Page 86 of Dirty Heirs

A woman’s voice drifted through the speakers as we entered the threshold. “Welcome back, Mr. Wellington.” She paused and then said in her AI voice to Sonny, “Welcome back, Mr. Cormac.” Then she shocked me by saying, “Hello, Miss Doyle. Welcome to the Battle Fortress.”

My mouth widened as I looked at Sonny. “How does she know my name?”

“Lovelace knows everything,” Drake said, emerging from a room to our left.

“Like Ada Lovelace?” I smiled. “The first computer programmer.”

“Exactly. You’d be surprised how many people think I named her after the porn star.” Drake returned my smile and offered his hand. “Nice to finally meet you… under better circumstances.”

We’d met in passing the night he returned, but it was only a quick hello. He was so mentally and physically wounded back then I was surprised he even remembered my name.

Drake wore a black suit and a red tie. Overall, he was put together and looked expensive, but so was Sonny. The Founders oozed generational wealth and rarely had a hair out of place. He had dark bruises, some faded, giving them a yellowish glow. His blue eyes were ringed with dark circles, but at least the swelling had gone down. Some of the scars were healing nicely, while a few had scabbed.

Aiden looked out of place beside Sonny and Drake. Well, he did with all the Founders. Nothing had changed about him. He dressed in ripped jeans and edgy T-shirts. I loved that about him. Aiden chose to stand out in a world that expected him to conform.

“You’re just in time,” Drake said and turned his back to us. “Lunch will be ready in a few minutes. We’re having pizza.” He glanced over his shoulder and looked at me. “I heard pepperoni and sausage is your favorite.”

“Yeah, it is.” I smiled at him. “It’s pretty much all I’ve been eating since returning to the States. The pizza sucked in Ireland.”

Cameras followed us as we walked down a long marble hallway lined with armed men. The exterior and interior security teams gave the Battle Fortress a new meaning. Sonny said it was a play on Superman’s Fortress of Solitude since Drake was a comic book nerd, but with all the guards, this place was more secure than Fort Knox.

When we entered the kitchen, a curvy woman with brown hair spun around to face us. I recognized her from the Salvatore Estate. Olivia scowled the second her eyes landed on Drake. He visibly tensed at her hostility and kept his distance.

“Liv, you know Aiden and Sonny.” Drake stepped toward her, his movements tentative and precise. He tipped his head at me. “This is Ella Doyle. Their girlfriend.”

“Hi.” Olivia looked at each of us carefully as if inspecting us under a microscope. “All three of you date each other?”

“Yes,” Sonny replied. “We’re a throuple.”

“Hmmm…” She pressed her lips together, her eyes on Aiden. “Must run in the family.”

Most people thought Alex’s relationship with the Salvatore brothers was strange. And I guess it was a little unbelievable. Four men with one woman seemed ridiculous. How did they all share her? I had two men and could barely handle them.

“Liv, please don’t be rude to my friends,” Drake snapped, the tension between them so thick you needed a saw to cut it. “Join us for lunch. You like pizza.”

“I could lose a few more pounds.” She shook her head and sighed. “And I don’t want to eat, Drake. What I want, I can’t have.”

He settled beside her, leaning against the kitchen island, and touched her shoulder. “You barely eat, Liv.” He lowered his voice. “I’m worried about you. Tate wouldn’t want this for you.”

Olivia slipped out of his embrace. “I’m fine, Drake.” She nodded at the door to our right. “Go hang out in the dining room until your pizza is ready.”

We sat in the dining room, which was large enough to accommodate at least thirty people. My father’s house was big and weird and had its own personality, but it was nothing like the Founders’ homes. Some people jokingly said my house looked like the mansion from The Addams Family. It was creepy and spooky, and the people living in it were kooky.

But in the Founders’ homes, every space was perfectly curated. Not a single thing was out of place. The floors sparkled, shining so brightly you could catch a hint of your reflection in them. Servants moved about the house in silence, seen but never heard.

I grew up with money, but these people had wealth—money you couldn’t spend in ten lifetimes. And pretty soon, I would be a Wellington or a Cormac. Sonny and Aiden had been filling me with their sperm for weeks, seeing who could get me pregnant first.

I missed my period.

But I hadn’t told them yet.

Sitting at the head of the table with his face in his hands, Drake sighed. He looked so fucking miserable I wanted to hug him. To tell him it would all be okay because I’d been there.

“If I could bring her brother back,” Drake said to Sonny, “I’d give up everything just to reverse that moment and take his place.”

The door to the kitchen swung open. Olivia held the door for two women who carried white plates to the table and set them down in front of us.

Who eats pizza on fine China?

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