Page 56 of Entwined
The officer’s grip tightened. “You're under arrest.”
“No! You don’t understand!” I pleaded, but it was too late. My wrists were yanked behind me, cold metal cuffs clicking into place.
I was dragged through the club, my heels slipping on the floor as I tried to protest, but the officer’s grip was unrelenting. As I was hauled outside, the bright flash of cameras nearly blinded me. Paparazzi. They were everywhere, snapping photos, yelling my name, calling me Colson Ashworth’s widow.
“Josephine! Josephine! Look this way!”
I turned my face away, tears stinging my eyes as I was shoved into the back of a police car. The door slammed shut, the reality of the situation crashing down on me. Vaughn was nowhere in sight. I’d been set up.
Simone and Logan bailed me out immediately. I was so embarrassed, feeling stupid that I let Vaughn do this to me. Simone was right but she didn’t say a word, comforting me as I was brought to my penthouse where I could hide.
The headlines were everywhere the next morning.
"Widow of Colson Ashworth Arrested in Seedy Underground Club Raid."
"CEO of Ashworth Financial Scandal—Caught in Police Raid!"
It didn’t take long for the board to call an emergency meeting two days later. I walked into the conference room, my head held high, but the tension was palpable. They didn’t even bother with pleasantries.
“Josephine,” one of the board members said, her voice tight. “Given the... recent events, we’ve decided it’s in the company’s best interest to relieve you of your duties as CEO.”
I sat there, numb, as they spoke about the company’s morality clause and the irreparable damage to the Ashworth name. The words blurred together, my mind struggling to keep up. The decision was final. I was out.
Vaughn didn’t even have the decency to come to the office. He was working from an unspecified location. Easton, Simone and Logan were behind me but there was nothing they could do. It made no sense for me to even stay at AFC in another position. I wanted to hide away from everyone.
That night, Vaughn came to my apartment. He looked... satisfied, a smug smile tugging at his lips as he leaned against the doorframe.
“Why, Vaughn?” I demanded, my voice shaking with fury. “Why did you do this?”
He sauntered inside, hands in his pockets. “I told you before. Control of Ashworth Financial didn’t belong to you. You had no right to it.”
I stared at him, disbelief turning into rage. “This was all a setup. The club, the raid... you wanted this to happen.”
He nodded slowly. “Of course. You’re not as naive as you look.”
Tears burned in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. “So this was all a game to you? Making me believe you wanted to marry me, convincing me to sign the house over?”
“Exactly,” Vaughn said coldly. “You were just a pawn, Joey. My father’s little experiment. But now, I have the house, and soon, I’ll have the company.”
I staggered back, my heart shattering. “Simone was right about you.”
His expression didn’t change, the cruelty in his eyes unmistakable. “She usually is.”
Chapter 22
I sat on the edge of my bed, my fingers trembling as I held my phone. Vaughn’s cold, calculating words echoed in my mind, each one cutting deeper than the last. He thought he’d won. That smug smile of his when he revealed the truth, the way he dismissed me like I was nothing—it was all a game to him.
But he underestimated me. He didn’t know about the ace I had up my sleeve.
I stared at the card in my hand—the one Xander Wilder slipped me after our last meeting. His personal cell number. At the time, I hadn’t thought much of it, assuming it was just a professional courtesy. But now, it was the lifeline I needed.
My thumb hovered over the screen before I dialed. It rang once, twice, and then his familiar deep voice answered.
“Wilder.”
“It’s Josephine,” I said, my voice surprisingly steady despite the storm of emotions inside me.
There was a brief pause, then, “Josephine? I expected to hear from you.”
