Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 234281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1171(@200wpm)___ 937(@250wpm)___ 781(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 234281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1171(@200wpm)___ 937(@250wpm)___ 781(@300wpm)
“Mairi is my life.”
Somehow, the words rang true even to Vilma’s ears, and she hated it. “Mairi is the same woman you believed was interested in you for your billions, Mr. Leventis. Why would you think she’d want to see now?”
“I made a mistake not trusting her. I won’t do it again.” He added fiercely, “I won’t hurt her again.”
“And that will make it all right, you think? To admit that you were wrong?”
His voice did not change when he answered, “I will beg if I have to.”
Her face hardened. “Then beg.”
“Please give me a chance to speak to your niece. I just want to speak to her. It’s all I ask. Even a phone call – a text message or email. Any form of communication would suffice.”
“On your knees.”
Damen did not say a word, did not hesitate even for a millisecond. He simply got up from his chair and went down on his knees, uncaring of the scores of eyes that swung to him incredulously at his action.
Even when he had his billions at his disposal, Damen had not been able to uncover a single clue about Mairi’s whereabouts, and he knew the chances of finding Mairi had become slimmer the moment he lost access to his own wealth.
If begging was the only way to have a chance to see Mairi, then so be it.
Vilma also slowly came to her feet.
And then she took the glass of water from the table and threw it at Damen. “That’s for making my niece suffer and for not protecting her from almost being raped.”
Chapter 3
ALINA KOKINOS FELT suffocated by how crowded Miami’s airport was. It was her first time to find herself in such a situation. In the past, her family’s wealth had kept her from this. When their plane landed, there would always be a chauffeured car waiting on the grounds to whisk her off to wherever she wanted, with her passport and all travel documents processed while she remained in the comfort of the Kokinos jet.
But life was different now.
She was no longer an heiress, wasn’t even sure she had the right to use her family’s name now that she had been disinherited.
Craning her neck, she tried to search the crowd for a familiar face, but there was none. Pulling out her phone from her pocket, she re-read the anonymously sent message for the nth time.
If you would like to be the one to tell Damen Leventis where Mairi Tanner is, book a flight to Miami at this date and time. You will know then.
When Alina had received the message, she hadn’t paused to think. She had gambled the last of her money on the flight and left Greece – her first time to do so alone.
Now here she was, feeling like she had been the victim of a prank.
After all, it really did not make any sense. She really did not have anything to do with the rollercoaster affair between Damen Leventis and Mairi Tanner. She was simply a bystander, one who had won her freedom when they fell in love but found her heart enslaved when the two had parted and she saw a side to Damen Leventis that she thought she would never find in a Greek male.
Ten more minutes and then she was out of here, Alina told herself before moving to another section of the airport, closer to where passengers would come out once they got past immigration. Hundreds of people walked past her every minute, but she didn’t let it ruin her concentration, her forehead furrowed as she tried to look for—-
Mairi Tanner.
She couldn’t be mistaken, could she?
Alina didn’t realize she had been walking towards the figure until she was just a few inches away. Alina whitened when a tall, good-looking man spoke to the girl. When the girl looked up, Alina inhaled sharply.
It really was her.
When the man left, Alina heard herself say, “You’re really here.”
FROM A SHORT DISTANCE, Drake Morrison watched the drama unfold between the two women, events that he had orchestrated with skills he used as a tactician of war. In order to win, one had to be ready to suffer casualties, and in this case Drake had long known that it would be Mairi who had to suffer another blow. It was the only way for her to be truly free of Damen Leventis – to regain her self-respect.
Taking out his phone from his pocket, he took a snapshot of Mairi, making sure that enough of their surroundings were clear in the photo so that their location would be identified without difficulty. Drake emailed the photo to a popular Hollywood blogger.
Without taking his gaze from the two, he made another call, instructing some of his men to take care of his luggage and Mairi’s.
Afterwards, he strode back to Mairi and her new companion, intent on following through with his plan.