‘Mira?’ Ashton answered on the first ring.
‘Someone’s been tailing us and they’ve just hit our car. Twice now,’ I said, trying to steady my voice.
‘Send me your location,’ Ashton ordered, his tone going grim.
I shared my location with him at once.
The Camry struck us again, with such force that I gasped and shouted, ‘Faster!’
‘I’m going as fast as I can,’ Kit said, hands shaking. ‘Any faster and we risk flipping.’
‘Head for somewhere with people,’ Ashton said through the line. ‘Get to a crowded area.’
I relayed the instruction to Kit. He slammed the accelerator harder, but we were on a quiet stretch and the Camry had a clear run. We were originally heading out of town, and to turn back towards civilisation would take time we did not have.
The Camry struck us two more times in rapid succession. I lurched up in my sea
Naomi sounded puzzled. ‘What is it? So mysterious that you can’t even let me tell Ryan?’‘I’ll explain everything over dinner. You’re the only one who can help me with this.’‘Okay, okay, don’t worry. I won’t say a word. Where shall we meet?’ Naomi could tell I was serious and quickly agreed.‘You choose. But are you sure it’s alright, in your condition?’ I knew how protective Ryan Fenty was about her and their unborn baby.‘It’s fine, really. Let’s meet at The Galleria. I’ll go there this afternoon to look at some baby things, and we can have dinner when you finish work.’‘Alright, but please be careful. I wouldn’t bother you like this if I had anyone else to ask. I feel terrible asking you to come out while you’re pregnant. Ryan would probably blame me if he found out.’But I needed to know the truth. Ev
‘Genevieve, of course. Who else?’ Rhys didn’t hesitate to tell me.‘So, Genevieve gave you all this?’ I frowned, staring at him in disbelief. ‘She’s the one who gave it to you?’‘Yes, she did. She wants to drive a wedge between you and Ashton. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s all true.’ He seemed past caring about hiding it. ‘I guess she was testing Ashton too. She wanted to see who he would choose to protect—her or you. And she won.’Yeah, she won. That truth was a bitter pill to swallow.‘At least in this, Ashton was completely on her side. He shielded her, even found a scapegoat to take the fall. She gave me this because she wanted to taunt you. She’s basically telling you to bow out.’Every word felt like a knife twisting in my chest.‘Stop it!’ I said, unable to take any more.‘Denial doesn&rsquo
A slight smile touched Rhys’s lips when he saw me. ‘You came.’He quickly got out of the car and came to my side. ‘Mirabelle… you still trust me, then.’‘I don’t trust you. I just want to see what game you’re playing,’ I said, my voice cold.‘That’s alright. You’ll believe that I’m not playing games this time. You’ll believe coming to lunch with me was worth it. Where would you like to go?’ His eyes were soft, his tone gentle.‘The restaurant across the road,’ I said. I was only here for the truth, not for him.‘Alright.’The restaurant was fairly busy. I asked for a private booth.Once we’d ordered, I got straight to the point. ‘Where’s this proof you mentioned?’‘Are you really in that much of a hurry?’ Rhys looked at me with wounded eyes, but I felt nothing.&lsqu
I spent the night tossing and turning.Catherine was behind everything?Somehow, part of me refused to believe it.It wasn’t that I still had any sisterly feelings for her. It was just that… it didn’t seem like her.She was catty and vengeful, and she wasn’t above resorting to low tricks to get at me.But her tactics usually involved spreading rumours, backstabbing, or sabotaging my relationships.I’d have more readily believed if she’d tried to seduce Ashton than hired a gunman to kill me.Where would she even go to find people like that?But Ashton’s network of contacts was far more powerful than mine, and I had no reason to doubt what his men had dug up.Besides, Catherine had confessed, hadn’t she?Shaking those thoughts away, I dragged myself out of bed when the alarm rang.Against the doctors’ wishes and mine, Ashton had checked out of the hospita
Harry entered the room.‘Mr Laurent, we’ve confirmed that the ones who sabotaged Mrs Laurent’s studio, and the ones who tried to run her down and then shot at her… they were all hired by the same guy. He’s a middleman, and he works for… Genevieve Crawford.’I stared back at Harry. ‘No mistakes?’Truth was, I trusted Harry’s competence. He wouldn’t get something like this wrong.‘No. I’ve checked multiple times. It’s her. We also have a witness. Should I bring him in?’I rubbed my throbbing head; the wound in my abdomen ached dully. ‘Not now.’‘What would you like me to do next?’ Harry asked.‘Nothing. Not yet.’‘Understood.’‘And Mira must not find out about this.’Harry nodded. ‘Got it.’‘You can go now.’Once alone, I picked
As expected, the past month’s footage showed nothing unusual.It was no surprise, yet I still felt a stab of disappointment.Priya broke down. ‘I’m sorry, Mira. I was the one who handled the job sheet, but I don’t know how it was switched. I don’t know where this forgery came from. I… I’m so sorry.’She clung to me, crying helplessly.I handed her a tissue. ‘Don’t panic. And don’t cry. That won’t solve anything, and I don’t blame you for this.’I knew she was afraid I’d make her bear the damages. Penelope’s order was huge, all bespoke, using rare stones. If Priya had to pay, she’d have to sell a kidney or two.After I reassured her several times that she wouldn’t be liable, she calmed down and her tears ebbed.‘We’ll get to the bottom of this,’ I told her.She nodded, though doubt clouded her eyes. &lsq