Chapter 12
“Come in,” Alexander said, leaning back in his chair. Blood streaked his fingers where they rested on the desk, but his face remained unreadable. Beneath the surface, however, a storm churned.
The assistant stepped in and froze at the wreckage of the office. His eyes flicked to Sephia, then away just as quickly. He gripped the folder in his hands a little tighter
Sophia felt the tension spike like a pressure drop before a thunderstorm. Every instinct screamed at her to leave. And she did–bolting from the Harrington Group building without looking back,
Inside, the assistant approached the desk with careful steps and handed Alexander the documents. He didn’t dare speak. He barely even breathed.
Alexander stared at the papers. His eyes, bloodshot from rage and sleepless nights, narrowed as the truth sank in. His grip tightened, reopening the scabbed wounds on his knuckles. Fresh blood dripped onto the documents, staining them a deep red.
Emily’s brother was truly gone.
that once meant everything.
She hadn’t just walked away–she’d erased her past. Burned the clothes she’d made for her brother. Sold off the gifts the Returned the Willowridge Estate he’d given her.
She was done with him Completely.
His chest tightened like a vice. Rage, guilt, and something far worse twisted in his gut. With a growl, he crushed the papers in his fist, the veins at his temples pulsing
“Bring Sophia’s entire family to the hotel,” he said, voice low and lethal. “And every single person who laid a hand on Emily–including the doctors.” The assistant flinched, then nodded and rushed out, cold sweat soalding through his shirt.
Alexander drove straight to the cemetery.
Fresh sunflowers were arranged neatly at the headstone. His heart licked, and he spun around, scanning the
grounds.
“Emily! Baby, are you here? His voice cracked, raw and hoarse. “I was wrong. I hurt you. I’m sorry, come back to me, okay? I’ll make e pay.”
Only the wind answered. It howled past him, but he stood rooted, calling her name over and over, refusing to accept the silence.
A groundskeeper appeared nearby, setting down more flowers. “Stop looking. It’s just me,” the man said. “I brought the sunflowers.”
Alexander turned sharply. “The woman who arranged the headstone do you know where she went?”
every
V one of them
The man shook his head. “Miss Harper came once. Stayed the whole day and night. Before she left, she paid me to bring her brother sunflowers three times a day. Said they were his favorite.”
Alexander’s chest seized with a bitter ache.
*If she comes back, call me,” he said, pressing a card and a signed blank check into the mang hand.
Then he drove, circling the edge of the city twice before finally pulling up to the hotel.
Inside the banquet hall, Sophia and the others were seated, each face wearing a different brand of anxiety. Sophia sar stiffly, h
stiffly, her nerves on edge
But when Alexander walked in calm, composed–hor tension eased. She stood, voire cool but careful. “So Alexander, you’re feeling better? Did you bring us here to apologize?”
His eyes cut to her–sharp, jcy. He realized now he’d let her get too comfortable. Too bold. He’d given her too much rope.
Thinking of what Emily had suffered made his blood boil.
ווי
He gave a cold, humorless laugh and crooked a finger at Sophia “Come here.
She got up slowly, trying to maintain control. “Don’t blow up at me again, Alexander. If you do, we’re through.”
The second she got close enough, his hand whipped across her face. The slap cracked through the room, and Sophia hit the floor hard.
“What gave you the damn nerve to lay a hand on my wife?” he growled. “You sick of living?”
Sophia gasped, stunned, tears welling up but refusing to fall “I–I don’t know what you’re talking about! I didn’t do anything!
“You don’t?” Alexander’s eyes were dead, his tone colder than ice. “No matter. Someone will explain it to you–real soon. Chapter 12
