Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 135517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
“You’re worrying too much. Look, Ryder is on his way home now. Do you think if he remembered anything, if he knew anything, that he’d be going back to the house? Trust me, he’s fine; besides, he won’t stay sober for long. I’m heading over there right now. I’ll talk to Janie; she’s a good girl, and she’ll know what to do.”
Another idiot that I’m having second thoughts about. She was the perfect patsy for my plans, or so it seemed at the time. When her dad approached me years ago with his idea, it seemed plausible, at least for the short term.
At the time, Ryder wouldn’t have been a good fit for my family; there were too many eyes on him and us back then, though I would’ve pushed for it had Nicole not gotten herself caught in the act doing something that the masses would’ve spurned her for, something that would’ve tarnished our reputation beyond repair. I could’ve salvaged the situation at some point had it not been Ryder who’d caught her in the act.
At least we were able to get away with starting the rumor that it was a female friend she’d been caught with, and Ryder had been so high at the time that we’d convinced him that he hadn’t seen what he thought he had. Just to be on the safe side, we’d set up a little foursome right on the heels of that fiasco that he’d more than enjoyed while still attached to that simpering ninny Elena, and that was enough to keep his mouth shut.
Now everything was spiraling out of control, and the worst part is, I had no idea who the enemy was. I’ve searched high and low and even visited a few people I suspected could be behind this, though where they’d get the nerve, I wouldn’t know, but nothing has panned out so far.
Now Chad Saunders and that sanctimonious son of his was in the picture and not of my doing, and if there’s one family, I know I can’t beat it’s them. I have nothing on them that I could hold over their heads, nothing with which to blackmail them and hold them in my pocket, which is my trade. And they have way more money than my family and I ever would.
To go up against them would be a losing battle. So I can only hope that this fool is right, and it’s just a coincidence that Saunders showed up in the midst of all this chaos. “I hope you’re right. Keep me informed of everything to do with this, and I’ll need to see the contract before he signs it.”
I hung up before the headache that was brewing could get any worse. I checked my phone to see if Janie had done what I’d asked and was pissed off to see that she hadn’t. I was about to call her and give her a piece of my mind when the phone rang in my hand.
I didn’t check the number, as I haven’t had to in many years. Only those I want to be in touch with have my numbers, so there was no harm—or so I thought.
“You thought it was okay to dispose of her as if she was nothing because she has faith? Now you’re going to learn that that thing you serve will always lose. Buckle up; you’re going down.” Before I could get a word in edgewise, the person hung up, and the phone pinged with an incoming message.
‘We know what you’ve done. No matter what you do now, we will expose you to the world. It all depends on your next move where. Elena Gianni is concerned about how much we expose. And tell your ex that changing his identity won’t spare him from what’s coming. Your sins against children will not go on punished.’ I felt my blood run cold in my veins. “How….?” They knew this person knew, but how? Who had betrayed me?
Next, a picture came through that put even more fear in me than the words had. I threw the phone across the room, and it smashed against the wall, but I knew that that would in no way prevent the inevitable.
What is happening? How was this person getting all of this information? I’ve had my tech team search time and time again, but no one could find a breach, and yet there must be one somewhere because this MengeLiNi person knew way too much. Enough to destroy all of us in a way that we’d never be able to survive.
Chapter 34
*Ryder*
It’s a good thing the deal with Saunders is a lie, or I’d be in deep shit. My first time at bat, and I’m about to fail this acting thing already. I could barely keep the snare off my face as I watched this witch approach me with that lying smile on her face. Standing still for the few seconds it took for her to kiss my cheek almost took me out, and it was all I could do not to wipe it off.