Page 108 of From Us, Forever

“Sweetheart, is that you?” he asked in a panicked voice.

“Yes,” I whispered, my voice cracking.

“Where are you? Who took you?”

The gun dug deeper into my forehead, and I openly cried, “I can’t say.”

An anguished exhale left him. “Are you okay?” he asked quietly. “Did they hurt you?”

“No, Jay. I’m fine,” I hissed as the zip tie dug into my wrist at the awkward angle I was holding the phone. “I don’t have much time, but they want you to transfer fifty million dollars. They’ll send you the information.”

“Okay,” he replied in a steady tone, but the underlying nerves remained. “Stay put, baby. I’ll find you. I swear.”

“I know.” My eyes darted warily to Dennis and T. “I’ll be home in no time, Jay. My heart is never that far away from you. I love—” The phone was yanked from me before I could finish the sentence.

My heart dipped as I heard Jay yelling on the other end.

“Enough,” T snapped, cutting the call. “Now what?” he asked Dennis.

“We wait,” he replied, his gaze sliding to me. “Let’s hope for her sake her man sends us the money.”

Minutes passed, and my brain was on fire as I thought of the words that Dennis told me.

Why?

Whyme?

I needed to know.

Feigning bravery, I lifted my chin toward him. “Why do you want the money?”

Dennis smirked, swirling in his chair. “Why, you ask?” His tone dripped with venom as he leaned forward. “Because I deserve it—all of it.”

I swallowed hard. “Deserve what?”

“Everything.” His tone sharpened as his lips curved into a twisted smile. “That loser Dorian fucked up his father’s legacyand dragged the label through the mud. Guess who fixed it? Me.” He jabbed a finger at himself. “And what did I get in the end—nothing. Not even a single penny.”

“But he left White some money.” I shot back. “You could’ve had—”

“It was all gone,” he yelled so loud that I flinched. “All of it. Wiped clean. Even his daughter’s trust fund. Fucker was terrified that the Storms were onto him and gave it all away to buy some time.” His eyes clouded with a sinister gleam. “Too bad I only found out after I killed him. That only made me want to kill him all over again.”

I froze. “You killed him?”

T shifted in his seat but didn’t say a thing.

Dennis shrugged nonchalantly as if he didn’t just admit to killing someone. “He wasn’t of use to me, so I disposed of him to take what was mine. Only that didn’t go as planned.”

A chill ran through me. “And White knew,” I whispered as the pieces clicked. “That’s why she was so scared. She wantedyouto get the money so she could be safe.”

“I offered her a share if she could get it done,” he bit out. “But she failed.”

“Still doesn’t explain why you want to ruin my life,” I pressed, narrowing my eyes.

His jaw ticked before his expression turned murderous. “Remember David?” His cold, hard voice made my spine tingle.

My breath hitched. “The man my mother owed money to?”

“The man your mother ruined—my father,” he sneered with hatred.

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