Page 66 of The Restaurant on Plum Island
“I’m sorry!” Parker stepped into her house, pulling her into a hug. She could feel his desperation through his beating heart. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but I needed your help.”
“It seems to be going this evening,” Carly muttered.
“Were you packing clothes away?” Parker noted the hanger in her hand.
“Oh!” Carly looked at the object. “It was the first thing I could find as a weapon.”
Amusement flickered in his eyes. “Where are you going to hang me in your closet?”
“Funny!” Carly said. “Do you want to leave?”
“No!” Parker said apologetically. “But that is a weird choice of weapon, and you won’t do much damage with it.”
“I could poke an eye out!” Carly shrugged, switching on the living room light as they walked into the room. “Would you like something to drink or eat?”
“No, thank you,” Parke said, shaking his head. “Have you seen Daphne? She mentioned trying to contact you to warn you and get help.”
Alarm bells started to jangle in Carly’s head, and her shoulders stiffened.What does Parker know about Daphne? He disliked her when we all worked together on All My Heart.Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“What is Daphne to you?” Carly asked cautiously, sidestepping his question.
Parker started to pace the room anxiously as his story tumbled out in hurried fragments. “Daphne and I...we’ve been married, in secret, for almost four years,” he confessed, his eyes searching Carly’s for understanding. “After managing to avoid him for nearly three years, her brother came back into our lives, threatening everything we built.” The fear in his voice was a mirror of Daphne’s.
Carly listened, her mind racing with more revelations. She felt as if she was living a real-life telenovela and someone called Esteban was going to jump out of the shadows, claiming to be her long-lost brother. But the reality of her telenovela was that a chapter of her life she thought she had closed was far from over. It was opening anew on a cliffhanger that promised more secrets, more dangers, and an uncertain dawn.
CHAPTER 16
“Ipromise you, Dad, I have everything under control,” Ethan assured his father.
“Are you sure?” Arthur Blackwell didn’t sound convinced. “Because it seems like things are spiraling out of control there.”
“No.” Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s Trinity Woodrow stirring trouble. I knew it wasn’t a good idea to give her the Stella Hart exclusive.”
“Do you really think Trinity’s so petty that she forged your signature twice just to humiliate Stella Hart?” Victoria Blackwell asked. “Because she never struck me as the kind of person.”
“No, Mom, I don’t think Trinity forged anything, and she’s not doing this out of spite or pettiness. This is about ratings to her,” Ethan pointed out.
“I hope so,” Victoria said. “Because we got a call from your sister a while ago.”
“She was a little shocked,” Arthur chuckled. “She had her first tangle with Paige Garland.”
“What?” Ethan breathed in shock. “Why did Paige call Bailey?”
“Miss Garland was looking for the CEO of Blackwell Productions,” Arthur explained.
“Yes, but that call should’ve come to me,” Ethan pointed out.
“When Jenna, my assistant, couldn’t get hold of you, she got hold of Bailey,” Arthur told Ethan. “
“What did Paige want?” Ethan was sure he knew the answer.
“As we already knew, Miss Garland represents Stella Hart, and they arenothappy with today’s interview,“ Victoria added. “The woman’s gunning for your head on a platter, sweetheart.”
“I thought so,” Ethan sighed. “I’ve already sorted this out with Stella Hart, and I’m about to find Trinity to tell her that her follow-up segment for tomorrow won’t be happening.”
“No need to do that,” Arthur told him. “Bailey really stepped up and has already stopped the segment.”
Ethan clenched his jaw, dropped his head back, and rubbed his neck.What a mess!This had to be sorted out. Whoever was trying to destroy his and Carly’s lives was now spilling over and affectingeveryone in close proximity to them. Thinking of Carly, his heart jolted at the memory of realizing they shared a father-in-law. His brow creased.
