Chapter 23
Asher
Ethan slides a thick file across the conference table. I stare at it for several seconds before opening it.
The contents don't surprise me. At this point, very little about Tristan does. Still, seeing the numbers laid out in black and white leaves an unpleasant taste in my mouth.
How can one man have so many gambling debts, private lenders, and high-interest loans all at the same time? And they’re all overdue.
I thought Tristan was responsible because he acted like he was. I didn’t know I had to also financially babysit him.
He has made enough bad decisions to make even the most reckless person pause. No doubt, the business he was trying to get me to finance was another of his schemes.
Ethan shifts slightly in his chair. “Most of this accumulated over the last three years.”
I flip through another page. However, the deeper I go, the worse it gets. Even for Tristan, that's impressive.
“He refinanced several times,” Ethan continues. “When traditional lenders stopped approving him, he started borrowing elsewhere.”
My jaw tightens as I think about all the loan sharks he’s involved with. It also takes me back to how he’d used Roxanne and left her with a debt that wasn’t hers to pay.
Anger flickers through me all over again. For a moment, I want to put a pause on all I’m trying to do for Tristan and just let him rot. However, I still feel bad about never being able to be a real brother to him.
I close the file. For several moments, silence fills the room.
Ethan watches me carefully. “Do you want me to continue digging?”
I think about it, then I shake my head. “No.”
I already know what I'll find. More lies and debts, and I’ve heard enough. At some point, the responsibility becomes Tristan's. Not mine.
Once Ethan leaves, the financial analyst, Cole, arrives. The meeting lasts nearly an hour, and we focus on asset restructuring and debt consolidation.
By the end of it, one thing becomes painfully clear: Tristan can be saved from his debts if I step in. However, he won’t be able to avoid being charged with identity fraud.
I don’t even feel too good about helping him, but I can’t help the disappointment I feel. Despite everything, part of me had hoped my brother would eventually become someone better.
Instead, I'm sitting here discussing rescue plans for a grown man who keeps setting his own life on fire.
When the meeting finally ends, I make my decision to do my best for him while also letting him take responsibility for his own crimes.
After that, we're done. I won’t be cleaning up his messes anymore. I owe myself and Roxanne that much.
The thought comes unexpectedly to me.
Yet it lingers.
If there's one thing this entire situation has taught me, it's that my choices don't only affect me anymore. I now have Roxanne, our baby, and Felix to look after.
I glance toward my phone. A small frown settles on my face when I don’t see any text.
Roxanne still hasn't replied. I sent her three messages over the last two hours. The first question was how she felt. The second reminder was to eat lunch. The third was because she ignored the first two.
Still nothing.
Ordinarily, I wouldn't worry, but she's pregnant and didn’t look so good this morning when I left home. She had nearly fallen asleep against my shoulder during breakfast, which is why I had her stay home from work.
And now I'm worrying again.
Damn it.
I unlock my phone as my concern grows. Finally, I text Mrs. Whitmore, the housekeeper. Her response arrives almost immediately.
‘Ms. Sinclair left the house around eleven.’
I stare at the message and quickly send a reply. ‘Where?’
Another text arrives. ‘She said she had errands.’
I exhale slowly and put my phone down. I reassure myself that she's a capable adult and doesn't need me monitoring her movements every second of the day.
Besides, she has security, whom I assigned personally. They’re the best available.
I decide to focus on my upcoming meeting with Lucien Vale from Vale & Crown. I won’t be shocked if he suddenly walks into the conference room now, seeing as I’ve been holding off on our meetings for a while now.
Barely two minutes later, my phone rings. I answer immediately when I see that it's from Jack.
“Sir.”
The tone of his voice makes every muscle in my body tense.
“What happened?”
There’s a long pause before he lets out a heavy breath. “We've lost Ms. Sinclair.”
“What do you mean you’ve lost her? What is she? An object!”
I hear Jack gulp loudly from the other end. “We had visual confirmation less than fifteen minutes ago. She entered a pharmacy, but she never exited."
My heart slams against my ribs, and my legs nearly give way.
“What do you mean she never exited?”
“We checked all exits. Reviewed immediate surveillance. We believe she may have been taken through a service entrance.”
Taken.
A sharp pain pierces through my heart as I hear that word. I push away from the table so quickly that my chair crashes into the wall behind me.
Every instinct inside me is screaming, but I try to remain calm.
“Find her.”
“We're trying?—”
“Then try harder!” I snap.
I end the call and immediately start tracking her phone. However, there’s no signal from her. The device is off.
A sick feeling settles into my stomach as I run a hand through my hair. This can't be happening.
My phone vibrates again, and I quickly look at it. It’s a text message from an unknown number. The moment I open the message, my gut clenches. It’s an image. A picture of Roxanne.
She’s bound to a chair, her wrists tied behind her back. A strip of tape is across her mouth, and her hair is disheveled. One side of her face is bruised.
The fear evident in her eyes sends my blood raging. For a moment, I lose all ability to breathe as I stare at the image.
My chest feels like it's being crushed from the inside. Just thinking of Roxanne in the midst of this brutal abductor and alone hurts me beyond measure.
Every protective instinct I possess erupts simultaneously.
Another message arrives.
‘Industrial Sector, Pier 42. Come alone. Twenty million in unmarked bearer bonds if you want to see your girl and your bastard breathe again. You have one hour. If I see a single cop, they die.’
I read the message several times. My hand tightens around the phone so hard it cracks the case.
Someone is going to die.
The thought arrives with terrifying clarity. Someone is going to die for this.
“Asher.”
Lucien’s voice cuts through the haze.
I hadn't even realized he'd entered. He takes one look at my face and immediately knows something is wrong.
“What happened?”
I hand him the phone. Lucien gasps. ‘Pier 42. That’s abandoned territory near the shipping yards. What are you planning on doing?”
I pace about the room, my mind spinning into an unhinged frenzy. “I have an hour. Right now, I should just go there.”
Lucien tilts his head to the side.
“I have fifteen million in the office safe, I can wire the rest—I have to go right now.”
“You want to go there!”
“Of course I have, they have Roxanne! I need to get her out of there first and get her to safety.”
Then I can plot how I’ll kill every single one of those assholes who dared to touch Roxanne.
“You cannot go in there blind with twenty million dollars. If you walk into an ambush alone, they will kill you, take the money, and eliminate the witnesses. You know how these bastards operate,” Lucien snaps.
I pause, biting back a curse. I know this quite well, but for some reason, I don’t want to waste time being logical right now. I just want Roxanne out of there.
Lucien shakes his head. “It’s true what they say that men lose their minds when they fall in love.”
“What? What are you…”
I stop talking and think back on his words. I clutch my chest as the pain in my heart doubles. I gasp, wondering how I didn’t realize this sooner.
“I love her.”
“Now you’re acting crazy. What happened to the smart-ass businessman Alexander described you as?” Lucien says, shaking his head. “Now I’m rethinking doing business with you.”
My jaw tightens. I couldn’t care less about impressing Lucien right now. Every second we're standing here feels unbearable. Roxanne is out there, scared and hurt.
Lucien places both his hands on my shoulders. “We’ll have to get the police involved discreetly. We have our ways, Asher. I mean, you didn’t become a billionaire by letting dumb thugs fool you.”
As much as Lucien is getting on Mt nerves right now, I know he’s telling the truth. So I calmed down and called Jack back to the office to come up with the rescue plan.
As we continue with the plan, I allow myself the smallest fraction of hope. And God help whoever thought they could take Roxanne Sinclair from me because they're about to discover exactly how far I'll go to get her back.