Page 101 of Billionaire Lumberjack's Bride

“I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time driving into town today, Silas. Why don’t you head out so we can continue this meeting with the legitimate board members?”

Silas stiffens, the rage he’s barely containing making him so tense he feels like he might shatter beside me. “No. I won’t leave until the board has heard what I have to say.” He takes a step closer to them. “First and foremost, know I didnotwrite that letter, something I am confident I can prove to any competent, unbiasedcourt that should review the issue, and Iamin compliance with the trust requirements.”

His warm gaze falls on me, and the smile I never thought I’d get from the man pulls at his lips.

“This is my wife, Lyla, and I’m prepared to fight for my father’s share of this company, what’s rightfully mine, as a Bolton.”

Marty pushes his chair back and rises abruptly, releasing a sardonic laugh. “Yourwife?” He takes a few steps around the table and holds out his hand to another board member, who pulls a few papers from a folder and gives them to Marty. “Lyla Lynn Sinclair…”—his gaze cuts to me, the pure joy he got out of what he did to me gleaming there—“my, my, my, aren’t you an interesting addition to this story?”

Oh no…

Acid climbs my throat, and I swallow it down before I gag on it.

He keeps reading, flipping through several pages before raising his eyebrows. “Well, look atthis.” Turning the sheet toward the room, he wanders back to his chair. “You accepted a bank transfer in the amount of $50,000 from my nephew the daybeforeyou two got married.” He sneers. “I wasn’t aware there were hookers who were good enough to warrantthatprice.”

I can practically see the steam coming from Silas’ ears as he struggles to keep from lunging at his uncle and strangling the life out of him right in front of all these people. Only an iron will keeps him from doing just that. He flexes his hands at his sides and reaches out for me.

Sliding my palm into his, I allow him to tug me into his side.

“Lyla is mywife. I offered her a wedding gift. That’s all it is. And if you ever call my wife a hooker again, I will ensure you will regret it.”

Marty only grins at Silas’ threat. “Violence again.” He spreads out his hands. “Is this the type of person you want involved in running the company?” He looks at each board member. “A mentally unstable, tattooed, violent man who paid a woman of questionable moral character to marry him so he could come in here to try to take what is rightfully mine?”

I’ve—mostly—remained silent, to allow Silas to handle his business on his own because it isn’t my place to intervene, and he certainly doesn’t need my help. But I can’t stand by any more listening to Marty’s bullshit without defending myself and Silas.

Looking at each board member, I try to present our truth in the most sincere way possible. “Silas and I may have met in an unusual way, but I canassureyou, I amnota hooker, nor am I of ‘questionable moral character’ as this man suggests. If anyone here is, it’shim.”

Marty barks out a laugh, shaking his head, then grabs the papers from the table and flips to another page. “Lyla, where did the fifty grand go?”

Oh hell…

My stomach drops, and my hands start trembling.

Silas wraps his arm around my shoulder and lowers his head, brushing his lips to my ear. “You don’t have to tell them anything.”

One of Marty’s silver brows rises. “Lyla? Where did it go?”

You don’t have to tell them anything.

Each pair of eyes in the room is on me now, and I shake my head. “I’m not telling you that. It’s none of your business what I do with a gift from my husband.”

Marty releases a little chuckle. “Oh, but it is, sweetheart. Itismy business when your husband is trying to takemycompany while he’s married to a gold-digging whore who is using his money to try to get a murderer out of jail.”

No. No. No.

All the air rushes from my lungs.

I struggle to take a breath.

Each one comes shorter and harder.

“Lyla, what’s he talking about?” Silas’ voice echoes, like he’s talking to me down some long tunnel. “Lyla?”

It wasn’t supposed to go like this…

We were supposed to tell the board aboutMarty.

How did this end up about me?

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