Page 69 of Revelation (Love Isn't What It Seems 3)

“That is bullshit, and you know it, Maxim.” I should have known she wouldn’t take the advice. “She is my sister. And you have no idea what she goes through every time she visits her grandparents. So if you know something, I should know.”

I pushed my hand through my hair. “Livy, I’m handling it. I won’t let anything happen to Layla. I promise.” I intended to keep that promise.

“Are you two involved or something?” She eyed me suspiciously. It was hard to keep my face straight because explaining this thing with Layla would be a nightmare.

I could just envision explaining that one.Hey, Livy. I bought a night with your sister for ten million bucks. And we fucked all night. Now, I am addicted to her and want to buy another night and the rest of her life so we can continue on this sexual fantasy for the rest of our lives. Oh and by the way, I am pretty sure she did all that because she needs the money to pay her blackmailer. Who, I think, is her dead mother.

Yeah, I had no intention of explaining that one. Liberty would murder me. Or even better, my brother would. I sensed Daniel grinning next to me, and for the millionth time in less than a week, I wanted to punch him.

“Maxim, I’m warning you… you better not hurt her or play her. Otherwise, you will have a monster sister-in-law.” Liberty could be such an overprotective woman at times. But that was the reason I liked her so much.

I smiled at her, praying Daniel didn’t say something stupid. Like we had Layla in Revelation up for bidding.

“Don’t worry, Livy. I’ve got her.”

“Jesus, now I’m really worried,” she mumbled and turned her eyes to her husband. “Do you know anything about this, Alexander?”

“I don’t, but my brother knows that I’ll hang him from the balcony upside down if he does anything to upset you.”

She beamed at him like it was the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to her. “And Layla too,” she added.

“Anything for you, wife.”

“I would like to see you try, brother,” I taunted him. “After all, I am younger than you, and I have had some combat experience since you last pulled that stunt when I was in middle school.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, I can still do it.”

“I’ll push both of you over the balcony,” Daniel muttered, grinning stupidly.

“Okay, boys,” my father interjected. “I thought you kids were grown. But apparently, you are still stuck somewhere between middle school and high school.” It was such a rarity to see my father smile, but it happened more frequently lately, and I suspected it was due to Liberty. “So I suspect, Maxim, you have some information on the Cambridge family that could potentially taint their reputation?”

My father disliked the Cambridges. He held them accountable for losing the love of his life, for ruining the Caldwell name. For turning a blind eye to their son’s cruelty towards Livy’s mother. Basically, he blamed them for everything.

I turned my head to Daniel and nodded. He immediately started explaining. He would stick to what started this investigation. All the things with Layla would remain only between him and I.

“Maxim and I have been running a foundation supporting families that lost their loved ones serving in the military. It came to our attention a few months back that barely a fraction of the funds put into it were actually given to the families. After digging through, we found the link between the Cambridge family and our funds being mismanaged. Henry Cambridge is the finance director of the foundation. He has been stealing from the foundation.”

“Holy shit,” Livy muttered. “What an asshole!”

I couldn’t help but smile. She came over and sat on Alexander’s lap, his arms wrapping around her. It seemed like such a long road for Alexander and Livy to find their way to each other but now, those two were stronger than ever. They both finally learned that they needed each other. God knew my brother needed her. Those few weeks he went without her were like hell. Nobody wanted to be around him.

“Yes, he is an asshole,” I agreed. For more reasons than one. “However, now we have to get it all back and do right by those families. We are talking about a surplus of twenty million that was stolen from the foundation.”

“And Layla, their granddaughter?” My father asked.

“There is no way she knows about it. Her major in school was nonprofit business.” Livy immediately came to her sister’s defense. “She barely speaks to them, and they are horribly cruel to her.”

I raised my eyebrow at that description. “Cruel?” I inquired. “Did they hurt her?”

If they have, I’d make their life hell.

“Not physically but emotionally,” she answered. “She never talks about it. But every time she has to go visit them, she is a disaster. And for days afterwards, she is like a living zombie. I know she seems tough on the outside, but she isn’t. On the contrary. Out of the three of us, she was the most fragile, but she hid it with her bitchy attitude. She always refused to explain what happened or why she bothered with them once she was old enough. But if she was blackmailed by someone, I can finally understand.”

“What did the note say?” Hopefully, she was able to read most of it. When I glanced at it, there looked to be only a short message.

“It demanded another hundred thousand. And it stated it would be two hundred thousand going forward.”

There was no other explanation. Layla was being blackmailed by her own mother. She would pay too.

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