**Olivia POVI sat down at the end of the table, Ken propped up in a chair beside me. Joan had tried to usher Ellis near her at the head of the table but he sat firmly beside me, instead. I felt calmer with him here, even if he wasn't feeling the same level of relaxation I wanted him to.He had reason to be upset and anxious, but he would have to endure it either way.The appetizers came first and while everyone was given a lovely array of fish and caviar, Ken and I were given some kind of mushy vegetable mix. I swallowed my concerns and just looked at my plate, I turned to help Ken as the squash flopped off of his fork."Mommy, I don't like this," he whispered to me, as though to not insult the chef. I reached for his plate, only to hear a scoff come from across the table."Little girl," Joan spoke. I somehow knew she was referring to me and glanced over, her beautiful eyes catching mine. "Have you no etiquette?"I gave Ellis a helpless look while he refused to touch his refined
**Ellis POVI admired the bedroom they chose for me. It had large windows and gold framing around the walls. I was surprised to see a few portraits up, one adorned with my father and one of his wives.It was hard to remember which wife it was, he had so many, but I recognized my father instantly.He had a tall, lanky body that looked well with his expensive, lavish suit. He wore pinstripes like some kind of gangster in the city, and he had the most blue eyes I'd ever seen. I couldn't see myself in his image, but I could remember myself chasing after his approval as a child.I knew he had a lot of children, and swimming in that sea was never easy. I never had a sibling I could trust with everyone vying for my grandfather's wealth.When they all began to die, I stopped attending their funerals.My father suffered his own fate and I wish I could be upset about it, but he had unleashed enough suffering into the world, pricking poison into the veins of this family every week, and I had to l
**Olivia POVI opened the door to our room, Ken clinging to my leg with little fists scrunched into the fabric of my jeans. I was certainly underdressed for dinner, but it felt like I was still underdressed for this room. The view was gorgeous, looking over the farmland that sat adjacent to the mansion.I knew the Peterson's had money, but this took things to the extreme. I could see for miles before I finally found Ken and my bags tossed recklessly under the bed. I unpacked our things into the large wardrobe doors and Ken scoped the place out."Mommy," he grumbled, shivering as he looked up at a tall portrait on the wall. "This place is creepy.""Why do you say that, son?"He pointed to the man in the photo, surrounded by children of varying ages. I stalked closer to get a look of it as well, surprised by the amount of well-behaved children in one snapshot of a picture.I could find Ellis in the front, his small tuxedo no bigger than Ken's from the engagement party. He had a beautiful
I couldn't fall asleep. As much trouble as Joan had caused, I couldn't shake the feeling that she was right. Maybe the Peterson family was in danger again from the threat of Bennett Klein. Bennett was a dangerous man that had killed people and tried to steal Ellis' fortune by kidnapping our son.Maybe Ellis would need someone else with him to help secure Peterson's future. I couldn't entertain such thoughts. As long as Ellis would want me, then I would stay. Not only would I stay, but I would fight like hell to do whatever he would need from me. I wanted to be by his side as long as he wanted me there. As I turned over, I caught Ken sleeping on the long couch near the balcony doors. He didn't like sleeping in bed, mentioning the smell of this room like it was cloaked with mildew. I know he just missed his bed at Ellis' home, but he was sticking it out for me. My hands toyed with the sheets, my eyes clinging to the ceiling while my mind was riddled with pressure. My phone humm
I woke up to Ken jumping into bed while Ellis held me firmly. Both of my guys were awake and I dazzled in their holds. Even at the Peterson house with so much bad energy flowing through this place, I still found time to be with my favorite guys. I wanted to savor it forever, leaning on Ellis' bare chest while he held me, Ken bouncing in my lap. The moment was stolen from me with a demure knock on the bedroom door. I set Ken aside and walked to answer it, but Ellis beat me to it. He flung the door open and leaned intimidatingly on the doorframe. My body shivered at the sight of Joan in the hall, giving Ellis a look of resentment as he answered the door with just his trousers on. She looked to us both like she had to reform her words with Ellis being here. "If you don't have anything important to say," Ellis started first. "Then I think you should leave Olivia alone today."I bit back a cough of laughter. The look on Joan's face went even more sour and it pleased me more than I thou
I hissed as I dropped the gun at last, feeling the new audience in the bedroom begin to surround me. My heart raced out of my chest and I lowered myself out of protection. At least in the large group of onlookers, Ken was not a part of this witch hunt. He would be oblivious to the setup happening here today. I couldn't escape all of these people, either. Even if I wanted to run away from this obvious attempt to frame me, I feared it would work. Would the police believe me when I would tell them it was all a lie? I held the gun and Herman now laid with a bullet wound to the chest. They knew I was the easiest target to blame. That's why Joan sent me here in the first place!Joan put away her phone when the wailing to Ellis had finally run short. It wasn't long before I could track the sound of his steps coming up the stairs. He raced into the room, nearly knocking Joan off balance, and rushing to his grandfather's side. I watched in dismayed horror as he worked to find a pulse but w
I hadn't slept since the moment Herman was found out to have been shot. Thankfully, he was still alive and being looked over at the hospital but that didn't settle my nerves. Ellis was still fighting to make sense of this tragedy and I had to face my own reality. If I never came to the Peterson household, would Herman be in this state?"Mommy, are you coming with me?" Ken pondered. I could only shake my head at first, busy wiping my damp cheeks. "No, Ken. You have to go with Luke. He's going to take you to your grandparent's house and you'll be safe there.""What about you?" he blurted, his wide eyes wandering down to his car seat like he would stage an escape if I didn't reply to his satisfaction. "Are you going to be safe here?""I've got her," Ellis said, kissing his son on his disheveled scalp. "Mommy is safe with me, I promise, Ken. She's going to be fine. You're going to go with Luke and have a good time, okay?"He nodded but didn't look fully convinced. "I love you, mommy and
**Ellis POV My eyes opened and shut, but everything was a blur. I couldn't make sense of where I was or anything around me. I must have been somewhere between waking and sleeping. Something was missing. No… Someone was missing. She was screaming.I jerked awake, reaching my arms out to grasp her, all I clutched was empty space, as if the woman I reached for had suddenly disappeared. I tried to think who I was expecting to hold onto, but a splitting headache gripped me and I lay back on the bed.I had hangovers and headaches before, but nothing like the skull splitting pain I felt as I closed my eyes and put my hand to my head. I didn't remember drinking the night before but I swore it would be the last time I touched a drink for quite some time. Then I felt the bandage on my head and realized that somehow I had gotten hurt. But I couldn't remember how. "Ellis?" I felt my body go rigid at the unexpected sound of a female voice beside me. I hadn't noticed her in the brief moments my