Page 40 of The Passion

No wonder we couldn’t find the source of the video because it never came from outside the company. It was internal all along. We had suspicions of that but not anything like this. We thought maybe a disgruntled employee that got paid off for access to Felisha’s room or even a stalker she never gave the time of day to.

But to video your own daughter having sex, then watch it and share it with the world is all kinds of fucked-up weirdness.

All over losing control of the company, it makes no sense. He will still be insanely wealthy, and it’s not like Felisha would cut him out altogether I would assume, she just doesn’t seem the type. But then again, I’ve seen people do strange things for money. Although I have to say, this would have to be the obscenest thing I’ve ever come across.

Her father must have felt he hit the jackpot when I walked into her hotel room that night. He had the perfect video to use against her that would also try to discredit my reputation and the reputation of Darby Hotels too. Greater leverage for him. But thinking about it now, he never wanted to use just the blackmail against her. He was always going to release this to the world because he needed to make Felisha look bad.

I can only imagine what she has been putting up with behind closed doors all these years. That last night she turned up at my apartment, Harper had hinted at Felisha’s father doing something to her, but she wouldn’t share it with me and neither would Felisha. No matter how hard she is hit, she still holds herintegrity and keeps her pain close to her chest. But if I’m going to help her, I need to know it all. Tell me who the real Ewan Kentwall is and not the man the public sees.

The anger I’m feeling has me seeing red, and I’m struggling to control it. I’ve never wanted to kill someone before, but right now, I have a feeling if he were here, I would do just that. But to be honest, that would not punish him enough. I have another thought, and with the way he has acted, this will hurt him more. And that’s all I want, to make him pay for what he has done to Felisha. I don’t care about myself; she will always be the most important person in my world.

Hearing the shower finally running, I order some room service and send special instructions to the chef. He is a friend of mine that I worked with in Sydney and I’m sure is happy to oblige.

Grabbing my laptop from the safe, I start looking back over all the files that Broderick had compiled so far in relation to the video, Ewan Kentwall, and anyone that has any connection to Felisha. Scrolling through the files, a smirk comes across my face when I see the name Fulton Anderson. He may have seduced her, but when it came to real life, she is here with me.

I win, asshole.

You won’t ever get to touch her again. That I can guarantee.

The water has stopped, and I can hear her moving around in there and the hairdryer going, so I know it won’t be long before she is ready.

I take the bottle of the most expensive Macallan scotch that we had here in my room especially for the shots we all did before we walked down to the wedding with the groom, and I pour myself another shot. I need to calm my rage before Felisha walks out of the bathroom and be the one in control of planning how we are going to fix this and protect her from any more hurt.

Thankfully, the guys understood that I didn’t want to be disturbed, and my phone hasn’t been blowing up, but I can bet that both Rem and Broderick will be pacing outside my room counting down the minutes until the hour has passed, and then they’ll be coming through my front door whether I’m ready or not. I’m not stupid, I know Forrest will be there with them, and I bet they will struggle to keep Nic away.

My nerves are all heightened, and I can’t sit any longer. I pace the room until the noise in the bathroom has disappeared, and then very gently, the door opens. Out steps a broken and fragile woman who may look more put together on the outside than when she arrived, but I can see in her body language that it will take much more than a warm shower and a clean outfit to take away her heartbreak.

With just a floral sundress and bare feet, her hair pulled up on top of her head in a loose knot and just a small amount of makeup, she looks like she has just walked straight off the beach after a photoshoot. She could have made a life as one of the top models in the industry without even trying, but I know that would never have been enough to challenge her amazing intellect. She needs to be running the world on a daily basis, otherwise she would go crazy. That’s who she is.

“I’m sorry I ruined your friend’s wedding.” Her words are so soft that I can tell her confidence is at an all-time low.

“You didn’t. You’ll learn that we tend to live off the crazy in this little family.” And I’m not even lying. No matter how much we try, there is always something that seems to send off the explosion in the middle of the normal.

“Well, I don’t just do crazy, apparently I bring the insane as my baggage.”

Taking a few steps further into the room, I stride toward her quickly and take her hands in mine. “Luckily, I always loveto take anything to the next level. So, bring on the insanity.” Walking backward, I bring her with me until we reach the couch.

Her huff at my words just makes me smile. She must have understood that the moment she landed in Australia it was game over with her rules. I’ve walked away twice, and as they say, third time lucky. Well, the universe just gave me the chance I needed.

“Before we start, who knows you are here?” I want to know every minor detail from the beginning, and I need to start with this.

“Just Harper and Imala, my personal security who is on my payroll, not my father’s. They are going to keep my father thinking I’m still in London, and then St. Tropez. I’m actually here illegally.” She looks down into her lap now.

“How?” Not sure I want to know the answer to that question, but I ask it anyway.

“Harper, for reasons that aren’t mine to share, is paranoid when it comes to fathers. Apparently, she has never trusted mine. So, a few years ago, she had a fake passport made for me, and when everything fell apart yesterday, she threw me on the first commercial flight out of Heathrow she could find and told me to hold it together until I got to you.” Shrugging her shoulders at me, I can’t help but start laughing.

“I don’t know Harper, but I fucking love her already. She sure doesn’t look like it, but she is one badass woman.”

“Oh, you have no idea. Don’t cross her, or you will live to regret it.”

“I don’t doubt it. But can I tell you one thing?”

She nods at me, and I can’t help it, I’m done not touching her. Reaching across on the couch, I lift her up and place her in my lap, wrapping my arms around her for a moment before I take her face in my hands.

“She won’t regret putting you on that plane, because I will never give her a reason to. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes,” she whispers.

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