Lena's POV I turned away from the pillar and headed back to my room. I needed my phone. I needed Grace. She’d know what to say or at least make me laugh long enough to forget about the breakfast interrogation from hell. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and placed a call across to Grace. Just one ring, and I couldn’t stop the words from flowing. “ Mrs. Hale,” Grace called out, suppressing her giggles. “ Fuck that! These people are going to be the death of me,” I boomed, falling on the bed. I heard her gasping, “ I knew it. They gave you poisoned tea, didn't they?” I couldn't hold back my laughter at her insinuations. What poison? “ Girl, your imagination is surely out of the world. Who poisons their son's wife?” “ Oh…then it's worse, right? Girl, I could hop on my car right now and kidnap you before faking your dea
Nathan's POV I stared at the screen, but I wasn’t seeing anything, not really. James from finance was going on and on about quarterly projections, the logistics team was waiting for an update, and all I could do was sit there, barely registering the words flying past me. "Mr. Hale?" someone called. "Mr. Hale, can you head us?" "Perhaps his signal is off..." "MR HALE!" My head snapped up. "What?" There was an awkward pause on the Skype call. James cleared his throat. "We were asking if you'd like us to move forward with the vendor transition." "Yeah. Sure. Do it," I said, rubbing my forehead. "Do whatever." "Alright. Do you think we should continue with the numbers, or...?" "No, end it here. We'll reconvene later. My secretary will send you the details for the next meeting" I clicked the mouse, ending the call before anyone could say an
Nathan's POV "Beware of people around you. You never know who could be the enemy." I stared at the message for longer than I should have. This just confirmed everything that I had feared for so many months. I was living amongst vipers. "Beware of people around you. You never know who could be the enemy." It wasn’t fear that I felt exactly. But a chill settled at the base of my neck, and it hadn’t moved since. I dropped my phone in the passenger seat, tossed the rest of my tennis gear into the trunk and stepped into the driver’s side of my car. I needed to make a call. As soon as I pulled out of the country club lot, I pressed the button on my steering wheel. "Call Adrian King." The line rang twice. "My liege!" Adrian answered cheerfully. "To what do I owe the royal summons?" "
Lena's POVThat fierce gaze was enough to make one shit on her pants. However, I was Lena Carter, not just anyone. “ Lost and came across this dusty library. I would go mad without anything keeping me company,” I let, adjusting my hands while skillfully closing whatever document I just saw.There was a particular picture in one of the emails that stood out. A picture of Nathan and a woman. I couldn't get enough information before Victoria barged in. “ Leave!” Her voice sounded paranoid, as if distraught by something or someone. Well, I was going to do just that even if she doesn't say.As I left, I could feel a suppressed hateful aura around her. Not at me, but at whatever was in the room. Damn! These powerful families surely have it all… secrets, whatever snobbish attitude one can think of.I spent the rest of the day pretending that I wasn’t bothered. I answered emails, read over a few contracts, and even gave some direction
Nathan's POV The whiskey was good, the bar was dim and my best friend refused to shut up. Exactly what I needed to get Lena off my mind, or so I thought. "So let me get this straight," King said, swirling his whiskey glass. "You married Lena Carter. As in, Carter-Carter, daughter of James Carter. Old money, power connections, all that royalty bullshit. That Carter?" I leaned back and gave a slow nod. “The very one.” He whistled and shook his head. “Man. Those people are extremely low key. I even heard the real power doesn't belong to Mr. Carter. Could it be her?” “ Still not sure…” I slurred. Then he let out a grin, his eyes dancing with mischief. “ Dude, you really are something else. That girl is hot, though.” I gave him a look and he held his hands up. “Hey, I’m ju
Lena“I might just cook for all of you one of these days,” I said, smiling at Sebastian across the table. He had this childlike grin plastered on his face, and honestly, that boy needed hobbies that didn’t involve food or video games.Victoria scoffed. “Wonderful. So we’re all dying of food poisoning by tomorrow.”My smile faded, just a little. I turned to look at her, brows lifting. What did she even want from me? A few minutes ago, I was an unworthy daughter-in-law for not cooking. Now, if I did, I was a murderer with a frying pan?“I’m sure her food will be amazing,” Sebastian chimed in, cheerfully ignoring the tension. “I bet she’s one of those girls who watches fancy French cooking videos in her free time.”I blinked at him. “How did you know?”“See?” He clapped his hands together. “I knew it!”Victoria rolled her eyes, clearly over it. “Sebastian, shut up and chew.”He looked wounded. “I’m just trying to build family spirit.”“Chew,” she repeated through gritted teeth.I lowered
Nathan"Don’t trust Sebastian?" Lena frowned at me like I had grown a second head.I nodded once, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my sweatpants. "You heard me.""Hmmm." She crossed her arms and tilted her head. "That’s very rich coming from you. He’s the only person in this house who doesn’t look at me like I crawled out of a sewer!"I almost smiled. How little she knew. "You think playing video games and cracking dumb jokes makes him harmless?""Compared to your stepmother and that circus act you call a family? Yeah, he’s practically a saint."I didn’t answer that. I just shook my head because there was no point explaining the dynamics of my family to her. She wouldn’t understand."Go to sleep, Lena," I said quietly. "We’ll talk later."She muttered something under her breath that sounded like "Hale men and their cryptic warnings," and stomped off toward her room, laptop clutched to her chest like a shield.I chuckled under my breath. The woman had claws.I headed outside and t
Nathan’s POV"King, get in here," I called out.A few seconds later, the door opened, and Adrian King strolled in with a laptop tucked under his arm and a lazy grin plastered on his face. He dropped into the seat across from me and sighed heavily."Morning, sunshine," he said. "I thought you said you didn't want to see me. You look like you haven't slept.""I actually haven't," I muttered, rubbing a hand down my face. "Let's get to it."King set the laptop down, pulled up the file he’d compiled and spun the device around so I could see."Here’s the full list of addresses tied to the burner purchases," he said. "Took some digging, but we got everything that’s even remotely trackable."I scanned through the document quickly and my mood dropped.Out of maybe thirty names, over half weren’t even in the country. Business trips, vacations, study abroad. One clown was on a boat somewhere off the coast of Italy.The rest looked like fake addresses. Burned-out buildings, abandoned houses and e
Lena's POVI stared up at the ceiling for a long time before I finally admitted it to myself: I couldn't stay cooped up in this house anymore. I needed to breathe. I needed to feel like myself again. Grandmother Hale and her rules could go jump off a bridge for all I cared.I hopped into the shower and made the hot water slap some life into me. By the time I was dressed in a pair of gray lady slacks and a black silk top, I actually felt human again. Fake it till you make it, right?I grabbed my bag and headed out. I didn’t get far before I ran straight into Sebastian lounging by the staircase, with his phone clutched in his hand. His eyes went wide when he saw me."Wowwwww," he said, dragging the word out dramatically. "Look at you. Someone is about to break hearts today."I couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks, Sebastian.""Don’t mention it. Just don’t break too many hearts because I’m still trying to recover from the last time," he added with a wink.I rolled my eyes playfully and walk
Nathan’s POV"King, get in here," I called out.A few seconds later, the door opened, and Adrian King strolled in with a laptop tucked under his arm and a lazy grin plastered on his face. He dropped into the seat across from me and sighed heavily."Morning, sunshine," he said. "I thought you said you didn't want to see me. You look like you haven't slept.""I actually haven't," I muttered, rubbing a hand down my face. "Let's get to it."King set the laptop down, pulled up the file he’d compiled and spun the device around so I could see."Here’s the full list of addresses tied to the burner purchases," he said. "Took some digging, but we got everything that’s even remotely trackable."I scanned through the document quickly and my mood dropped.Out of maybe thirty names, over half weren’t even in the country. Business trips, vacations, study abroad. One clown was on a boat somewhere off the coast of Italy.The rest looked like fake addresses. Burned-out buildings, abandoned houses and e
Nathan"Don’t trust Sebastian?" Lena frowned at me like I had grown a second head.I nodded once, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my sweatpants. "You heard me.""Hmmm." She crossed her arms and tilted her head. "That’s very rich coming from you. He’s the only person in this house who doesn’t look at me like I crawled out of a sewer!"I almost smiled. How little she knew. "You think playing video games and cracking dumb jokes makes him harmless?""Compared to your stepmother and that circus act you call a family? Yeah, he’s practically a saint."I didn’t answer that. I just shook my head because there was no point explaining the dynamics of my family to her. She wouldn’t understand."Go to sleep, Lena," I said quietly. "We’ll talk later."She muttered something under her breath that sounded like "Hale men and their cryptic warnings," and stomped off toward her room, laptop clutched to her chest like a shield.I chuckled under my breath. The woman had claws.I headed outside and t
Lena“I might just cook for all of you one of these days,” I said, smiling at Sebastian across the table. He had this childlike grin plastered on his face, and honestly, that boy needed hobbies that didn’t involve food or video games.Victoria scoffed. “Wonderful. So we’re all dying of food poisoning by tomorrow.”My smile faded, just a little. I turned to look at her, brows lifting. What did she even want from me? A few minutes ago, I was an unworthy daughter-in-law for not cooking. Now, if I did, I was a murderer with a frying pan?“I’m sure her food will be amazing,” Sebastian chimed in, cheerfully ignoring the tension. “I bet she’s one of those girls who watches fancy French cooking videos in her free time.”I blinked at him. “How did you know?”“See?” He clapped his hands together. “I knew it!”Victoria rolled her eyes, clearly over it. “Sebastian, shut up and chew.”He looked wounded. “I’m just trying to build family spirit.”“Chew,” she repeated through gritted teeth.I lowered
Nathan's POV The whiskey was good, the bar was dim and my best friend refused to shut up. Exactly what I needed to get Lena off my mind, or so I thought. "So let me get this straight," King said, swirling his whiskey glass. "You married Lena Carter. As in, Carter-Carter, daughter of James Carter. Old money, power connections, all that royalty bullshit. That Carter?" I leaned back and gave a slow nod. “The very one.” He whistled and shook his head. “Man. Those people are extremely low key. I even heard the real power doesn't belong to Mr. Carter. Could it be her?” “ Still not sure…” I slurred. Then he let out a grin, his eyes dancing with mischief. “ Dude, you really are something else. That girl is hot, though.” I gave him a look and he held his hands up. “Hey, I’m ju
Lena's POVThat fierce gaze was enough to make one shit on her pants. However, I was Lena Carter, not just anyone. “ Lost and came across this dusty library. I would go mad without anything keeping me company,” I let, adjusting my hands while skillfully closing whatever document I just saw.There was a particular picture in one of the emails that stood out. A picture of Nathan and a woman. I couldn't get enough information before Victoria barged in. “ Leave!” Her voice sounded paranoid, as if distraught by something or someone. Well, I was going to do just that even if she doesn't say.As I left, I could feel a suppressed hateful aura around her. Not at me, but at whatever was in the room. Damn! These powerful families surely have it all… secrets, whatever snobbish attitude one can think of.I spent the rest of the day pretending that I wasn’t bothered. I answered emails, read over a few contracts, and even gave some direction
Nathan's POV "Beware of people around you. You never know who could be the enemy." I stared at the message for longer than I should have. This just confirmed everything that I had feared for so many months. I was living amongst vipers. "Beware of people around you. You never know who could be the enemy." It wasn’t fear that I felt exactly. But a chill settled at the base of my neck, and it hadn’t moved since. I dropped my phone in the passenger seat, tossed the rest of my tennis gear into the trunk and stepped into the driver’s side of my car. I needed to make a call. As soon as I pulled out of the country club lot, I pressed the button on my steering wheel. "Call Adrian King." The line rang twice. "My liege!" Adrian answered cheerfully. "To what do I owe the royal summons?" "
Nathan's POV I stared at the screen, but I wasn’t seeing anything, not really. James from finance was going on and on about quarterly projections, the logistics team was waiting for an update, and all I could do was sit there, barely registering the words flying past me. "Mr. Hale?" someone called. "Mr. Hale, can you head us?" "Perhaps his signal is off..." "MR HALE!" My head snapped up. "What?" There was an awkward pause on the Skype call. James cleared his throat. "We were asking if you'd like us to move forward with the vendor transition." "Yeah. Sure. Do it," I said, rubbing my forehead. "Do whatever." "Alright. Do you think we should continue with the numbers, or...?" "No, end it here. We'll reconvene later. My secretary will send you the details for the next meeting" I clicked the mouse, ending the call before anyone could say an
Lena's POV I turned away from the pillar and headed back to my room. I needed my phone. I needed Grace. She’d know what to say or at least make me laugh long enough to forget about the breakfast interrogation from hell. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and placed a call across to Grace. Just one ring, and I couldn’t stop the words from flowing. “ Mrs. Hale,” Grace called out, suppressing her giggles. “ Fuck that! These people are going to be the death of me,” I boomed, falling on the bed. I heard her gasping, “ I knew it. They gave you poisoned tea, didn't they?” I couldn't hold back my laughter at her insinuations. What poison? “ Girl, your imagination is surely out of the world. Who poisons their son's wife?” “ Oh…then it's worse, right? Girl, I could hop on my car right now and kidnap you before faking your dea