Page 8 of Bound By You
"She doesn't have money; you ensured she only had a limited amount on her card, and it’s a card we can track, right?"
He clears his throat and sighs again.
"She has an inheritance of over a hundred million from my deceased wife's mother. She left everything to Phoebe in an untraceable account that none of my men can find. The only person who knows where the money is, is Phoebe.
Selene tried to get close to Phoebe again when she returned because she wanted the money. She heard a conversation between me and the lawyer when I tried to block Phoebe from accessing it, but it didn't work. Athena's will was airtight. She also owns this house; everything her grandmother owned was put in her name. Phoebe isn't aware that I know all this, though."
I look toward the pool and notice Sergi throwing Mila into the air, and I scowl. That's where I should be right now, pretending to fight with my brother from another mother over who's the favorite uncle—but instead, my heart is being torn into pieces.
"How the fuck are we supposed to find someone on the run with that amount of money? Why the fuck did she run?" I say loudly, my anger getting the better of me. We were fine this morning; what the fuck happened between then and now?
Selene and Mindy quickly come to mind, but I squash that thought; there's no way she knows about that or the others.
"I don't know, Alexandr, but I intend to find out. The Romanians still want her; someone else put her up for sale last week. We're trying to figure out who. All I know is they weren't working for my brother. We must find her before they do."
I growl and am about to comment when suddenly, I hear a cry and turn around to see Sofia leaning over while my brother looks at her in horror.
"Shit, I've got to go; keep me updated." And I hang up without saying anything else; he'll be pissed but will cool down when he realizes why.
I'm fairly sure Sophia’s gone into labor. Fuck!
three
Phoebe – Five Months Later – Current day
I walk outof class with the biggest smile and an A plus on my animal disease paper. I thought I flunked it. Yesterday was supposed to be my wedding day, and I struggled all day, my heart missing what could have been.
A month after I left, I found out that the woman in the video, Mindy, was bullshitting, but it still doesn't change the fact that he was fucking her, and he'd been sleeping with my sister, too. I've been trying to move on and move forward, and it's behind me now. I've done well to keep my mask in place, and I will continue to do so because I'm learning to live my life for myself now, not my so-called family and a man who decided to destroy everything we had. Now, I can actually celebrate tonight with friends thatImade. I grin stupidly to myself; there are only five and a half more years until I get my dream.
"What are you grinning about, Missy?" Abby, my roommate and friend, questions me as she approaches me with a large caramel latte.
Yes! I could kiss her.
In fact, I do. I land a big, old, sloppy one on her cheek and say, "Thank you. I've been dying for this all day." She laughs out loud, shaking her head at my antics. I hold my result sheet and say, "Guess who aced the test." She squeals and hugs me, nearly knocking my drink out of her hand, causing me to growl and giggle simultaneously, making her laugh louder. Then I take my drink before she almost drops it.
"We have to celebrate tonight!" she states, and I nod. I wasn't too sure about her at first, especially with what happened with my sister. I figured out that she was using me for our grandmother's money. I just wish I'd realized sooner, but I won't make that mistake again. Abby, though, is different. She's loud and proud, and she gives no shit to anyone, with her hair dyed in rainbow colors. She's curvy, with dark brown eyes, just an inch taller than me, and the best person I know.
"I was thinking we hit up Kevin's in town."
She nods, and I chuckle. She has a crush on the bartender, James.
She scowls at me. "He will notice me today. I'm going to wear the skimpy, black dress that just covers my ass, and my dark red heels. He'll be eating out of my hand, you watch."
I shake my head at her before I notice Brent, the guy who keeps trying to ask me out, out the corner of my eye, and I quickly link my arm through Abby's, pulling her toward the parking lot.
She hasn't noticed him, which is good, because the last time he approached me, she turned crazy and started threatening him, and as much as I'd have liked to see her kick his ass, I have a persona to keep.
We head to my Buick, which's still going strong, and go home. We carpool every day because we share most classes together. She wants to become a veterinary nurse, while I want to become a vet, so it's perfect.
The ranch I bought under my grandmother's name is amazing. I have yet to buy any animals, but I will once my course load lightens. The ranch house itself is one story. It's a white building with red trim around it, and a white wraparound porch.
It has an open-plan living room and kitchen, three bedrooms, and two and a half baths. The two main bedrooms have a full bath attached, and the third one has a shower and toilet across the way from it. That room I gave to Ares, well, he took it, more like. It's technically a guest bedroom that he stole, but I don't mind. He's five years old now and very chunky, and he loves it.
After I moved here and went to register for classes, I bumped into Abby in the office. She was screaming at the administrator about how her roommate was into orgies and offered for her to join in. I felt bad and offered her a room at my ranch. She nearly toppled us to the ground when she rushed and hugged me. She's been working her way into my life since. I even helped her decorate her room in pink and green. It already had a queen-sized bed, a walk-in closet that was just a little bit smaller than mine, and a dresser. We went to Target and got her some green sheets and artwork for her walls. Then we sat down and went over the bills and groceries that we decided to cut in half, because the ranch was fully paid off.
As I pull up to the house twenty minutes later, I lose it in laughter, making Abby look at me like I have lost the plot. I quickly put the car in park, grab my phone, and get my camera app up, hitting record. Abby is still looking at me, not noticing what I have seen until she turns her head, and both her hands come up and cover her mouth.
"Oh my God," she states before bursting out in laughter.