Chapter 17
SIMEON
As I bundle Alice into the car, I congratulate myself on my quick thinking. If she saw what happened to her assistant friend, my life wouldn’t be worth living.
Her friend, for what of a better word, was duly restrained by one of my men, preventing her from doing anything, and only when my car has left the city is he under instruction to release her and join the rest of us.
I always knew Alice would try something. Her easy acceptance of her position was the red flag I needed. I watched her select armfuls of clothes without even a cursory glance, making sure the simple outfit of jeans and a sweater was firmly disguised at the bottom of the pile.
My men were already in place and were instructed to do so before we even left the hotel. I am always three steps ahead, and I read Alice like an open book.
I play to my advantage all the time and rather than be pissed with her constant fighting of the situation; I understand and adore it.
We race out of the city, and Alice appears a little calmer.
“Will you really help me?”
“Of course.”
“Do you believe my mom is alive, or am I chasing a ghost?”
“I wouldn’t rule anything out. Your father spun a web not many could break free from, and he was the kind of man to take his time in devouring anyone caught up in that.”
“Did you know him?”
She sounds surprised, and I shake my head. “No, only men like him. It’s how they become so successful, plus my father has done his homework and your father was so corrupt it was admirable.”
“Corrupt?” She sounds shocked, and I measure my tone.
“He didn’t get to be the richest man in the world by hard work alone. Opportunity, making his own breaks and exploiting others, played a huge part in that.”
“How do you know?”
She doesn’t even sound angry, merely curious, and I shrug.
“He was married three times. Your mom was the first, and she brought a huge amount of money into the marriage courtesy of her father.”
“The Goldsworthy’s?”
“Yes. That enabled Enrico to form his company, and to many it would have been enough. He bought a diamond mine and could have retired on the proceeds of that, but it wasn’t enough for a man with ambition.
When your mom passed, he already had her replacement lined up and married Edwina De Vere, who brought with her a huge legacy.
The hotel chain is worth billions and as the only daughter of a doting father, she wanted for nothing. ”
“Then why did she kill herself?”
She references Edwina’s suicide, and I choose my words carefully.
“You only have your father’s word on that.”
Her shocked gasp echoes around the confined space, and her voice shakes as she whispers, “Are you saying she was—murdered?”
“It’s possible.”
I shift to face her and note the frightened eyes staring back at me and I’m shocked when I reach for her, pulling her against me in an act of comfort I’m unused to.
“Her death enabled Enrico to hold on to his daughter and marry the next woman to complete his empire. Priscilla Van Der Hudson tossed many more millions onto the pile, courtesy of her oil billionaire father, Walter. Enrico now had the means to expand his empire exponentially, and he had all the cards in his hand to ensure the cash kept on rolling in.”
“I don’t understand.”
She is slumped against me and for once I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying a different kind of intimacy.
She sure beats Jack to speak to, and I register how protective I am over her.
It’s not just because of the money either.
It’s her. She is so fragile inside despite her hard exterior, and I admire the way she never backs down.
She fights for what she believes in, and that is what I like most about her.
“Think about it, Alice. If any one of his wives left with their daughters, Enrico would lose out on the inheritance. With the mothers out of the way, the money would automatically go to the child. As their father, he would control their trust funds until the child turned twenty-one, giving him a constant cash flow to invest in his business.”
“But Priscilla Van Der Hudson isn’t dead; she ran away.”
“Because she was smart.”
“And Morgan isn’t an heiress; she brought nothing to the table.”
She references her stepmother, and I tighten my grip on her shoulders as I hiss, “That woman brought something different to their relationship. She brought her sharp and devious mind. That would have been more valuable to Enrico than the money he already had, and to answer your question, yes, Priscilla ran away, but she never once tried to see her daughter. It appears that she made a deal with the devil for her freedom, which is why the entire inheritance hinges on your younger sister.”
“I’m sorry, Simeon, but I’m getting a headache. This is too much if I’m honest, but why is Tiffany the hinge as you say?”
I smile to myself because Alice is already done with this conversation. Her weariness is evident as she believes I am talking shit.
“Because I’m guessing that was Morgan’s idea, knowing that it would be easier to take one sister out than all three.”
“Wait, what?”
She pulls away and stares at me in horror. “You mean Tiffany is in danger?”
“You are all in danger because if the terms of your father’s will are met, Morgan will lose control and her access to billions. If Tiffany doesn’t marry and bear a child, even if the rest of you do, the inheritance no longer stands and Morgan gets everything.”
“Oh my god, Simeon!”
Her tears tug on my heartstrings because I’m not callous enough not to be affected when an angel’s heart breaks. If anything, it touches me deep inside and powers up the part of my soul that remains dormant most of the time.
The part of me that has compassion and emotion, and as she falls against me and sobs on my shoulder, my arms close around her instinctively. A surge of emotion hits me as I make a vow that Morgan will not be successful.
My family is the shield these girls will hide behind while we fight for their rights—hell, fight for their lives and for the first time since I learned of this mission, my respect for my father grows exponentially.
He was right. It is better in our hands than in our enemies’ and that also goes for the three angels because imagining them navigating the horrors of this life without our protection scares the fuck out of me and not many things have that pleasure.