioned during the night. She must’ve had it set to go off automatically in the morning, but the machine was faulty and caused an electrical fire. The kitchen went up rather quickly and spread to the rest of the penthouse. It seems as though Ms. Radcliff slept through the fire alarms,” Agent Johson explained. It seemed as though he was the one willing to give the more gruesome details of the case.

The thought of Marmie making herself a cup of coffee every morning struck me as odd. The thought of her even owning a coffee pot didn’t seem like the woman I knew her to be. She loved to live a lavish lifestyle, which included getting her morning coffee delivered each day. True, she was tight on money, which was apparent in her desperate acts to con me out of my fortune, but she was not one to lower her appearances.

“She slept through the fire alarms?” I asked. “How gruesome.”

My memories took me back to the short amount of time when Marmie and I were trying to work out our relationship after her first husband died. We were trying to rekindle our old relationship for the sake of Lauren. I wanted her to have a steady family life.

However, it had gone far from smoothly. We’d fought constantly, and one of Marmie’s biggest complaints was that I snored loudly and kept her awake half the night. She was an extremely light sleeper, and even something so quiet as a nose whistle would keep her awake.

“To be honest, it wasn’t a pretty scene. The entire place is in ruins,” Johnson said with a shake of his head.

“This is a lot to take in,” I said, running my hands over my face.

Could it be true? Could she really be gone? Marmie had been a constant thorn in my side for years after finding out Lauren was biologically my daughter. I had thought so many times about how much easier my life would be without Marmie in it. However, as much as I despised the woman, I wasn’t sure that anyone deserved to end like that.

“We can leave you alone with your thoughts, Mr. Astor. We know how shocking this news must be to you,” Agent Ramirez said, standing from his chair. They exchanged a look that made me think that they no longer thought I might have any prior knowledge of this, and therefor, nothing to do with it–if they found out later it was actually foulplay.

“Wait, does Lauren know?” I asked, suddenly realizing my own selfish thoughts had prevented me from processing that Lauren had just lost her mother. If she knew, I needed to go to her.

“No, she doesn’t know yet. We were on our way to her apartment next to break the news to her,” Ramirez said as his partner stood and reached out to shake my hand.

“Could I come with you?” I asked, shaking the officer’s hand. “I don’t want my daughter to be alone when she finds out. They were very close.”

“I think that would be a wise idea. It’s never an easy conversation to have with a person’s family, but it helps to have support rather than dealing with the news alone,” Agent Johnson said.

I grabbed my sport coat off the back of my chair and picked up the keys out of the glass bowl on my desk. “I’ll follow you there.”

***

I was surprised that Lauren answered the door completely ready for the day. Before her soul-searching trip, I would have considered it a miracle that she was even awake before noon. It seemed as though she really was trying to change.

Her face lit up in surprise as she recognized me, but then her eyes found the two FBI agents standing behind me and confusion clouded her expression.

“Dad?” she asked, concern flooding her voice. She probably thought that it had finally come out that she was helping Blaine plot against me.

“Lauren, I have some bad news. It’s about your mother,” I said, not wanting her to worry about going to jail at a time like this.

“Miss Radcliffe, I think it best that we come in. We need to talk with you,” Ramirez said in a sympathetic voice.

Lauren stepped back, allowing just enough room for us to squeeze into the apartment. It was a small open-concept space that was kept clean and free of clutter, yet another surprise curtesy of the new Lauren.

The officer took a seat on a small sofa, so I placed my hand on Lauren’s back and led her to the living space, shutting the door behind me.

“What’s going on?” she asked, sitting down on one of the decorative accent chairs.

“There was a fire at your mother’s penthouse last night,” I said as delicately as I could.

Lauren started blankly at me, not absorbing the full meaning of my words.

“Your mother didn’t survive the fire,” Johnson added.

I winced as Lauren took on the full meaning of the situation. I knew that she needed to be told the truth, but it seemed so harsh to tell her in this way. Not that I had any better way to word it on the tip of my tongue.

“What?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

I could see the shock and terror mixed in the expression in her eyes. Her gaze locked on mine as if she was searching for answers that I did not have. I reached out and grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” I said.

Tears pooled in the corners of her eyes and slowly streamed down each cheek. “No,” she uttered in disbelief.

In that one word, I watched my daughter battle through so many different emotions. She stared into space, and I could only imagine the thoughts that must be rushing through her mind.

“Maybe we should give Lauren some time to process this,” I said to the agents, rising to see them out.

Agent Johnson nodded and slipped a business card onto the coffee table.

“When she has questions, which I’m sure she will, have her call,” the other agent said softly before leaving the apartment.

As soon as the door clicked behind them, Lauren collapsed into fits of tears. I felt helpless as I kneeled down next to her and rubbed her back. She laid her head in my lap, and I gently brushed the hair away from her face. It felt as though she were a little girl again, and I was there as the father I never got to be for her. My heart ached for my daughter.

We stayed that way for a long time until the tears stopped flowing and her breathing slowed. Her eyes were closed, and I half wondered if she had fallen asleep. I stayed put and let her rest, letting her know that I was there for her despite our past.

“Thank you for coming,” she said softly, her eyes still closed.

“I’ll always be here for you. I will always be your dad,” I answered.

The front door opened again, and the room filled with mumbled conversation. Lauren’s roommates had returned home. There were floods of questions in worried tones as they took in Lauren, crumpled and crying on the floor.

“Why don’t you go get in bed? I’ll explain everything,” I said.

With a small nod from her, I stood up and helped Lauren to her feet. She avoided the stream of questions and headed to her room.

As soon as the door closed behind her, I turned to her roommates, none of which had I ever met before. “I’m Lauren’s father, Michael,” I explained. “Lauren just got some devastating news. Her mother was killed in a fire last night.”

Her roommates all gasped, but I held up my hand to halt the onslaught of questions.

“I need you all to look after her, but she may not be up to talking or answering questions. Make sure she gets some sleep and that she eats. Call me if she needs absolutely anything.”

With that, I set a hundred dollar bill on the counter and my business card.

“If she does feel like talking, let her know not to worry about the funeral or the cost. I’ll take care of everything. I’ll be back tomorrow to check on her.”

Her roommates all nodded. I knocked lightly on Lauren’s door before going in and closing the door behind me.

She was on her bed, clutching a pillow to her chest. I knelt beside her bed and said softly, “I’ll be back tomorrow. Or tonight if you need me. Just let me know.”

She nodded, tears silently streaming down her cheeks. “Thanks, Dad. I love you.”

“I love you too, Lauren. Try to eat something. Call me if you need me.”

I kissed her forehead before rising and leaving the apartment.

I couldn’t believe Marmie was really dead.