Page 137 of Brutal Kingdom

Advice? Right. That’s not what I would call it. “I don’t think he was here to give me advice.”

“Like I said, it doesn’t always come out the right way.”

“You know about my inheritance claim, right?”

“Yeah. Some of the families in town have been talking about it and it’s all over school. I didn’t bring it up, because I figured you’d tell me about it when you were ready.”

“What have you heard, exactly?”

“Nothing much. Just that whichever family member you’re claiming a relation to doesn’t exist, and that Bella is actually entitled to it.”

Same thing everyone else has heard. “Did your dad tell you that?”

He nods.

I hate to have to be the one to do this, but Noel deserves to know the truth about his father and his so-called advice. “Did he also tell you that he and his town council buddies crashed a meeting at my lawyer’s office?”

“I’m so sorry if they spooked you Jordanna. He told me they were there, but it was all a big misunderstanding.”

“They were trying to intimidate me, Noel.”

“The other men from the council were. Not my dad. He was on your side, and he told me he came to campus that day to apologize.”

His dad said he’d do whatever he says. Guess he’ll believe anything, too. Time to rip the bandaid off. “The apology was bullshit. He was trying to soften me up, so I’d be more accepting of his suggestion that I marry you to block Bella’s claim.”

Noel stops walking, his mouth gaped open. “You must’ve misunderstood. My dad wouldn’t do something like that.”

I look him in the eye to let him know how serious I am. “He did it, Noel, and when I said I wasn’t interested, because you and I are friends, he doubled down on the suggestion. Then when I said you’d never agree to it, he assured me you would. In fact, he said you’d do whatever the hell he told you to do.”

“You must’ve misunderstood, again.”

I’m starting to hate that word. Misunderstood just sounds like a veiled way of calling me a liar. Wow. What does a girl have to do around here to get this level of loyalty? “Iunderstoodjust fine. He was quite clear about what he was saying. If I married you, he’d be willing to help make sure this case works out in my favor because then his family,your family,would be one of the most powerful ones in town. I understood that, just like I understand I’m standing here trying to tell you what happened and you’re being dismissive about it. Pegging me as too fucking stupid to know what I’m talking about. You’re no better than the rest of them. I’m fun to hang out with as your token poor friend. I’m useful when it comes to helping you stick it to people you hate. But when it comes down to giving me the benefit of the doubt, the zeroes in my bank account aren’t even enough to buy an ounce of it.”

I storm off, leaving him standing there.

FIFTY-FOUR

LOGAN

I’m gonna be sick. I’m gonna murder Bella first, and then I’m gonna be sick. “Bella did this.” I seethe swiping the contents of the desk onto the floor.

“Son, stay level-headed.” My father warns.

I’m pacing back and forth, ready to explode. “How can I?” I point to the tablet with the shattered screen on the floor. “Everything I’ve been trying to prevent. It’s happened.” Whirling on him, I say, “I warned you Bella couldn’t be trusted.”

“We’re not going to lay this at her feet. This is a completely different video than the one at the offices.”

He’s right. This is a video from the day I snatched Jordanna off the street and drove her to the park. “Somebody was following me?”

“How many times have I told you not to be careless?”

“Careless? The first video is of me in the McKay Media offices. I didn’t know you had cameras spying on your employees.”

“I’m not spying. It’s a security measure to protect our offices.”

“I wasn’t on an occupied floor.”

“Those cameras up in the construction area are to make sure the crew is only billing for hours worked. It’s purely coincidental that you happened to be in a monitored zone.” He stabs his desk. “This latest video isn’t on company grounds. It’s out in public for christ’s sake. I’ve always taught you to be mindful of your surroundings and your behavior because our enemies will always look for a way to attack.”

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