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She tensed. “Anything?”
At her tone, he straightened and eyed her intently. “You know my limits.”
“I want to see the evidence you have on my family,” she blurted.
He drew back, obviously taken aback by her request. When he didn’t move, she clutched his arm.
“Roth?”
“The files are in my office.”
She gasped when he picked her up. Automatically, her arms went around his neck and her legs around his waist as he cupped her bare ass.
“You disappoint me, princess.”
Her eyes moved from her balled up pants in front of the elevator to his face. “What?”
“You’re going to have to work harder to prove you don’t care what happens to your family.”
She glowered. “I need to see it for myself.”
He set her on her feet in the great room. “Wait here.”
She watched him stride away, more than a little bemused by all that had transpired. She twisted her hands together. She hadn’t agreed to stay, yet he was willing to show her what he’d gathered on her family. Why reveal the evidence and allow her to warn them in advance? There had to be a reason for his compliance, something more he would get out of it than simply pleasing her, but what?
She ran her hand through her tangled hair. This man was driving her crazy. Within twenty minutes, she’d gone from screaming for help to having sex with him. He’d confessed he planned to ruin her, as Kaia had suspected, and somehow managed to brush that bombshell aside and convince her to stay so he could make up for plotting against her. He was unbelievable. She couldn’t stay with him—that was a death sentence or worse. But how could she…
“Here.”
She turned as Roth approached with three thick folders in his arms and a white towel draped over his shoulder.
“Where do you want it?” he asked.
She was taken aback by the size of the files before remembering he’d been watching her family for years. She pointed to the high table with the vase of ruby amaryllis and berry sprigs.
When he set the files on the table, she asked, “What’s…?”
She trailed off as he pressed the edge of the towel between her legs to clean her again. When he was finished, he folded it and placed it on the chair.
“I have some calls to make,” he said gruffly as he stole a kiss. “I’ll be in my office if you need me.”
She watched him walk away, her mouth slack. His easy compliance was suspicious and a little alarming, but she wasn’t to harp on it when answers were in reach. She should run to the bedroom to get pants, but she was afraid he would change his mind.
She grabbed the first folder with her sister’s full name, Ariana Elise Hennessy-Khan, on the tab. She had no idea what to expect, but the succinct report on an appendectomy Ariana had undergone two years ago wasn’t it. A doctor had prescribed OxyContin and fulfilled the prescription for a whole year, with increased doses, before he cut Ariana off. Jasmine flipped through detailed “observation reports,” which listed dates, times, and even the weather when Ariana had met her dealer. Each report was accompanied by photographs. Ariana’s fashionable dealer looked like a socialite, which was beneficial since they usually met in Midtown or the Upper East Side.
Ariana had scheduled appointments with a therapist and a counselor twice this year. As Roth had mentioned last night, both times Rami had been out of town. Her sister hadn’t seen her therapist since Maximus died. She had, however, made time to meet her dealer last week at Bloomingdales, just a few blocks from Hennessy Tower.
Jasmine shuffled through the most recent photos of her sister, who had no idea a PI... or a team of them, was following her around. It was a gross invasion of privacy, but anyone could have done what Roth had—competitors, the press, even Maximus. According to Roth, her father had shielded her when she walked out of their marriage, so he couldn’t locate her. Did Maximus focus exclusively on her and not her sisters because she was the troubled one? Did he get detailed reports on her that included pictures of the men she brought home? It was one thing for her father to read about her sexcapades in her novels, and quite another for him to have seen her wanton behavior in real life. She was irritated by the mortification that engulfed her, even though it was in the past and Maximus was long gone.
She moved onto Rami Khan’s files and examined the photo clipped inside the cover of his folder. It was a Rami she’d never seen before—lanky, with white short shorts and thick, cracked glasses—squinting at the camera. He couldn’t be older than twelve, with his arm around a much taller boy with a big smile. According to the notes, the picture had been taken in Delhi, where Rami grew up with his friend, Anil. After university, they’d moved to Bengaluru, the IT hub of the country, and started their software company.
Jasmine scanned personal emails between Rami and Anil, which showed a massive difference in ambition and hopes for the future of the company. Rami wanted to move to America’s Silicon Valley, while Anil wanted to stay in India and argued Rami was straying from their initial vision. When they failed to agree on a course for the company, Rami offered to buy Anil out of their company, but he refused.
Anil started another company that was more aligned with his values. Everything seemed to be going well until his backers inexplicably pulled out, forcing Anil to compensate with his own money. Anil’s company went through a barrage of strange misfortunes, with clients breaking contracts, a high employee turnover rate, and an accountant who stole a year’s worth of payroll and disappeared into thin air, leaving Anil in dire financial straits. When he went to the bank for a loan, he was denied.
Anil accused Rami of sabotaging his new company by bribing the backers to desert him, steering employees and clients toward other companies, vouching for the thieving accountant, and making his contacts at the bank deny him a loan. Rami denied these allegations and once again offered to buy Anil out of the company since he needed the money. Again, Anil said no.
Their correspondence became increasingly hostile, but things took a turn when Rami threatened to expose an indiscretion that had taken place five years prior. Refusing to give in to Rami’s blackmail, Anil came clean to his wife, which resulted in her leaving him. Anil’s life continued to spiral as he dealt with break-ins, a car accident, and finally, his daughter being kidnapped.
