Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 847(@200wpm)___ 677(@250wpm)___ 564(@300wpm)
I relaxed against the leather, annoyed by the constant distractions. Octi’s friends from Korea had decided today would be the perfect day to hit her up and tell her to stay strong through the media bloodbath.
She’d finally hopped off a call, only for Dallas to hound her about the in-flight snacks in their group chat.
“Mr. Sun?” From the couch, Natalie raised her phone. “Your lawyers are on the line.”
She’d crashed in Manhattan over the weekend to check on my properties there, hitching a ride back to Maryland with us.
Eileen, however, stayed in the city. I couldn’t wait to tell Mom I took a stab at my engagement and accidentally killed all chances of it ever forming a relationship.
There was nothing wrong with Eileen.
In fact, she only had one shortcoming—she wasn’t Farrow.
But that was enough to kill the deal.
“Lawyers?” My brows knitted together. “Plural?”
Normally, they called me one at a time.
“Yes, sir. All three.” Natalie unplastered herself from her seat, patting off cracker crumbs from her suit as she handed me her phone. “Tom is on the call, too. I think it might be important.”
“Do you now, Einstein? I wonder what gave it away.”
Farrow’s head flew up from her phone. She shot me a worried look.
I inwardly cursed, abhorred by the unwelcome diversion.
For starters, I’d planned to use the plane ride to talk to Octi about us. More specifically, if ‘us’ could ever exist beyond the scope of tearing each other’s clothes off and engaging in endless verbal foreplay.
And secondly, on the car ride here, Fae had mentioned she had something to tell me about Eileen.
Farrow twisted her golden hair into a high bun, untucking her legs from under her ass. “What are they saying?”
I took the phone from my assistant, who continued to hover. She bounced from heel to heel, just staring at me.
“Natalie?”
“Yes, Mr. Sun?”
“Kindly fuck off.”
She nodded, albeit with visible displeasure, stuffing her laptop under her armpit and moving to the cockpit. Farrow clutched my sleeve.
I interlaced our fingers, squeezing. “Everything will be fine.”
Her eyes clung to mine. “How do you know?”
“Because…” I traced the beauty mark beneath her eye with my free hand. “If you lose this case, what I have in store for Vera will be infinitely worse than whatever punishment the law can deliver.”
“It’s a marvel you haven’t ended up in jail.”
“Only to those naïve enough to believe in the legal system.” I leaned Natalie’s phone against the snack box, switching it to video conference. “Talk to us.”
Deanne’s face popped up first. “Miss Ballantine?”
“Yes.” Fae raised her hand like we were in preschool. “I’m here.”
“Do you consent to Mr. Sun hearing this conversation? It contains some sensitive information.”
“Yes.” Farrow nodded. “Go ahead.”
A lick of pride prodded me, confirming what I already knew.
I was Fucked with a capital F.
“We might be better off having this conversation in person.” Tom pulled out a notepad. “A lot of delicate evidence to go over.”
“I literally don’t have the self-control to turn down dairy-free dessert.” Fae scooted halfway into my seat to get a better angle. “What makes you think I can wait the entire plane ride to hear your news?”
Our elbows brushed, and that alone ignited something possessively depraved inside me.
Tom brought a pencil to his lips. “Hmm…”
“You heard her.” I rubbed circles on her thigh with my thumb, relaxing against the backrest. “Spill the beans before I spill out your guts.”
“I’m just trying to make sure nobody falls apart here.”
“I’m already in pieces.” Farrow waved. “Please, just continue.”
“We found out something alarming.” Tom paused. “As in, criminally disturbing.”
Farrow licked her lips. “Has Vera committed a crime?”
“It appears so. An egregious one at that.” He hesitated. “Miss Ballantine…”
“Yes?”
“Are you sitting down?”
“No.” Fae bared her teeth, eliciting a grin from me. “I’m up on both feet, dancing the Copacabana.” She jerked her thumb to the leather upholstery behind us. “What do you think?”
Guess she hadn’t forgiven him for blowing her cover and triggering the media storm.
Tom shrugged, going for the kill. “Vera hired someone to kill your father.”
Silence.
Utter silence.
The kind that penetrated through eardrums.
“I’m sorry,” Tom added, as an afterthought.
The words floated in the air, choking us like nerve gas. I searched Fae for signs of pain, recognition, agony.
All I could find was bitterness.
Tom scratched his temple. “Are we good to continue?”
Deanne stopped typing. “Let’s give her a minute.”
But Fae didn’t need a minute.
She shot up, pacing. “That’s impossible. Dad died in an accident. The valet—”
“Knew exactly what he was doing.” Tom reached for a folder, flipping it open. “A man by the name of Eugene Thomas. He was the valet involved in the alleged accident, as I’m sure you know.”
“Alleged?” Fae closed her eyes. “He didn’t even know Dad or Vera. His foot got stuck on the accelerator.”
Tom flipped through pages, yanking out a sheet.
“I found a burner phone Vera purchased two months prior to the incident.” He held up the paper as if we could make out the tiny print. “These are records I pulled from it.”