PROLOGUE
“I’ve been counting down the days until you were released for over a year now. Imagine how surprised I was to learn you’d been released early. Months early. Tell me, why haven’t you come to see me? Were you trying to hide from me?” he sneered as he circled me.
“Because I knew why you wanted to see me. I came up with a plan, but I needed time to put it in place first.”
He laughed cruelly. “And what plan is this?”
I held up my hand to show him the engagement ring on my finger. “To marry into money. I won’t be able to give you everything all at once, but I’ll be able to start paying you.” And I’d stop as soon as I figured out another way to get him off of my back. He blamed me for his brother being sent to prison as well as for the money they lost when their little empire collapsed.
“How much are we talking? And before you say a number, I suggest you choose an amount that’s more than I could make by charging people to fuck you. Because that, my dear, is my plan to recoup my losses.”
Fucking bastard. There was no way I was going to let that happen. Especially when it wasn’t my fault his brother got busted. If it was anyone’s fault, it was Edwin’s. He’s the one who insisted on coming to my house that night. He didn’t like that part of my job was pretending to be in a relationship with another man. He hated it and felt the need to remark his territory the moment he could.
“Twenty thousand a month. I don’t think I can do more than that without raising suspicion. And I can’t start paying you until after I’m married.”
Edgar stopped circling me and took a seat behind his desk. He steepled his fingers and stared at me while he considered my offer.
“Fine. You can have the rest of this month and the next. Then, I expect payment on the first. If you’re late, come up short, or miss a payment, your ass is mine, and everyone else’s.”
* * *
Two years later
“He thinksI’m cheating on him. He cut off my access to all of his accounts,” I said, hating that I was having to ask this man for help.
“That sounds like a personal problem.”
“It is, but it’s one I think you can help with. If you’ll change his will and leave everything to me, I’ll kill him and make it look like an accident.”
Edgar was a lawyer. A crooked one, but a lawyer nonetheless. He was more than capable of doing what I was asking; it was only a question of if he would.
“When you say everything. How much do you mean?”
It was always about money with him.
“A few million. More than enough to pay back what I owe you.” Or what he thought I owed him.
“What if you get caught?”
I smirked. “I won’t.” I had it all planned out. Even if someone suspected I was behind it, there was absolutely no way they could prove it.
“I’ll need a few days.”
“I can’t wait that long. It has to be done before he files for divorce.”
“Fine,” he huffed. “I’ll try to have everything in order tomorrow.”
“Let me know the moment you do.”
* * *
Six months later
“We’ve got a problem,”I said to the man I hated yet relied on.
“You mean you have a problem,” he said and pointed to the breaking news story on the television.
“No, I mean we. That fucking PI his son hired found the original will. He also found out Carter had an appointment with a divorce attorney that was canceled the day after he died. And he put together the connection between you, me, and your brother.”