Page 67 of Once Upon a Prince

“Ara and Layla helped me see Cheryl was an evil woman who was trying to control and manipulate me. The only way I was to break free from her was to get as far away from her as I could.”

“So, you came to New York?” I asked.

“I always wanted to come. I had mentioned it numerous times to Cheryl but she refused to even discuss it. It was only when your father called to check on me that I even thought about coming up here. He gave me a very generous offer, one that showed to Cheryl it would be better to have me living and working in New York than staying in Nebraska. It took a lot of convincing but she agreed, and here I am.”

“But you aren’t out from under her control. She still has a hold over you,” I said.

“She controls my shares. I can’t get them until I am twenty-six, which is in a few months.”

“You said you don’t want to run the company. Do the shares matter that much to you for her to have this much power over you?”

“The shares don’t matter, the money they would bring doesn’t really either. It would be nice but I can survive without it. It’s the company, the employees, my father’s legacy that matters to me. I don’t trust Cheryl. I can’t let her run it into the ground.

“If I must play nice with her for a little while longer so that I can get my shares and then sell them to someone I do trust, then it will be worth it. Only then can I truly get out from under her thumb. It sucks but it is only for a few months.”

“Do you think she will let you go? She has been snooping around. Do you think she might try to do something?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I figured she would be too busy with Taylor Medical to be worried about me. But when you told me she had been calling, that worried me.”

“It does me too. All of this does. Cheryl shouldn’t have that much control over you or the company. I get she was your father’s wife and that she would get his shares but it seems odd that she would have yours too. Something seems off and I want to look into it.”

“You mentioned that last night. What do you think you can do? It isn’t a public owned company. I’m not sure what information you would find,” Ella said.

“You would be amazed at what my lawyers can do when they are motivated and I will make sure they are highly motivated.” I smiled at her and squeezed her hands.

“I don’t want to be any trouble. This could all be over in a few months,” Ella shook her head at me.

“Or Cheryl could be thinking the same thing to make sure you don’t get those shares or worse have to go back to Nebraska.”

Ella sighed and looked away from me. “That sounds like something that she would do.”

“So, let’s get in front of this.” I tugged on Ella’s hands and when she turned back to look at me, I said, “Let me do some digging, see what I can find. Hopefully, we can get you away from your stepmother once and for all.”

Ella looked at me, a hopeful smile on her face.” Do you think you could do that?”

I wanted to tell her that there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. I hated that her stepmother had made her miserable and I didn’t want her to do it for a second longer. I was going to do whatever I could to make sure that Ella was not only happy but hopefully in New York and in my life for as long as possible. But there was too much she was already dealing with. I wasn’t going to burden her with my thoughts and feelings. At least not yet. One thing at a time.

First, we had to get her stepmother out of her life, then we could work on starting our lives together.

I smiled at Ella and hoped I conveyed all the determination I could for her when I said, “There’s only one way to find out.”

Chapter 39

Ella

My heart raced as I looked at my phone.

“It’s her,” I said to Dax.

“Okay. Answer it. You got this,” he said.

I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders, and answered the phone. “Hello, Cheryl,” I said.

“Well, she does know how to use a phone. One was beginning to wonder,” Cheryl said.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been busy.” I looked over at Dax who gave me a slight nod. I wanted to rail at her for thinking I should be at her beck and call but I couldn’t do that, not yet.

“You’ve been busy with that boss, boyfriend of yours. So busy you haven’t had time to return any of my phone calls.”