Page 64 of Save You

“Because I know what he did to you,” she replies sheepishly, knowing that she is treading on dangerous ground. Jonah Fox may no longer be in favor anymore, but he is still an elite member of Mayfield, and a descendent of a founding father no less. “I know you, Jonah, even if you are now grown up, you’ll want revenge. I also know that you haven’t lost sight of being in charge of Mayfield; you want to make it something that it once was.”

“Dangerous words, Prudence,” he smiles mischievously, “and what would your husband think about you being here? Edward has always been a staunch supporter of the Lawrences, has he not?”

“He is, but I was brought up with morals, and I cannot let Oliver destroy anyone else without doing something,” she says, now lifting her chin up in defiance, “not after what I saw him do to her.”

“I’m guessing you are referring to the new Mrs Angela Lawrence when you say ‘her’? Tell me, is he as obsessed with her as much as he was with Steele’s long, lost, granddaughter?” he asks as he begins swinging his chair back and forth again.

His question takes Pru aback; she was under the belief that Jonah was one of the few members who knew of Angela’s real identity, yet he seems totally oblivious as to who she really is. For a moment, she considers telling him, however, something makes her hold back, to not trust him completely. She cannot risk Beth’s safety any more than it already is..

“Yes, Carl’s great-niece,” she lies, “and yes, he is that obsessed with her. He made her dye her hair blonde to look like the late Beth Taylor. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has convinced himself that she is her.”

Jonah laughs again and is now staring through the window onto the quiet street outside.

“Poor girl,” he says with a shrug, “she’s in for a hard life. Of that, I’m sure.”

“He struck her with a belt not two weeks ago,” she whispers as though the shame is hers to bear. “Her back is a mess, Jonah, and all because she caught him having sex with Felicity.”

“Felicity?!” he gasps, then clenches his jaw tightly while muttering a few curses under his breath.

“I’m afraid so,” she sighs. “She was forced to leave her family, as well as the man she loved, so that she could marry him because of her connection to Steele. Much like Beth was.”

“I still don’t know what you want me to do about it, Pru,” he says, “I feel for the girl, but I cannot save her!”

“It’s what I can do for you, Jonah,” she says with confidence, looking him in the eye like they are equals. “When Mrs Bennett died, my aunt went to work for Steele. I have inside information, Jonah, information that might prove very useful to someone who wants to bring down Oliver Lawrence.”

“Such as?” he asks in a leading way.

“First, you have to agree to help Angela. You also have to promise that you won’t wind up the same way as Oliver, hungry for power and nothing else!” She stands as though this will drive home her words even harder.

“I cannot promise that, Pru,” he replies, “getting at Angela might be the only way to get at Oliver and Steele. She is collateral damage.”

“Then this is a waste of time,” she mutters, almost to herself, then begins to walk away.

“Wait Prudence!” he calls out, though still sounding as calm as he had when she first walked in. “Let me think about it. You are correct in your assumption that I want revenge, which had involved hurting Oliver’s pretty, little wife. However, if I can do it without hurting people, I suppose it would be a bonus…less messy!”

Pru turns back to face him, still unsure as to whether her trust in him would be just as foolish as it was placing it inside of Oliver’s hands.

“And if successful? If you manage to take over Mayfield? Can I expect you to turn into another mini-Carl Steele?” she asks.

He smirks before leaning over his desk, clasping his hands together while he thinks about how to explain to her what exactly happened to his best friend.

“Oliver wasn’t always greedy for power, nor was he a monster,” he begins, “you have his father and Carl Steele to thank for that; they ruined him. Perhaps if he had been able to keep you as his nanny, he would have held onto his once soft and loving outlook on life. His father made him witness some horrendous things, Pru, things no child should ever have to know about, let alone watch. When Carl came along offering him the power to never have to feel vulnerable before anyone again, he fell for it. He never once considered that it meant becoming the one to make others feel just as vulnerable as he once had. Years of manipulation turned Oliver into the monster he is now. I might not be soft and cuddly, Prudence, but I am still the boy you remember.”

“I believe you,” she whispers, now feeling mollified by his explanation. “How long do you need to consider my proposal?”

“Let’s say, twenty-four hours,” he replies, now getting to his feet to show her out, “come back at this time tomorrow, and I will have an answer for you.”

“Goodbye, Jonah,” she says, hoping she can keep Beth that little bit safer, as well as bring down Carl and Oliver at the same time.

“Goodbye, Prudence,” Jonah replies, already knowing his answer. He just needs some time to readjust his plans.

That evening, Jonah turned off the television, drew the curtains, called his regular ‘masseuse’, and told her not to come over. Instead, he poured himself a healthy measure of whiskey and tried to think about what he was going to do next. His revenge was not going to be as cut and dry if he had to consider not harming Lawrence’s new wife. In fact, it was going to take time, but he could wait.

He began to think about when everything had started to turn sour between him and his friend. Oliver was someone he had gone into business with, only for him to rip it away from under him and let his father weasel in. A man who Jonah considered to be lower than any other form of life. Oliver had now joined the two empires together and was running the both of them. Meanwhile, his father, Samuel, had probably moved onto the next unsuspecting female employee. His fists began to clench over the thought of it, his anger not helped by the fact that he had put himself in this position; he had trusted Oliver like the brother he once believed he was.

If Jonah had really thought about it, he should have seen Oliver’s betrayal coming long before he put the knife in a few weeks ago. When both boys were at university, Carl had taken a special interest in them, being that they were from a long line of ancestors to the founding members of Mayfield. He had wooed them with fancy dinners, cocktail parties, and promises of something more once they were of age. However, as soon as Carl began to bring up stories of his first wife, Rosalie Bennett, and how she had betrayed and dishonored him, he began to grow suspicious of the old man. Steele began to talk more and more of outdated customs, including arranged marriages to girls who weren’t even of age.

Jonah spoke to his father about it one Christmas and was appalled by the stories he was told about Carl Steele’s reputation as a rapist, trader in flesh, and other misogynist propaganda. Put together with a potential criminal record for other crimes that had been swept under the carpet, and Jonah was more than happy to end his relationship with him. The final nail in the coffin had been when he mentioned having an eight-year-old granddaughter who would make for the perfect wife for one of them. It would bring together three of the ancestral bloodlines if she were to produce an heir with either him or Oliver.

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