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THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR 227
“Oh my God,” I whispered.“So Marta or Vincenzo?” Sebastian asked.“They’d make the most sense, seeing as they’ve both conveniently ‘disappeared,’” Connor said, then turned to Bert. “This has to be enough reasonable doubt to get me acquitted.”“Maybe. It’s pretty conspiracy theory-ish, though, so you never know how that’s going to play with a jury. But that’s not the most pressing problem we need to deal with right now.”Connor laughed bitterly. “Making sure I don’t go to jail for killing my father isn’t the most pressing problem we’ve got?”“It’s the biggest, just not the most pressing.” Bert sighed. “I think they’re going to try to deny you bail.”Connor stared. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”“I already talked to the DA. You’re a billionaire with limitless resources, charged with murder. That makes you a flight risk, and he’s going to press the judge for no bail.”“You think the judge will agree?”Bert raised his hands and shrugged, like Who knows?“This is bullshit!” Connor raged.
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR 228
Johnny and Sebastian were long gone. Thirty feet away, Bert was arguing with someone on the phone as we stood in front of police headquarters. Connor’s bodyguard Armin stood with me, scanning the surroundings for any potential threats. I thought about telling him not to bother, that if Miranda wanted me dead she would have had me poisoned at my own dinner party.But then I remembered that poisoning Connor’s father had evidently just been part of a giant Rube Goldberg machine to land Connor in jail. Miranda’s plans were impossible to predict, so I kept my mouth shut and let Armin scan away.A phone call came in – Anh, back in Los Angeles.“Lily, I just saw it on the news – is Connor okay?!”“No. We think Miranda’s framing him for his father’s murder.”“WHAT?!”I spent a few minutes running down the major details. Finally I ended with, “It’ll be okay. We’re going to find some proof that he didn’t do it, and it’ll all be okay.”I sounded more like I was trying to convince myself than her
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Miranda
Things were falling into place smoothly, like the interlocking pieces of some giant puzzle.Except for the human element. Those pieces kept squeaking unpleasantly as they took their places as the cogs in my grand design.I’ve always hated dealing with people. They are the most unpredictable variable in any situation, mostly because of weakness, fear, or greed.My new ‘employee’ was exhibiting all three at the same time.“This could ruin me if they discover our connection,” he whined over the phone.“They won’t,” I said.“You can’t know that!”“You’re being compensated handsomely to take a small risk. For God’s sake, do what I paid you to do and stop whining.”“But – ”“Just do your job. In 24 hours this will all be over.”A pause on the other end of the line. “I’m not sure I can go through with this.”“You can, and you will. You’ve already taken the money.”“I’ll return it.”“If you try to get out of our agreement, I will personally make sure you are ruined.”“You wouldn’t dare – you
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
Somebody was waiting for Sebastian and me on the courthouse steps at 7:30.“Johnny!” I cried out as I hugged him.“Anything?” Sebastian asked.“No,” my bodyguard said wearily. “I, uh… ‘dropped by’ all three guys’ places. None of them were home.”“None of them?” I asked.“Not a one.”I was disappointed – and yet somewhat relieved. I’d been imagining some pretty dark things since Johnny and Sebastian had stayed silent about him ‘questioning’ the three men.“Maybe they were asleep and just didn’t answer the door,” I suggested.Johnny smirked. “I didn’t let their doors stop me, Lily.”“You – ” I lowered my voice. “ – you broke in?!”Johnny gave me a Come ON, Lily kind of look. “Do you really think I was just going to politely knock at 3AM at the door of somebody who could have framed Connor?”“No,” I said, disturbed. “But – ”“It doesn’t matter. They weren’t there.”“Which means they could be dead, too,” Sebastian said.“That’s crazy,” I said. “You don’t really think she’d kill six people
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR 231
Bert, Johnny, Sebastian, and I sat in the back of the limo as Armin drove. Eve’s texts continued to flash onscreen as we talked to the phone.The limo driver’s is the only cell that’s still active. That’s why I was able to pull GPS coordinates off it. “That’s great!” I said.He’s somewhere on the Jersey coast. There have been a few incoming calls that went straight to voicemail, but no calls out. He’s been there the last week, not moving – probably holed up.“Or dead,” Johnny said.Or dead, the text message screen agreed.I felt a little nauseated, but I ignored it. “Anything on Mr. Templeton’s phone?”I’m sorry, but I can’t find it. Can’t find the bodyguards, either. They seem to have gone underground, too. “That’s an ironic choice of words,” Johnny said.Sorry – no pun intended.“How do you know they went – ‘underground’?” I asked.I tried searching their bank accounts for credit card or ATM activity, but there was nothing. Nothing on their phones, either.“Please tell me I’m not
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Miranda
This was a disaster.I dialed my contact’s number.“Yes?” said a man’s voice.“They found the limo.” I could barely contain my anger. From the sound of my voice, a stranger might have thought I was merely annoyed – but anyone who had dealings with me would know their life was on the line.The man sounded stunned. “Shit. My men told me they made sure it would never be found.”“They were stupendously wrong.”“Miranda… look… I’ll eat the cost on this. I’m sure it was an honest mistake – ”“We’ll decide the appropriate actions to take later. I don’t have time to deal with your men’s incompetence right now.”The voice turned pleading. “Miranda, these are good guys – except for this one wrinkle, they did an A+ job. Don’t make me – ”“LATER. Activate the contingency plan.”Stunned silence. Then – “Are you kidding me? You really want to go through with that?”“It’s why we developed it in the first place.”“It’s going to look highly suspicious, doing it the first day he’s in Rikers.”“Your me
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To distract myself from the horrific scene on the shore, I walked away and placed a second call to Mr. John Koffitz, the lawyer Mr. Templeton had called after he left the penthouse. I’d left a previous message while we were waiting for the dive team, an hour before.I got his voicemail. “This is John Koffitz of Koffitz Crane Berkley and Jones. Please leave a message.”I didn’t want to identify myself as Connor’s fiancé, in case he thought Connor was guilty of the murder, so I just kept it vague. “Mr. Koffitz? Hi, Lily Ross again… I really need to talk to you about Augustus Templeton. It’s urgent. Could you please call me?” I said, and left my number.I knew that if he Googled my name, he would find out all about my connection to Connor thanks to my nude photos and Miranda’s blackmail from a year ago – but I couldn’t help that. And if he weren’t mixed up in the conspiracy, there was no reason he wouldn’t call me back.He never called me back.When I returned to the crime scene, Bert an
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR 233
There were two bedrooms in the cabin. One had been turned into a makeshift office, with a laptop and printer.Koffitz brought up a document on his laptop and printed out a copy. “The only problem, of course, was that he didn’t get to sign the papers. So it’s worthless in court. BUT… he fully intended to sign it the following day.”I looked through the papers. I didn’t understand some of the legalese, but even to me it seemed clear that Mrs. Templeton and Vincent split every physical asset and bank account, but Connor got control over the company itself.“This makes no sense,” I said. “Mr. Templeton had dinner with us once. That was it. He wasn’t going to sign over everything he’d worked decades for just because of that one dinner. Even if he was trying to mend the relationship, he wouldn’t have done that.”“You’re thinking Augustus wouldn’t have given Connor control because of whatever bad blood existed between them. But the truth was, he immensely respected Connor. Connor was the one
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THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
The only part that was slightly sad was that Connor’s mother and brother didn’t attend. His mother was still under heavy psychiatric care. She wouldn’t have even known what was going on, according to Connor. As much as I disliked Lenora Templeton, that news saddened me. I only wanted her out of my life. I didn’t want her to end up like this.His brother had checked himself into rehab. Though he sent his congratulations, Vincent told Connor that he didn’t think he could attend, knowing what Miranda had done and how she had met her end. He felt he was still in too precarious a situation emotionally to leave the safety of the rehab center.I know that Connor still bore a lot of anger and hurt towards his mother and brother, but he would have liked to have had them there – as long as they behaved themselves.Things were improving, though. His mother was gradually getting better, and Connor had worked out a deal to take over as interim CEO of the Templeton Group while his brother was in r
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
But as far as wedding days go, it wasn’t the only one.Come on, I’d gotten married in sopping wet clothes, on a deserted island in the Caribbean, with only four people total in attendance.Did you really think I wasn’t going to have a billionaire-style shindig, with all my family and friends?Connor and I decided on it spontaneously, as soon as we got back home. But rather than hold it in New York City, with all its bad memories from the last couple of weeks, we held it two weeks later in Lake Cuomo, Italy. Have you ever seen pictures of Lake Cuomo? It’s like an Italian Renaissance fairytale. George Clooney bought a residence there, with good reason – it’s one of the most beautiful places on earth. And that’s where we had our wedding.There was only one shadow hanging over the entire day.After we were escorted back to St. Vincent by the policemen, Connor immediately hired a team of divers to go down to inspect the yacht’s wreckage. There was one body in particular he wanted found.B
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
It turns out Johnny was right: we didn’t see a single shark the entire way.That doesn’t mean it was a piece of cake. What with Johnny and Connor’s wounds, and my needing to rely on their help when I was tired, it took us almost an hour. By the time we got to the island, we were exhausted. But Sebastian was there to greet us. As we approached where the waves started to break, he saw us and started yelling and waving ecstatically from the beach.“A little help!” Johnny shouted at him. Sebastian immediately raced out into the waves and dragged me to shore. “Thank God, thank God,” he kept sobbing as he helped me lie down on the sand. Then he went back out and helped Johnny and Connor limp their way onto the beach.We all collapsed next to each other. Connor and I held hands as we stared up into the blue sky, too weary to speak.“I thought I’d never see you again,” Sebastian said, wiping tears from his face.I was touched; it was the most vulnerable I’d ever seen him.“No such luck,” Co
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
The happiest moment of my life was when Connor proposed to me.The second was when he burst through that door.And the third was seeing the look of surprise on Miranda’s face when she realized what I had done to her.While Connor kept her talking, I picked the lock and undid the handcuffs from my right wrist. (Bobby pins to the rescue!) Then I grabbed Miranda’s arm and slapped the cuffs on her.Anytime I’m ever depressed about anything from now on for the rest of my life, I’m just going to remember the look of surprise on that murderous bitch’s face, and everything will be better. Instant anti-depressant.Miranda yanked her arm up with a clank! of the chain, but she was locked to the metal armrest of the chair – which was bolted to the floor.She screamed in fury, and pulled the gun’s trigger.BLAM!But I’d purposefully bumped her aim away from Connor – so all that happened was one of the creepy glass spider cases shattered into tiny shards.The gunshot hurt my ears, but I’d been expe
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
I couldn’t take the shot. I wasn’t Johnny; my aim was good, but not stellar, and the floor was already at a 20 degree tilt. Miranda had her gun at point blank range to Lily’s head. If she pulled the trigger before I got her – I slowly held my .45 away from my body and let it fall to the floor.All the ugliness I knew was inside Miranda revealed itself on her face. It was the evil leer of a serial killer, the grin of a Great White Shark.“I win,” she gloated.My heart sank.It was over. I had failed.I looked at Lily, both sorrow and love welling up at once. She was seated in some sort of chair bolted to the floor, and was handcuffed to the metal armrest.Lily’s eyes were frantic, but her lips were moving. She was mouthing something…Keep her talking.I couldn’t tell for the life of me what she had in store, but I complied. I looked up at Miranda. “You win. You can do with me whatever you want, but please – let Lily go.”“Don’t waste your breath,” Miranda snarled. “Walk towards me w
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
The door suddenly burst open, and there stood Connor with a gun in his hand, just like the star of an action movie.My heart soared with love – and fear. Because Miranda was standing behind my chair, just like the villain in an action movie.I was between them – Miranda’s human shield.I felt the barrel of Miranda’s pistol jam against the back of my head.“Drop it,” she commanded, “or I kill her.”Connor looked at me helplessly.“Don’t worry about me – shoot her!” I begged him.But he wouldn’t take the chance. He held the gun slowly away from him and let it fall to the floor. CLUNK.I felt Miranda’s pistol stop pressing against my scalp, then saw it appear next to me as it pointed at Connor.“I win,” she said, and I could hear the sneering triumph in her voice.
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
I rushed over to Leo’s body, staggering in the tilting hallway as I ran.He was lying face-up on the ground, a pool of blood spreading out beneath him on the floor.He saw me coming. Tried weakly to lift his AR-15 – I put two more rounds in him with my .45.BLAM BLAM.He lay still after that.Adrenaline coursed through me like a drug, sharpening my senses while making everything unreal.I felt sick. I had just killed a man. I had just taken a life. He was a traitor, yes, and someone who was planning to hand me over to be killed – but still, I felt queasy.Lily.She was all that mattered. I pulled myself together.“Nice shooting,” Eve said in my ear. “Oh ye of little faith.”“What?” At first I thought she meant something about me doubting my abilities to shoot someone, which didn’t make any sense.“You thought I was a turncoat? AGAIN?”“Oh,” I said sheepishly. “Sorry about that.”“Hmph. We’ll talk later. Go down the hallway the way you were originally heading – there’s a half-dozen g
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Lily
BOOM.There was a massive explosion somewhere on the ship. Every glass pane in the spider terrariums rattled, and a couple cracked.“What the hell?” Miranda said, and stumbled to her feet as the yacht began to tilt to one side.After my initial shock from the blast, I watched Miranda’s face. She was reacting with more fear – in fact, with more emotion – than I’d ever seen her display before.She looked back at me, her eyes wide with surprise.After all the indignities the bitch had put me through, I couldn’t resist. “Guess my fiancé’s here,” I said, and gave her a little smile.
THE BILLIONAIRE'S AFFAIR Connor
I was halfway down the deck when Eve spoke in my ear. “Connor, there’s a problem.”“What?” I whispered.“Juan and Leo are on the other side of the yacht, but I’m not getting any video feeds of them.”There was a dull WHUP in the distance, then another one a few seconds later.Not like gunshots, exactly. But they did sound like a heavy book being dropped on a wood floor.I ducked into an alcove with a door in it, and hunkered down into a squatting position. “Juan? Leo?”“We separated, and Juan ran into a guard,” Leo’s voice said. “Juan’s dead, but I got the other guy before he could sound the alarm.”SHIT. Already things were going to hell, and we’d barely engaged the enemy yet.But… something didn’t make sense…I frowned. “I heard two silenced shots. How come I didn’t hear any regular gunfire?”“They’ve got suppressors, too. The first one was the guy shooting Juan, the second was me shooting the guard.”I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something seemed off. I just chalked it up to
