Page 78 of Alex

“So,” her gaze darts from mine to the floor to hermailbox to the poker chip that’s still in my hand. “How do you think they found out where I live? And why would they put the poker chip in my mailbox?”

“They have their connections, but the easiest way was probably looking at the club’s security cameras from when we had to show our IDs. And as for why they would put the chip in your mailbox, well, to send me a message.”

“What message, though? That he’s still coming after the merger? He already told us that the night I met him.”

I lower my voice to a whisper so only Elise can hear me. “This is a more tangible message. They burn your apartment down and leave the poker chip as their calling card, so to speak.”

“But why me? I just met them. I had nothing to do with that night, or your past, for that matter.”

I drop my head and stare at the ground. “Because attacking you is the easiest way to get to me. They know I care about you, and they know they can’t exactly attack Dad’s business without serious repercussions.”

She scrunches up her face as her eyes get lost in her thoughts. All of a sudden, her eyes widen. “Oh my God.”

My heart races at the unexpected outburst.

“What? What’s wrong?” I stare at her face, my gaze moving from her eyes to her mouth to her hands to try to decipher what she just thought of.

“What if they were the ones that broke into theoffice, trashed the place, and then set a fire? Clearly, fire is their preferred method of getting their point across.”

I run my hand through my hair. “That’s a very good possibility. Unfortunately, the security company hasn’t been able to uncover the missing footage.”

She rolls her eyes. “Convenient. I wouldn’t put it past them to pay off the company.”

She does make a valid point. It wouldn’t be a drop in the bucket for Adam and Bianca to shell out twenty thousand dollars or more to pay off the company to delete the footage.

Elise steps closer to me and whispers in my ear, “What can we do about them? Should we tell the police our theory?”

I shake my head. “No, that wouldn’t be a good idea.”

She raises her voice, clearly annoyed with my answer. “Well, we have to do something. We can’t just sit around and wait for them to make their next move. This isn’t chess! This is real life! My life!”

I glance around the lobby, breathing a sigh of relief that it is empty. “I know, Elise. Trust me, I know. I already told you I will handle this, and I mean it. Unfortunately, things are more serious than I thought they were.”

“What are you going to do?”

Her voice is a lot quieter, and for that, I’m grateful. We don’t need any more attention on the two of us.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “There’s only one thing I can do. I need to tell my dad what’s going on. From the beginning all the way to your apartment fire. He needs to know everything that I’ve been keeping a secret from him.”

Chapter Twenty Two

ELISE

My heart poundsin my chest.

Alex is going to tell his dad about everything. I don’t see any other option, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was nervous for him.

I don’t think Mr. Strickland will yell, scream, and make a huge scene, but this is pretty serious and can have devastating consequences, so I think Alex is making the correct choice.

Other neighbors enter the building and make their way to their apartments without a second glance at me or Alex.

My gaze makes its way to Alex, who is still staring down at the poker chip.

Alex’s reckless, thoughtless, and childish past has caused me to lose everything that I own, not that it was much, but it was the last few things I had from mom. Not to mention the few things I’ve acquired over the past almost seven months.

Adam and Bianca are sending Alex a message.

They want revenge that’s clear as day, but why?

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