Page 121 of Misdeeds of a Billionaire
My brothers held their breath. I knew something bad was coming. I fucking knew it.
“My buddy in Deutsche Bank pulled some strings and foreclosed the loan on her father’s hospital.”
Even though my wife had hinted at it, Father’s words hit me like a punch to the chest, and my grip on my control slipped. No wonder she was so gun-shy around me. Maybe she even hated me. She certainly couldn’t stand me when we’d run into each other again. Suddenly, her anger after we spent the night together made sense. My father destroyed her beloved family. My mind was already connecting the dots; it didn’t take a genius to figure it out. According to the information I pulled up, her father committed suicide not long after Odette and I spent the night together.
My grip tightened and the glass in my hand shattered. Fury—unlike anything I had felt ever before—shot through me, igniting the rage.
I let out a humorless laugh as I stood up. I should have known he’d go so far as to destroy something so pure. So good. After all, I’d seen it many times before. But still, it managed to shock me every fucking time. Shame on me for giving him more credit than he deserved.
“Well, Father. Let me reciprocate the favor. You’re bankrupt now too.” I’d fucking make sure of it. And all his donors would be a thing of the past. “You know your way out of my house. Don’t ever come back.”Or elsehung in the air.
With that, I went in search of my wife.
Chapter49
Odette
Anger had my hands shaking as I made my way upstairs.
As if on cue, thunder rolled through the clouds and a harsh wind whipped against the windows. It mimicked my inner turmoil. The growling thunder shook the skies above, but thanks to Byron, we had a shelter over our heads.
I didn’t know whether to let my heart love him or detest him.Himand his entire family, but especially his father.
My pulse drummed hard in my ears at the audacity of that fucking man. Rage simmered in my blood—years of guilt and blaming—threatening to spill over and create chaos. Images of my father’s dead body played in my mind, the way his body slumped, blood seeping out of his skull, while he clutched at that single photograph.
Senator Ashford had driven him to suicide. But I was also to blame. I should have never touched someone like Byron. He oozed power, wealth, and—most importantly—ruthlessness. But then again, maybe it was exactly that which pulled me to him.
The moment I entered my son’s room, a quiet kind of relief swept through me. He hadn’t noticed me, nor had his new friends.Family, I should say. They were playing with the trains, chatting among themselves. I released a shuddering breath, trying to calm my racing heart, and leaned against the door.
This was what I needed to come to terms with it all—seeing my son happy.
I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply and hoping for peace. The one that had evaded me ever since Senator Ashford woke me up in Byron’s room that morning. Memories pricked at my skin. Regret—or something like it—danced in my soul. Would it ever go away?
“We’re not all fucked up.” A soft woman’s voice startled my eyes open. I swept at the tears on my cheeks, hoping she wouldn’t see the torment I was trying so hard to bury. Byron’s sister and Alessio’s wife stared at me with an all-too-knowing look. My eyes darted behind them, down the hallway, where both their husbands seemed to be deep in conversation. “My father has done so much shit that it doesn’t surprise me to hear what he did to you and Byron. All I ask is that you don’t hold it against us. Or him,” Aurora added softly, and she didn’t need to say his name for me to understand who she was referring to.
They crossed the threshold and approached me, as though one might approach a startled doe. I wasn’t a wide-eyed young woman anymore, and truthfully, a weight had lifted off my chest with the confrontation. I was starting to think it was something I should have done years ago. For my peace of mind.
The boys startled and paused their movements, finally noticing us.
“Is the house gonna fall?” Ares asked, his cobalt gaze darting around at the sounds of the storm raging outside. “Like that other one?”
Beside me, Aurora and Autumn eyed me at the odd remark, clearly confused. I sighed. Back in Ghana, we stayed with a tribe for a week, caring for their sick. We were given a modest little hut to stay in, but unfortunately a storm swept through. It caused landslides and destruction around the area. We got out of our hut seconds before it crumbled in front of our eyes. Needless to say, it left a mark. On all of us, but it was particularly scary for my little boy.
“No, baby. There’s nothing going to make this house crumble.” Except for the lies and deceit of Senator Ashford. “Keep playing with your friends.”
“Family,” Aurora chimed in. When I shot her a curious look, she added, “We’re a family. My father isn’t, but you’ll come to find that my brothers, half sister—” My brows furrowed. I didn’t know Byron had another sister. She waved her hand in exasperation. “Long story. No surprise, my father was the culprit. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, my brothers will always have your back. No matter what. You’re part of our family now and nobody—fucking nobody—will dare mess with you, or they’ll suffer the Ashford wrath.”
This family was so different from anything I had ever encountered. Maybe I was too trusting, but I believed her. She was too outspoken and to the point to believe she was deceiving me.
“Yeah, too bad it doesn’t apply to the senator,” I muttered under my breath.
“Oh, it will. He has crossed the line many times before, but this time, Byron will hit him where it hurts the most.” Her response sent a shockwave through me.
Maybe I’d made a fundamental mistake all those years ago. Maybe I should have told Byron what his father had said. Instead, I’d made the two of them out to be one and the same.
Autumn remained quiet through the whole ordeal, and I wondered if maybe she disagreed with her sister-in-law’s assessment.
She must have read my mind, because she smiled softly. “I don’t know Senator Ashford well. There are certain things that I’ll never forgive him personally, but he did one thing right for Alessio and me. He had a lethal man watch over me while I was in the Middle East. Kian Cortes. While I’m grateful to him for it, forty years of wrongdoings doesn’t just get washed away.”
