Page 82 of Thorns of Malice

I really did patent Seducing Ivy for you. It'll all soon come to light. I promise you, on my life and yours, it was all for you.

And I love you. Don't ever forget that, and you have to believe me when I say it. You're the only woman I've ever loved. That's never going to change.

Stay here, or in the main house with me—preferably with me—but I understand if you can't right now. Your code to get into the main house is 0820. The staff will bring you prepared meals, groceries, whatever you want, baby girl. I've assigned Kristen to be at your beck and call. Just dial 0 on the landline. She'll also give you her information so you can text her anytime.

My phone number's the same. I assume you remember it.

I love you.

We're going to get through this.

Dax

Istare at the note, tear it off the pad, and push the paper next to the flowers. I open the side table drawer and pull out my spare credit card. I grab a set of cottage keys and the car fob Ivy tossed on the counter. I place them next to the letter.

I sneak back into the bedroom, staring at my gorgeous girl, forcing myself not to touch her.

It's time for them to pay.

I leave the cottage, lock the door behind me, get on my golf cart, and drive to the garage.

I slide into my Hennessey Venom F5 and leave the estate, gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turn white.

It's time for Dyer to go down. He made his bed when he merely spoke to Ivy, not to mention touching her. His days are over. He's going to regret ever getting between my baby girl and me.

The parking garage and my office building are mostly empty since it's Saturday. I get into the elevator and go up to my office on the top floor. Then I open my safe and pull out the hard drive with Dyer's name on the label. I start to shut my safe, then stop, staring at Avery's and Bobby's names.

No time like the present.

I grab their hard drives as well, then spend hours reviewing footage of the three of them doing unfathomable things to coeds over the last ten to fifteen years.

I black out the coeds' faces, but I leave Avery's, Bobby's, and Dyer's on full display. I make sure that I'm not on any of them. Everything incriminating they've done that I've documented stays in my video.

I upload a copy of my reel to a secure cloud. It's over ninety minutes of shock and horror, filled with illegal activities. It's the largest video I've ever created, and I watch it one last time, ensuring no one is identifiable except Avery, Bobby, and Dyer.

Satisfied, I download a copy to my hard drive and save another copy to my personal secure cloud. I unplug it from my computer and return it to my safe.

I hit play again, then pick up the phone and call my tech guy, Shadow. He's the best of the best when it comes to hacking, and he's on my payroll. He's done so many jobs for me over the years, I can't count.

He answers, "Dax. Got a job for me?"

I chuckle. "You know me well."

"What's it this time?" he questions.

I stare at the footage running across my screen. "I need you to log in to the Clifton University system."

He whistles. "That's pretty secure."

"Aren't they all?" I ask.

He grunts. "It's going to cost you."

"It always does," I reply.

"Fifteen million," he quotes.

"Do it in the next hour, and I'll give you twenty," I state.

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