Page 47 of Culmination
I definitely don’t call Agent Howard.
Instead, I quickly dress, grab everything I need, and rush out into the hotel hallway. I’m about to reach the elevator when Adrian’s words echo in my mind.
“You’re not safe, Gabriella.”
I whirl around, racing back into the room, and rush to the mattress, where I pull out the last thing Adrian pressed into my hands. I hesitate for just a moment, but then I dash out of the room, down the hall. After the elevator doors open, I burst out on to the bustling street, where I hail a cab and silently pray I make it in time.
Rafe is all I have left, and if I lose him now, just when everything is going right for us, I have no idea how I’ll go on.
Fear threatens to overwhelm me when the cab pulls up to a gated mansion outside the city. My legs wobble as I get out and stare up at the ominous wrought-iron gate that stands between Rafe and me. Between safety and me. I know I shouldn’t be here. My hand protectively falls to my stomach. But what kind of life will my baby have if he loses his father before he ever has a chance to meet him? What kind of life will I have if I lose Rafe so soon after finding him?
The gate slowly opens, inviting my entrance. With steeled determination, I set my shoulders and march up the drive, towards the front door. My steps falter when the door opens before I even get a chance to knock. There’s no one there, as if it opened of its own accord.
This is it, Brie. You can do this. You have to do this.
After my little pep talk in my head, I muster up every ounce of courage I possess. With hesitation, I step inside, jumping when it slams shut behind me. Footsteps echo on the marble floor, but the sound moves away from me instead of towards. Against my better judgment, I hoist my handbag onto my shoulder and follow in the direction of the noise until I’m in a giant room that looks like a study fit for a king.
And there he is: Theo Morningstar, leaning back against a large oak desk, puffing on a cigar as if he’s Don Corleone himself and he’s been waiting to pass judgment on me.
It’s unnerving, the sight of this man. I don’t know what I was picturing, but it certainly wasn’t this. I guess I imagined some old, decrepit Bond villain of a man. Reality, however, is just an older version of Adrian, with a less olive-toned complexion. Though he’s not nearly as tall as Adrian, he’s at least six feet, with a lean body he clearly prides himself in. His hair is raven black, with small hints of gray at the sides. His eyes, appallingly, surprise me. Unlike the beautiful green of Adrian’s, his eyes are a shocking blue.
So blue that they remind me of another player in all of this.
“Hello, Gabriella.”
Two simple words meant to greet have never sounded more sinister. His voice is chocolate velvet, and it’s no wonder he’s spent decades winning over board members and the public alike—including my father for a time.
“Mr. Morningstar,” I reply, sending a curt nod in his direction.
He smiles, and it’s…kind. I’m taken aback, yet somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I remember that this man taught Adrian everything he knows about being a con artist. This man also believes I’m weak. Easily swayed. I’m not that girl anymore.
No. I’m not thatwoman.
“Call me Theo,” he insists. “After all, we were quite close to being family, now weren’t we? I just don’t understand why my son would hide away a pretty little thing like you for so long.”
I smile demurely, as much as it kills me. I have no idea what Theo’s play here is, and while all I want is to ensure Rafe’s safety, I know that one false move could set his man off. So, instead, I’ll bide my time and pray that this all goes smoothly.
“Please, before we discuss anything else, let him go. Rafe has nothing to do with this.”
My pleas falls on deaf ears though. I have no idea where he is in this monstrous place—or even if this is where they’re holding him—but I have to try.
A bushy eyebrow rises, wrinkling Theo’s forehead. “Doesn’t he? In fact, I’d say he is one of the central figures, wouldn’t you? Although it’s rather charming you’d come in here demanding his release before even hearing me out.”
“I said please,” I bite out. “I wouldn’t exactly call that demanding.”
He waves a hand as if it’s neither here nor there. “It doesn’t matter. You’re in no position to make demands of me, whether or not they come politely.”
“I’d like to think differently. After all, I have what you want.”
His eyes flash with anger and I get a glimpse of the man underneath the polite façade. A glimpse of the man who murdered my parents.
“I could snap your neck like a twig and all this would be over,” he warns, his voice low and menacing.
“If you’re going to kill me,” I say, squaring my shoulders and setting my jaw with a confidence I hope I’m projecting, “you may as well tell me why. What this is all for.”
The psychotic man has the gall to laugh. “Look around you, sweetheart. Do you think I spent my entire life building an empire so one man with a conscience could destroy it all out from under me?”
“So this is all for wealth? For greed? What makes your life so much more important than anyone else’s?”
