Page 36 of Billionaire’s Cruelty

Trevon gripped the wheel, driving like he knew exactly where he was going. In reality, there were only two choices—up or down the mountain. He chose down, leaving the estate and its dark secrets behind us.

“I have some news for you.” Trevon announced, his tone sharp and urgent.

I froze, heart pounding in my chest, and gave him a quick nod to continue.

“June and Wendy are on their way to Hong Kong. We should head there as soon as possible.”

“June? Lincoln’s sister?” My stomach twisted in disbelief. “But why?”

“To look for you, you idiot,” he snapped. “Hong Kong is as far as she could go without a visa for China.”

“I…” Words failed me. My thoughts felt tangled and disjointed. I hadn’t even had a chance to process the chaos of my day—or days. How long had it been since I left the United States? Everything had happened so fast. It was all a blur. My fingers instinctively reached for my phone in my pocket— but came up empty.

“You left without a word. No one knew where the fuck you went. June thought you’d been taken and flew out to find you.” Trevon said, his voice low but edged with frustration.

“She did?” The thought made my pulse jump. I shifted on my feet, a nervous energy buzzing through me—like a schoolboy hearing the news about his favorite girl.

“Yes. She showed up at Lincoln’s in the middle of night, begging him to fly her to you on his private jet,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

“No, shit.” Guilt gnawed at me. I had left without words—without a single explanation. I needed to call her. “I should call her.”

My hands darted to my pockets—shirt, jacket—frantic now. “Damn it. Mario smashed my phone at the house.”

“Wait! Don’t tell me your phone is at the crime scene?”

“Fuck.” The weight of it hit me like a punch to the gut.

Trevon gave me a more detailed update about what had happened with June and Wendy on the way to the airport. Unlike Lincoln and I, he didn’t own a private jet, nor was he a member of some exclusive airplane club that could charter him anywhere he wanted to go. He preferred to fly commercial, he said, but we all knew the truth. He didn’t want to raise any alarms or attract attention to his financial status. Trevon simply didn’t like people knowing how rich he actually was.

The next flight to Hong Kong was in three hours, and Trevon had convinced me that flying commercial might be the better option. For one, it wouldn’t look like I was trying to flee the country. Well, flying private wouldn’t seem suspicious either, considering how often I did it—but my head wasn’t actually functioning today after everything that had happened. I trusted Trevon to have my best interests at heart. He wouldn’t do anything to harm me.

Besides, I suspected my mother was already looking for me. Flying private would alert her immediately to my whereabouts, and it wouldn’t take her long to track me down in Hong Kong with her resources. Flying commercial, on the other hand, might buy me some time—long enough for her to believe I was still in Shanghai.

I tried to stay aware of my surroundings, scanning for anyone following us. So far, I hadn’t noticed anyone suspicious—but it was only a matter of time before someone found me. The fact that no one had yet led me to wonder if I had managed to shake off the two hundred pairs of eyes on my payroll. Still, I knew that wasn’t very likely.

Over the years, I’d lost count of how many people my mother and Dave had hired for my security. All I knew was that it never seemed to be enough. And yet, somehow, I didn’t feel like anyone was watching, following or protecting us now.

And Trevon? He didn’t have security of his own. He didn’t believe in it.

“Can they track your phone?” I asked, my voice low.

I frowned as I watched Trevon turn on the navigation app on his phone and type in ‘airport’.

“Why would someone track my phone?” he replied, raising an eyebrow.

He had a point. No one expected Trevon to show up like this. He’d never visited me in Shanghai—ever.

“How did you find me so quickly?”

Trevon flicked on the turn signal, making a smooth left as the navigation app suggested.

“I was in Bangkok when Lincoln called. He wanted me to check on the girls, but the last time I spoke to Wendy, they seemed to be doing fine. So, I figured you might need more help than they do. Besides, no one really knew where the fuck you were.”

“My phone…” I tried to remember the last time I’d used it before Mario smashed it. If I had to guess, it was when I asked Dave to swear to protect June with his life—just before I flew out of America. After that, Clare had handled the rest of my affairs while we were on the jet.

I lowered the electric window, letting the cool fresh air rush in. The lingering scent of cigarettes was starting to get to me. This must have been the housekeeper’s car—but she didn’t seem like the type who smoked.

“I messed up,” I admitted, the words heavy on my tongue.