Page 22 of Owned By a Billionaire

“And you’re having a fulfilling sex life?”

“Although it’s none of your business, I’m a virgin. I’m saving myself for him.”

I nearly laughed at that antiquated concept. But I also had to remind myself of that portrait of Jesus I’d seen in Alice’s room and the Bible that sat by her bed. I hadn’t met anyone religious before her, raised as I was by a family who only stepped into churches for funerals or weddings.

“Then you should know that Harry likes men. Speak to Helmut. He’ll confirm that.”

“A minute ago, according to you, Helmut fabricated that you whored yourself, and now you’re telling me that he told you Harry was homosexual?”

“Well, bisexual, I’d hazard to guess.”

“You’d hazard to guess? You’re just making it all up because you want him. You’re nothing but a cheating slut.”

She slapped my face and reached to pull my hair when I pushed her away. From there, everything went into a hazy, slow-motion blur. Time no longer registered.

She stumbled back, falling hard on the pavement. The crack I heard seemed to muffle my gasp as I froze on the spot.

A pool of blood pouring over a bed of white flowers, like watercolor on wet paper, snapped me out of my daze. My heart reached my throat, and panic filled every cell of my body.

I bent down and tried to revive Alice, but she was unconscious.

A shadow darkened the path, and I turned to find Rey standing over me like a phantom.

“She stumbled back,” I gasped. “I just pushed her away because she was pulling my hair and hitting me.”

“Shh…” He placed a finger over his mouth. “Go back inside. Don’t mention a word.”

“But she might be dead.” My voice choked against a flood of anguish.

“Go back inside. I’ll handle this. Alone. Again, not a word.”

A stuttering breath left my chest. “I can’t go back in there.”

“You have to.” His eyes were wide and imploring, as if my life depended on me going back to the party. “If someone asks where you’ve been, tell them you were in the powder room. Okay? Go there first. Fix yourself up, and remember, act like nothing happened.”

“But what about Alice?” I pointed at the inert body lying on a bed of bloodied flowers. Had the situation not been so serious, it might have conveyed something profound, like a work of art proclaiming lost innocence.

He tilted his head sharply. “Go.”

Chapter 6

Aweekaftertheparty, I sat at a police station being questioned by a detective, clawing at my sweaty palms. Taking a deep breath, I stuck to my police statement and said again, like an actor going over her lines, “After noticing that Alice was agitated, I tried to calm her down and convince her that everything would be fine.”

The detective stared me in the face for a prolonged period, and I looked him in the eyes, keeping my expression as blank as I could despite an endless battle of nerves.

“Can you please elaborate on what was causing her agitation?”

“Alice was worried about her studies and how she’d fallen behind, that she’d fail to meet her religious family’s expectations if she switched degrees. She wasn’t enjoying her theological studies.”

“So you think she might have tried to harm herself?”

“I don’t know, to be honest. I don’t think she could have done that. But I have no idea where she went after I spoke to her.”

“Someone at the party noticed her raising her voice at you before she disappeared.”

That threw me. I’d thought we were alone in the hallway.

I shrugged. “It was really nothing.”

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