Page 105 of The Mastermind

Grayson had wanted to fly back to confront Derek right away, but I convinced him to let me handle it until further notice. Derek was involved with something much bigger than ignoring his niece’s plea for help during a house fire. Derek and everyone in his circle had to pay for their crimes.

After Brian came to see me the other day, I called Grayson, and he rescheduled his projects, citing a “family” emergency, and came home as soon as he could.

I didn’t need to watch the other recordings from the jewelry store to know who had pushed Audri into the street. It was Mallory or Brian. A man like Derek wouldn’t get his hands dirty. He’d get someone else to do the job.

“I know exactly where she is,” I told Grayson. “Call in the team.”

From my phone, I logged into the elite tracking system. My heart leaped when my phone picked up Audri’s location, which matched the address the kidnappers had given me.

The gift I’d given her had paid off.

CHAPTERFIFTY-FOUR

AUDRI

I woketo body aches and nausea swirling in me. The soreness in my body bloomed as I tried to move. My wrists were still tied together with duct tape, but I wriggled my fingers, bringing blood flow to them. A rope looped around my body, securing me to a wooden chair. Panic surfaced as I became more aware of the danger I was in.

My eyes cracked open. I was in a warehouse with a lot of cardboard boxes, cleaning supplies, rugs, and an assortment of chairs, tables, lamps, and other home décor items. This had to be a furniture store. The fluorescent lighting from the ceiling hurt my eyes, so I turned my gaze to the concrete floor to give them a rest.

“You think he’ll come?” the female voice said.

I flicked my gaze to Mallory, who wore jeans and a floral blouse. She was rummaging through my luggage. What was she looking for?

A wave of nausea rushed through me. It was probably the side effect of the strong chloroform and my anxiety jumbled together. I swallowed my dry mouth and licked my cracked lips.

“There’s nothing useful in her luggage.” Mallory dumped the contents of my purse on the ground. My wallet, a hair clip, lip gloss, and the charity logo pin I’d gotten from the fashion show were scattered everywhere. The charity logo pin rolled and clanked beside my foot.

“There wouldn’t be anything in her luggage that could be useful to us,” Derek said, keeping his focus on the two laptops on the tall table. He was dressed in jeans and a light blazer.

“I was expecting some expensive jewelry or shoes I could sell. I expected more from a billionaire’s girlfriend. She has nothing valuable in here.”

I didn’t understand why she wanted to sell off my things. She had money.

“Turn off her phone. That can be traced.”

“Good call, baby.” Mallory deactivated my phone, slid it aside, and grabbed Derek’s face for a kiss.

I cringed. I had googled Mallory after Remi told me about his indecent encounter with her. She was a sick and ridiculous woman who spent too much time at the plastic surgery center. It could have been her second home.

Why was my uncle doing this?Uncle.I wanted to bite my tongue off. What had gone wrong? When? Why?

Mallory kissed him again. “You were so close to buying Lafayette Marketing. Who knew he’d pay double the asking price? Stupid Lawrence couldn’t even convince his parents to sell it to you.”

“That building has something I need to protect. Remi has turned into a tremendous obstacle. We have to get rid of him.” Derek kissed her back. “He’ll come get her. He loves her.”

My heart hammered at the mention of his name. Remi hadn’t said those words to me. How could Derek know about Remi’s affection when I didn’t?

Remi and I needed to have a heart-to-heart conversation when this was over. Would I be able to escape here alive? Despair and regret warred inside me. The pain in my body took a step back from the adrenaline coursing through me.

“Will you love me like that?” Mallory asked.

“I already do. I gave you the idea to remove your husband from the picture, didn’t I? William was useless. He would never sign over the company to you or Brian. The only way to get money from him is through his life insurance, where you’re the beneficiary.”

They wanted to kill Remi’s father too?

Does Remi know they plan to kill him when he gets here?

Panic billowed. I couldn’t let them kill the man I love. How could I contact Remi?

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