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The problem was, Mom’s demands for a bigger house, more expensive cars, and flashier jewels meant in time, the money my father had inherited was frittered away.
Dad’s biggest fault was he didn’t always see the bad in people. He was the kind of guy people took advantage of. The more Mom wanted, the more Dad tried to keep her happy.
He wasn’t financially savvy like my grandmother, so when he invested money in the hope of increasing his capital, he didn’t always make the right decisions.
Of course, I had no clue about any of this. Like most teenagers, I was way too wrapped up with my own petty problems: grades, girls, and stupid shit like that.
Dad made sure we weren’t impacted by his problems, at least in the beginning. We heard our parents arguing more as time passed, but I chose not to pay much attention to it and the girls were away at boarding school, so they were largely insulated from the domestic strife.
It wasn’t until Dad killed himself that I discovered the extent of his troubles, and how much my grandmother was to blame.
Quinn’s words took a few beats to sink in. Lily had flown to Mexico, not long after her good friend Mateo Silva took Stella. Quinn was right. The trip was much too coincidental. My grandmother never did anything without a damn good reason. She was always several steps ahead. It was the reason why our family’s business was so successful.
Anger burned in my veins like acid. I hated Lily with every shred of my soul. She could have saved my father, but she chose not to because she deemed him weak. For that, I would never forgive her.
I pulled up her private number on my cell and hit the call button.
“Brax, darling, is something wrong?” Music played in the background, something classical.
“Yes, something is wrong. Stella is missing. Your friend Mateo took her.”
There was a long pause, then she spoke. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, darling. Why would Mateo kidnap your little friend? She’s no use to anyone. Surely you must be mistaken.”
“Nope, I’m not. I’ve seen the camera footage of him bundling her into a car outside the stadium. I also know you’re in Mexico. Are the two events connected?”
There was a sharp intake of breath before she laughed. Fucking laughed like this was all a joke! “Brax, darling, nobody is indispensable. Not even you. I would like you to take your seat on the board when the time comes, but in the event you are indisposed, I have other options. You’d do well to remember that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have business to discuss.”
The bitch hung up on me, but her warning was clear. If I tried to interfere in whatever she was up to, Stella wasn’t the only one in danger.
Chapter 108
Harley
Conversations took place around me, but I wasn’t listening. All I could think about was Stella. Before her, my life was mostly meaningless. I studied (sometimes), partied hard (all the time), and did my best not to think about the future, where I’d be expected to get a job, settle down, and become a functioning member of society.
Dad was much too busy with his business and ensuring Miranda didn’t find out about Suzie to pay me much attention. The conversation where I basically blackmailed him into forcing the dean to let Stella stay at college was the last one we’d had. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t too happy with me at the moment.
Not that I gave a fuck. The asshole hadn’t been much of a father. Other than some fishing trips, we’d barely spent any time together in recent years. With Dad, work came first, closely followed by Suzie. As long as I kept my nose out of trouble and did enough to avoid being kicked out of college, he left me alone.
Stella was the first girl I’d truly cared about. The only girl. She wasn’t like the stupid bitches I normally fucked and/or dated.
She saw me, the real me. And she liked me. I’d fallen hard and now she was gone. It was literally the worst possible outcome, and I had no clue how to deal with my feelings.
It wasn’t like I could help find Stella. Sure, I was pretty with lots of muscles, but I wasn’t a hacker supremo like Quinn. Or the heir to a billion-dollar business empire, like Brax. All I could do was hold a pity party for one. And order room service so we didn’t literally starve to death. Yeah, I was good at that.
Was Stella safe?
Did she miss me?
I fucking missed her. Once we got her back, I planned on spoiling the shit out of her. That girl wasn’t going to have to lift a finger. Like ever again. I’d whisk her away to our family’s villa in Mustique, where we could lie in the sun all day long, naked.
I bet she’d love that. I know I fucking would. I’d probably have to give all the staff the week off, though. Pretty sure with all the sex I had planned, they’d be too traumatized to do their jobs anyway.
Quinn’s phone rang and I looked up. He scanned the screen and quickly answered.
“Dad, thank god, have you looked at the files?” As Brax and I watched, his face went from tense to delighted. “Perfect. Thanks, Dad. I’ll be in touch.”
“Looks like Stella’s Dad saved those files for a reason,” he said.
