Page 40 of Hacker Betrayed

“You’re in my house now. Tell me why you think I tried to kill you.” Ashlyn had taken the seat across from me but kept the gun in her hand. “I know you think the world revolves around you, and we should all make sure Dalia or whatever the hell you want to be called wants. The one thing I can tell you is I never tried to kill you. I have enough shit going on in my life. Lydia blackmailed me into attending your party.”

Ashlyn’s words swirled around my head. “Well, you hit me with ten issues at one time. Before I answer another question, who are you?” I asked the man with her. The expensive black suit screamed businessman or mob boss.

His lip curved up. “I’m Jordan Calhoun. And here I thought my stepmom died all those years ago. I can’t say we ever spent much time together. You were off in Mexico with my eldest brother.”

Jordan was from Cyrus's third marriage, or maybe his fourth marriage. I was the last of Cyrus's seven wives. The seventh time wasn’t his charm. Cyrus sent his children to boarding schools, and I barely met or saw them if they were under the age of eighteen. When they came of age, they worked for the family. There was no choice. I was happy the man never had a daughter. I leaned to the right of the couch and placed my hand closer to my hip. “The family get-together? No one ever mentioned it was for me. Nobody discussed who I was, but I assume Ashlyn told you. Are you coming after my son and me because of your dad?” I glanced over to Paxton. “Why don’t you step outside and let me handle this?” The layer of danger increased with the knowledge I was in the same room as one of Cyrus’s kids. I should have never let Paxton come, but whenever he smiled, all rational thought left my brain, and I was left with nothing.

“I’m not leaving. On the way here, I texted my sister to let her know we planned to visit Ashlyn. She will make sure these two never see the light of day if they kill us. So, no, I won’t be leaving. We’re all adults, and we can talk this out. Nobody else needs to die.”

The damn man saw too much good in the world. He’d read a dark motorcycle book over the weekend and picked apart all the good the gang did. “Goes to show getting a doctorate doesn’t make you the smartest person in the room.”

“Never said I was.” He nodded toward Jordan. “If they planned to kill us, they wouldn’t do it in a room with white couches. From the glance I had around when we walked in, this place is bare. Not a single thing on the walls, same with the main entrance, and from what I could see, the living room was empty. We can keep bickering about if I should leave, which I won’t, and the more time you waste, the more your punishment will rack up.”

“Punishment?” Jordan’s hand went to his gun, and his voice turned cold. “I can deal with a lot, but men hurting women is something I won’t let stand.”

Well, that’s different from his father. But his father also put up a different act in front of family and friends. I think Donovan was the only child of Cyrus’s who knew his father was truly a monster.

I wanted to get back to the house, but I needed to stop pretending with this man. There was never supposed to be a relationship, but I fell for him and never left. Everything felt muddled, and I wasn’t sure why I’d let my feelings get the best of me.

“It’s not what you think.” I placed my hand on Paxton’s thigh and squeezed. “When did you figure out Lucas is Donovan’s son? I find it strange you’re trying to kill me, and almost kill him, but Donovan hasn’t made an attempt…unless he lied to me.”

“Wait a second.” Jordan held up his hands. “I didn’t know you had a kid with my brother, neither my father nor Ashlyn mentioned it. She did mention last night you were at the party. I was shocked. My father was the scum of the earth, and if you did kill him, I owe you a thank you. Everyone in our family is better off with how Donovan runs things. He doesn’t make us join the business. He gives us choices. Don’t get me wrong, I think a couple of my siblings feel slighted, but none ever questioned Dad’s death or if you were alive.”

“Then it leads back to you, Ashlyn. Why the hell did you give me the drugged drink last night?” I asked.

Ashlyn’s face paled. “I hate you for what you did years ago, but I would never hurt you,” Ashlyn protested.

“Fine, we can get back to the drink part in a second. What the hell do you think I did to you years ago. Dad sold me, and our family never attempted to help me. And when I finally was free, dad wanted to sell me a second time. At what point did I betray you? Because you never once tried to contact me.”

“You promised to take me with you. Staying with Dad and Mom was hell, and you left me,” Ashlyn admitted. “Then when I tried to call, you never answered, only texted saying you didn’t have time for me.”

“Cyrus made our parents look like angels. The man was pure evil. I’m sorry, Jordan. I wish I could bring your father back to life and slowly drain the blood from his body. As for the phone calls and texts, Cyrus’s men took my phone from me the second I stepped out of our parents’ home. Did I want to talk to you? Yes. Many nights I laid in my own blood, praying for death. I would never want you to be part of that once I got away and went to Mom and Dad’s. The only thing I cared about was my son. He was still in my stomach, helpless. I watched to make sure Dad never sold you, but when I saw you go off to college, I was proud of you. Hell, I even came to your graduation. Then three days after your graduation, the attempts on my life started. Did you see me?” I hadn’t even correlated the time frame until right then. Not once did I think Ashlyn wanted me dead. Was I wrong?

“God, no! None of this makes sense. Mom would show me pictures of you flying all over the world and rave about how happy you were. I was so jealous,” Ashlyn admitted. “I think that’s why I worked harder to start up my business on my own. I’ve never touched a dime in my trust fund. Yes, Grandma gave me this house, and all the bills pertaining to the house are paid out of an account she created. But not once have I touched the money Mom and Dad gave me.”

“I see celebrities wearing your clothes all the time,” I pointed out. “How can you possibly be struggling this much? Especially since you have a free house.”

Jordan rolled his eyes. “You should know more than anyone how things always look different from the outside. Part of me knew my father killed my mother. How do you have seven wives who all die? Now, that’s some bad luck. Did I know he physically abused you? No.”

“How do you two know each other?” Paxton brought up a good question.

“We met during the summer when we were both in grade school. Unlike Ashlyn, I used the funds I inherited after Dad died. To open my VC company where I fund startups. Ashlyn came to me, and I gave her the capital.”

Ashlyn shifted and placed the gun from her hand on the end table. “Not sure why I was okay taking his dirty money and not using the money in my own account.”

“Because you wanted an excuse to see me.” Jordan winked at Ashlyn.

“If that’s what helps you sleep at night. I’m serious. I didn’t poison your drink. The drink wasn’t even meant for you. Lydia made me one, but I had to come home and pore over more numbers, so I didn’t want any alcohol. Then Jordan called to tell me that our plan to sniff out whoever was stealing failed.”

“After I replayed our conversation in my head. I remembered you sticking a vial in your purse when I walked into the room.”

Ashlyn grabbed her purse from beside the couch and pulled out the small vial. “This? The doctor subscribed me Sumatriptan because of my headaches.”

Now I had even more questions and no answers. “Let’s say Lydia wanted to poison you. Why? Are you two very close?”

Ashlyn shrugged her shoulders.

“We need to go to the house and see Lydia and talk with her.”

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