Page 63 of Revenge (Corrupt Empire 3)

“No. It’s not okay. You needed me too. Where was I? Wallowing in my own self misery. You did so much for me. You made sure it couldn’t be traced back to us without me asking. You knew what I needed that night and since then, you’ve been taking care of me even though I’ve been a shit wife to you. I’m so sorry and at the same time, I’m so grateful. Do you have any idea how much I appreciate you? You think you’re not a good person, but you are. At least you are to me. I don’t care what anyone else says or thinks. I love you so much, Aiden. I can’t live without you. I have no idea what I would do if you weren’t here. I’d have lost myself completely.”

He kissed me again, wiping away my tears with his thumb.

“It’s very simple, princess. I’d do anything for you because I love you. I promised to protect you and I meant it.”

I buried my face in his chest, sobbing my heart out all over again. He just held me and stroked my hair. When I was all cried out, he told me he was taking me out and I wasn’t allowed to object. I hadn’t left the flat since we got home that night. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to be seen together, but I kept quiet as I got dressed.

If Aiden thought it would do me good, then I was going to go along with it. I had to remember I needed to stay in the present. And I’d do that for him after everything he’d done for me.

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Walking into the office, I felt a sense of trepidation. I’d been away for three weeks. I knew Uncle Charlie would ambush me the moment I got in, but what I was not expecting was to find him and Ed waiting in my office.

I walked in, shrugging off my coat and hanging it up on the hook before having a word with John and asking him to wait outside. I sat down at my desk and levelled my gaze on both of them.

“How are you feeling?” my uncle asked.

“I’m okay, thank you.”

He and Ed gave each other a look before turning back to me. I eyed them warily. What did they want?

“Was what happened to the Shaws part of your grand plan?”

I took a deep breath. This was always going to come up, but I wasn’t sure when my uncle had decided to confide my secret to Ed. It aroused my suspicions further.

“What makes you think I had anything to do with that?”

“Well, you tell me, Avery. You said you were getting engaged to Tristan to find dirt on Frazier and then low and behold less than a week later, both of them are dead.”

I tried not to flinch. The memory of that night came flooding back. Images of Tristan lying dead on the bed flashed before my eyes. I blinked them away.

“I don’t know what happened. It’s like I told you, I came down with the flu that night. I could barely get out of bed. What else do you want me to say?”

“Then why the fuck are the police raiding his office?”

I sighed. That had been my fault admittedly, but I wasn’t going to tell him about it.

“Why? Concerned about what they might find?”

Ed’s eyes darted between me and my uncle. He’d not seen us interact much recently. Didn’t know how strained our relationship was.

“Why would I be concerned?”

I sat back, drumming my nails on the desk.

“Well, if you were, there’s no need. Shaw Associates no longer represents Daniels Holdings.”

They both stared at me, eyes wide.

“What?” Ed asked.

“As of six weeks ago, we moved everything in house to our own legal department. The board signed off on it.”

My uncle slammed his hand down on my desk.

“Why the fuck did you not think to inform me of this?”

I shrugged.

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