Page 95 of Fate's Unseen Shadow

As the elevator doors shut, Ella closed her eyes, keeping her temper in check. Pissing them off wouldn’t keep her alive longer. She had to escape or stall.

“Praying?” Matteo snorted. “Not going to help. Julia has her heart set on taking over this company, and I’m being a supportive boyfriend.”

Her eyes flew open, the plan to stay calm vanishing. “I figured that out. I can’t believe you were sleeping with both of us.” She asked the question she needed to know. “Were you sleeping with her while my father was alive?”

“Of course.” He tucked her blond hair behind her ear. “I’m the one who created the idea for her to fly to New York to meet your father while I met you in San Francisco. This has been the plan for a long, long time. You don’t think Teddy’s murder was the first one, do you? Julia ordered your father’s. I removed her son, although she thinks Davies made a mistake. Teddy was in on it at first but became too loyal to you. Tried to talk us out of the entire plan.”

Ella’s mouth went slack, her mind stuck on the revelation about her father.

Julia killed my dad.

The elevator opened, and Ella’s feet propelled her toward her door. Julia wouldn’t get away with it.

The door opened, and Julia stood there. “About time you got here. Always were inconsiderate, you little brat.”

“You bitch! I’m going to kill you!” Ella launched herself at Julia, headbutting her in the face the way Slater described. He said not to hesitate, and she didn’t. With her hands tied behind her back, her head was her only weapon, and Julia deserved to suffer.

The pain burned across the top of her forehead, but it was lost to the satisfaction of hearing Julia scream and fall. Blood dripped on the floor from both Julia’s face and what felt like a cut near Ella’s hairline.

Matteo hit Ella in the stomach, sending her backward into Walker.

“Guess you’ve been taking lessons from your boy toys at Cager. Nice hit.” Walker held her by the waist, picking her up and over Julia’s sprawled-out form and into the condo. He dumped her onto the sofa. “But making them mad won’t change your fate.”

“And you want me dead, too?”

“Dead? Nah.” He adjusted his shirt. “I want you at my bar, making me money. Since that’s not an option, I’ll just take the money.”

“I can pay you double for letting me go.” At his hesitation, she pushed. “Triple. How much is Matteo paying you?” she whispered.

Walker looked over his shoulder at both Davies and Matteo fussing over Julia. “Two hundred.”

“I’ll make it six. Six hundred thousand, and you let me go.”

“I can’t let you go. I can’t get you past them and us not both be shot.”

Ella looked around. He was right. “Then six hundred to find Damon and the others and tell them where I am and what’s going on with Matteo and Julia.”

“You have that kind of money?”

She sat up, offended. “Do you even know who I am?”

“Someone special based on how you just said that, princess.”

With her hands tied, Ella lifted her foot, pointing at the massive building beyond the windows of her balcony. “That, right there. With the CS logo. That’s mine. All mine. I own one hundred percent of the voting stock of an international company. And they want me dead to take it over. You heard him. He already killed my father and her son to get it. I’m next.” She leaned forward. “But not if you?—”

Julia limped into the living room, a towel pressed against her face. “I’m going to enjoy watching them kill you.”

She looked back at Walker. “One.”

One million.

Walker took a deep breath and scratched the back of his neck. “Damn.”

“Now, Elizabeth,” Matteo said with a sugary sweet tone he’d never used with her. “I have a few things for you to sign to make this easier. A new will is the major one. And then I want you to give us access to your bank accounts.” He set the bank form down in front of her.

She glanced at the paper and snickered. “That’s like half of my bank accounts.”

Matteo shared a look with Julia. “I thought you said this was it.”

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