Chapter 4 #2
“Thriller,” he answered without skipping a beat.
Sierra aimed the remote at the television before she flopped onto the bed next to him. “Oh, good. There’s one I’ve been wanting to see about a woman who kills her stepbrother.”
He snapped his gaze to her, his features pinching before he glanced at Julia. “Please don’t leave me with her.”
A chuckle escaped her lips. “You’ll be fine.”
“Should have picked the rom-com, doc,” Alicia said.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Harrington, but there is someone here to see you. I have asked them to wait in the living room,” Worthington said.
“Oh, okay, thank you.” She squeezed Alicia’s arm. “Want me to walk you back to your room on my way down?”
“Nah, I’m going to stay and watch the show.” She poked a finger toward Kyle and Sierra’s bickering over the volume.
“Suit yourself,” Julia said with a grin as she left her sister behind with her stepchildren.
She tugged her phone from her pocket as she walked, spotting a message from Grant. Lydia got her twenty-five percent. Board meeting tonight at seven. I probably won’t see you until after .
Her heart dropped as she read the words. From this distance, she couldn’t do much for him, and the delay in response probably hadn’t helped. She typed a quick response before she descended the stairs. Sorry, settling Kyle at home. Where are you at with your stock buyback?
She shoved the phone into her pocket and hurried down the stairs for her mystery visitor. As she stepped into the living room, her jaw dropped open. “Ethan?”
The man twisted from viewing the massive wedding photo hanging on the wall to smile at her. “Juju. Hey, I’m glad to see you. I was worried I had the wrong mansion, but the giant picture seemed to confirm it.”
“No, right mansion,” she said with a chuckle as she pulled him into a hug. “Are you here to see Ally?”
“She’s here?” he asked, pulling back.
“She is. She’s staying with us. I assume you’re here to see her, right?”
“Uh…” He hesitated, his gaze going to his boots. “I…wanted to talk to you first. See how she is.”
“Well, she’s…upset. But she’s been busy, so…”
“Busy moving on, huh?” he said, his voice bitter.
“No, actually, busy helping me rescue my stepson who was kidnapped and nearly killed.”
Ethan’s eyes went wide as he stared at her. “Are you serious?”
Julia nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. The trouble facing the Harringtons hasn’t yet come to an end. Ally was very helpful, though, in rescuing Kyle.”
“Wow. I…I hadn’t realized how serious things were.”
Julia sucked in a breath, forcing a smile on her face. “Well, she’s been very helpful, but…that’s not what you’re here to talk about. I think you should talk to her.”
“Uh, Juju, I don’t know about that.”
“I do. You two need to talk. You need to figure things out.” She slid her hand into Ethan’s and tugged him toward the door.
“But where?”
“Here. You’re both here. You’re not going to be working. Take the time off to work on your marriage. And you’re welcome to stay here.”
“Here?” he asked, his gaze floating up to the high ceiling in the foyer. “Are you sure Grant’s going to be okay with that?”
“Yep, I’m sure. He was okay with Ally, wasn’t he?”
“Oh, uh…good point.”
Julia grinned at him as she dragged him up the stairs and through the halls. They snaked toward Kyle’s room. The sound of bickering reached their ears. Alicia stepped back into the hall with a chuckle. “There’re going to kill each other.” The grin left her face as she stared at Ethan. “Ethan!”
“Hey, Ally,” he answered. “Can we talk?”
“Uh–”
Julia nodded at her before she pushed her closer to Ethan. “Go talk. Ethan, I’ll have a separate room made up for you in case you two want some space.”
“Thanks,” he said, his voice uncertain.
“Uh, my room’s this way,” Alicia answered, her voice equally unsure.
Julia smiled at her sister and brother-in-law as they headed down the hall together, a mix of hope churning with a heaviness in her heart.
She hoped they could find some peace or at least come to some conclusions about their relationship.
As their footsteps receded, the strains of the sibling argument reached her ears again.
“It is creepy, Kyle. How is it not creepy?” Sierra asked.
“It’s not. She keeps showing up at the bar he works at. It looks like she’s interested in him.”
“Except she’s not.”
As she leaned against the cool wall, the weight of the day pressed down on her.
Even the banter floating from Kyle’s room couldn’t mask the undercurrent of fear for Harrington Global’s fate.
Julia heaved a sigh before her chiming phone drew her attention.
She tugged it from her pocket, spotting a dire message from Grant about Lydia’s ownership of the company.
A message from Alex also awaited her. Got news. Call me ASAP.
Julia swallowed hard at the cryptic words. Coupled with Grant’s message about Lydia now owning over one-third of the stock, it painted a chilling picture of what was about to happen. And she felt powerless to stop it.
The device clutched in her hand felt like both a lifeline and a harbinger of doom all at once. Alex’s message could either be the key to saving Harrington Global, or the final nail in its coffin.