Page 17 of Born a Billionaire

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Skylar’s face was a welcome sight after two days alone with nothing but her endless thoughts about marriage and a pile of less than stellar scripts. Adelia wasn’t used to being confined like this, and all this isolation was getting to her.

“Good morning.” Skylar greeted her with a smile and a hug.

“Morning. I’m so glad you’re here.”

Skylar held a manila envelope.

“What’s that?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. It was in the mailbox. It’s addressed to you.”

Adelia’s brow furrowed. “That’s weird.”

Skylar slid her finger under the enclosure to open it for her and removed the contents, and Adelia caught sight of a glossy black-and-white photograph of herself, running on the beach.

“What the?” Adelia snatched it from Skylar’s hands along with two others. Goosebumps raced across the surface of her skin as she flipped through them. One was of her crouched down beside Tony, petting his dog. She took the envelope that Skylar still held and opened it to see if there was anything else inside, but it was empty.

Skylar’s eyes were wide. “Someone knows you’re here.”

Adelia flipped the photographs over. One of them had a piece of paper taped to the back with typed lettering.

One million for my silence.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” A sinking feeling hit her in the gut.

“What?”

Adelia showed Skylar the note and pulled out her phone.

“Who are you calling?” Skylar asked.

Adelia held up her finger as it started to ring.

“Hello?”

“Hi, this is Adelia Allen. We met the other night.”

“I remember. Is everything okay?”

“Actually, it’s not.”

Twenty minutes later, a forest green Jeep Wrangler pulled up in front of the house, and Oliver Wood climbed out. He was wearing his police uniform, and something about that stirred Adelia’s interest. She’d always been a sucker for a man in uniform, and Oliver’s fit him just right.

“Good morning, ladies,” he said as Adelia opened the door.

“Morning,” Adelia replied and motioned him inside.

“Morning, Oliver,” Skylar said.

Adelia went to the kitchen counter and retrieved the envelope of photographs for him.

He gave her a closed-mouth smile as he put on rubber gloves, took the envelope, and viewed the contents within. The ladies watched as he pulled out an ink pad, paper, powder, and a brush to dust for prints.

“Do you think you’ll find the person’s prints that way?” Adelia asked.

“If anything, we’ll find yours and Skylar’s. But it’s worth a try.”

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