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I nod, clenching my jaw. “Yes.”

“Uh huh. Well, I’m sure this was all kept very hush hush, because of who she is. Never brought before any type of official medical board or even the police. A team of doctors that she’d been taking her child to got together, compared notes and eventually questioned her. Sounds like she was outraged and claimed it must’ve been some sort of mistake. I’m thinking she most likely paid them off and then it was done. She was off the hook and the allegations disappeared.”

Such bullshit. Money is most definitely power. Money buys you everything you could ever want. Even when you get caught trying to poison your child, you’re able to pay off a team of doctors—people who are supposed to protect the ill and the hurt—and take care of things with a few quiet payments. Sweeping everything under the rug, never to be mentioned again.

My father continues skimming the documents and I let him. I’m too angry to try and read at the moment. My hands are curled into fists and I pound one on the edge of the chair over and over. Harder and harder. Until it starts to hurt.

The woman should pay for what she’s done to her daughter. Sylvie is a fucked-up mess, thanks to her mother. I know she’ll eventually heal. That everything will be okay because I’m going to take care of her.

But I will never rest, knowing that woman merely exists. Living in the same city as us. No wonder Sylvie wanted to leave.

Maybe we should both leave. Go to her house in California and hide away in the forest. I could make something work. My father won’t want me to leave, but I could figure something out.

Eventually.

“That’s about the most scandalous thing I can find here,” Dad says as he flips through the papers. “The divorce looks like a doozy. He paid her a lot of money. Alimony and child support, which is hilarious, considering none of those kids lived with her. They were all away at school. The child support eventually stopped, but she’s still getting the alimony. Plus a fat settlement check. She’s definitely not hurting for money.”

“She comes from a wealthy family too. The woman will never be broke,” I say absently, fixing my gaze on the window to my right, staring at the city. Sylvia is out there somewhere, doing God knows what. “I want a tail on her.”

“Are you serious? Why?”

I return my attention to my father. “I don’t trust her. She wants to kill my future wife, and I refuse to give her the opportunity to do so. Not on my watch.”

“That’ll cost you.”

“I don’t care.” Not like I spend my money much anyway.

“How long do you want someone to follow her?”

Till she’s dead.

“I don’t know. Until I feel like she’s no longer a threat.” I rise to my feet. “If you won’t put it together, I will.”

“Calm down. I’ll help you. I’ll contact the PI right now. I know he’s got an entire staff that does surveillance.” My father slaps the file shut and hands it over to me. “I’ll have them start ASAP.”

“Perfect.” I take the file from him. “Thanks.”

“You’re going to a lot of effort over this girl,” Dad observes.

“She’s the woman I’m going to marry. Someday, she’ll be the mother of my children.” I can feel my blood pressure rise, and I take a deep breath, refusing to let the old man work me into a froth. “I would destroy this city with my bare hands if it meant I could keep her safe.”

He watches me for a moment before he slowly starts to shake his head. “A liability, I tell you.”

“I don’t care what you think.” I slap the file against my chest. “She’s not a liability to me.”

* * *

My father informsme the surveillance is in place, but it doesn’t feel like enough.

So I make my way to Sylvia’s apartment building, parking out in front of it and lying in wait. I’ve got the window down, no music playing. Just the noise of the street keeping me company. The occasional siren. The sound of voices talking as people walk by. I barely look at my phone, too focused on the double doors that lead inside, just waiting for Sylvia Lancaster to make her appearance.

With my luck, I’ll never see her.

I should be working. Or spending time with Sylvie. Instead, I’m sitting in one of my father’s cars, watching the comings and goings of the elite as they enter and exit the building. There are two doormen working the front, both of them elderly. I could take them if I wanted to. Not that I plan on it.

But I do notice there’s no actual security standing outside the building. Though nothing this high-end would go without a security detail. There is far too much money in this building to go unprotected.

Not that I’m interested in anyone’s money. More like I just want access to Sylvia. Just for a few minutes. I want to give her a piece of my mind, and tell her to stay away from Sylvie for good. I mean fucking business, and she needs to witness it.


Tags: Monica Murphy Romance