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I raised an eyebrow, my tone dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, but it is, Maura. You see, you've made it my business by coming to L.A. and messing with Blake."
Her face paled and she reached for a Chanel bag. “How much do you want, Mr. Lancaster?” she said calmly, obviously well versed in the art of paying people off. Hey, at least I’d upgraded from “boy” to “Mr.” This was getting serious.
“I would never take a penny from you. Especially knowing that all of this,” I gestured to the wealth around me, “is nothing more than a façade. In reality, you both live paycheck to paycheck, and you've been siphoning money from the very charities that Maura is on the board for."
Now they both looked sufficiently terrified. Their veneer of icy poise had shattered, and pure fear was lurking in their eyes now. Maura was frantically gazing around the room, as if she expected hidden cameras to be recording our conversation.
"Now," I said, leaning back in my chair, "here's how this is going to work. You will sign these documents, effectively disowning any claim you have to Blake as her adoptive parents. You will promise to never contact her again, and you will ensure that she is left in peace."
Maura stared at the documents, her hands trembling as she reached for a pen. "What are you going to do with what you know?" she hissed as she frantically signed the document without a thought.
It wasn’t a surprise, but I hated how easily she could cast aside Blake.
Blake was priceless. Worth more than anything else in their pathetic life.
I chuckled darkly. "Stay away from Blake and you won’t have to find out.”
Blake was obviously over eighteen and no longer had to listen to the Shepfields. But simply having them as her adoptive parents legally, it was like a dark cloud hovering over her life.
Now she would be free.
I grabbed the documents, relishing in the sweet taste of victory. The Shepfields, who had once held so much power over her, were now atmymercy. And I had every intention of making sure they understood the consequences of ever crossing her path again.
Their faces were etched with defeat as I rose from my seat, leaving them to contemplate the ruins of their carefully constructed world.
Eventually I would leak all the information about who the Shepfields really were, let Blake relish the satisfaction of seeing the mighty fall…
But for now, it would be fun for them to live in misery.
Just as Blake had her entire life with them.
CHAPTER24
BLAKE
Iwoke up, my chest heaving as I stared around the room. Our room. He’d brought me back in here.Again.
I was wrapped in his arms.
And I didn’t try to get out of them.
It was the only time I allowed myself to relax in his presence–when he was asleep, and couldn’t see the automatic reaction I had to his touch, the way his heartbeat was my nighttime soundtrack, the way my body basked in his warmth as if it didn’t have a touch.
I’d woken from a nightmare. I’d been trapped in a speeding car, hurtling down an unending, treacherous road. The brakes had been useless, the steering wheel stuck, and I’d had no choice but to endure it. To wait for the tragedy that lay at the end of the journey.
I didn’t need someone to tell me what the dream had meant. I was well aware of the lack of control I was feeling in my life at the moment.
“Blake,” he whispered in his sleep, pulling me closer to his chest, his nose sliding along the back of my neck.
A soft sob slipped from my mouth and I slapped my hand on top of it, trying to stop the sound.
I didn’t want him to wake up. I didn’t want to break the spell of these nights, when I could take comfort in his arms, pretend that he was just the love of my life and not the man who’d destroyed me.
The next morning, I stood in front of the mirror, just staring at myself. He was at practice, and I…I was alone with my demons. I had a shoot in an hour. But instead of getting ready, I was standing there, ripping myself apart.
I had almost started to like myself. Because Ari had liked me. Not just liked me, he’d told me I wasperfect.
But now I knew he was a liar. And all the pretty words he’d said…the ones that I’d let in, allowed myself to start to believe…
