Chapter 9
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Bay showed up at my door, wearing a smile so twisted it made every instinct in me go on high alert.
“So… you know everything now?” he asked.
I narrowed my eyes. “What the hell are you after? Wasn’t Judith supposed to be the one you cared about? She’s losing her mind in prison, and you haven’t even gone to see her once. What are you really plotting, Bay?”
He let out a low, cold laugh.
“I never loved her. I never loved any of them. The only thing I’ve ever wanted… was to drag you down.”
My stomach tightened. “Why? Our families have been close for years. You didn’t have to destroy me.”
“You think your dad’s thriving business was built on pure skill?”
My father stepped into the room, moving to stand beside me.
“Bay, I’ve watched you grow up. How could you turn into a murderer?”
Bay’s lip curled.
“A murderer? That’s you. You think your father’s success wasn’t built on stepping over mine?”
My father and I both froze.
“My father gave yours a hand up,” Bay said, his voice twisting with venom. “And after you got your success, you had the audacity to take half of our share. Do you know how much better our lives were before you people came along? You ruined us. And now, Nina… you’re going to pay the price for him.”
My father positioned himself squarely between us.
“Is this what your father thinks too?”
A voice answered from behind us.
Leonard Clark himself stepped into our living room, a cigarette between his fingers, arrogance radiating from him like heat.
“Mr. Collins, you’ve had your time at the top. Now it’s time to rot.‘
He turned to his son with a casual command.
“Go on, finish them both. I’ll clean it up. Your father can cover anything.”
Bay raised the knife in his hand, advancing with a predatory calm,
The blade lifted high. One swing away from ending everything.
“Judith?” I called suddenly.
He faltered, glancing over his shoulder. That was my chance. I lunged forward, wresting the knife from his grasp.
The blade tore into my palm, splitting the flesh open, but I barely felt it. All that mattered was that my father was safe. Leonard’s eyes hardened, sharp as broken glass.
“Useless. You can’t even handle a girl? Do it now. Once I’m back on top, you can have any woman you want.”
He moved to act, but stopped cold when he noticed the armed officers already in position, guns leveled straight at him.
Bay’s
s face drained of color as he turned to his father.
But Leonard had already been restrained, steel cuffs biting into his wrists.
He bellowed, “Get your chief down here! He knows better than to disrespect me!”
Chapter 9
The female officer snapped the cuffs shut with a clean, practiced motion.
“The mayor won’t help you this time. This case is way above their pay grade. Try your luck with the state authorities.”
My hands were slick with blo
I was finally free of these monsters.
for the first time in years, I laughed freely.
The officer gave me a sly smile. “Congratulations, kid.”
I gripped her hand as she bandaged mine.
“Thank you for believing in me. Without you, I would’ve broken a long time ago.”
She winked. “It’s my brother you should thank.”
“Your brother?” I asked.
“Ethan Howard.”
I stared at her in shock. Words tumbled out in a rush. “Thank you, thank you-
“No need to thank me. He just thought you might be under threat. He asked me to see if you were being wrongfully accused.” She smirked.
“My brother’s rule is simple–his fans are never bad people.”
Thinking of the girls who had defended me so fiercely online, I couldn’t help but nod.
Being his fan really was a kind of luck.
With the mayor’s official statement, my name was finally and completely cleared.
My mother recovered and returned home from the hospital, and my father’s business soon returned to normal.
I personally brought fifty million to Ethan’s agent.
He looked at me suspiciously. “What is this? You trying to get another night with my client?”
I smiled. “No. This is an apology–and the promised compensation. Plus, every future endorsement from my father’s company will go to Ethan. He said he’d fully support me in both chasing my star… and chasing love.”
