The hairs on my neck stand on end. The dread from earliernearly doubles me over. “Why do you have my phone? What did you do?”
“Really, Ryder, how you get yourself into these situations I will never know. You should know better than to entertain girls like that. Fortunately for you, I was here when the messages came through. I handled her appropriately.”
“You went through my phone.”
“If you didn’t want someone to see it, you shouldn’t leave it out in the open without a password.”
“What. Did. You. Do?” I growl.
“I gave her the check and told her you said get rid of it.” She says it so calmly, so casually. Like she’s announcing that it's Tuesday or that it’s raining.
Blood roars in my ears as my control finally snaps. I charge to grab her, this time intending to finish what I didn’t last September. Maddox grabs me before I can get to her. “You need to go find Heaven,” he tells me. “Now.”
Her name brings me back. She’s the priority right now, not this evil, loathsome woman in front of me. With a jerky nod, I agree. “I’ll go check her dorm. Make sure she’s gone before I get back. Better yet just pack my shit. I’ll come stay with you for a few days then find a new place.”
“Ryder, what about the donation,” my mother calls out like she hasn’t just decimated my life.
“Fuck you. I’ll be sure to let Grandfather know why I’m withholding it this year.”
Two weeks I searchedfor Heaven. I left no stone unturned. I even checked her hometown. No one had seen her. I didn’t know what else to do.
“Here’s the number to a guy,” Maddox tells me as he gives me the number to a private investigator.
“I should’ve done this from the start,” I mumble.
“Do you think it’s too late?”
I look at him, wanting to punch him in the face for even saying it. The thought that she aborted our baby has been on my mind, weighing heavily. But I refuse to believe she would do that. Surely, she knows I would never want that. Not after Rayna. Except I never told her about Rayna.
He holds his hands up in surrender. “I’m just saying, Ry. She was terrified that night in the hospital. It was written all over her face. If she thinks she has to do it on her own, she might consider it. Especially if she believes it’s what you want.”
“She’s just cooling off. She’ll be back.” I keep telling myself that. It’s the only thing that has gotten me through these last two weeks without raging.
I grab my phone to call the investigator, but it starts ringing before I can dial. “Hello,” I growl.
“Mr. Jamison, this is Lawrence from First National. We’ve had a check come through for a large amount to Miss Heaven Sinclair. We were wanting to verify it’s validity with you.”
She did it. She went through with it. Tears sting my eyes as the anger I have dealt with most of my life grows with each breath I take. I can’t believe she would do this.
My heart shatters, then turns to ash, blown away to parts unknown. I gave it to her, and I asked her not to break it. Turns out the joke is on me because she didn’t just break it. She made sure to take the pieces with her.
Ryder
Present day
Fix Me
We are probably the last ones to arrive at Davis’ mansion. I walk up the red carpet to the ostentatious house of the owner of my record label. The place is absolutely ridiculous, having three stories of white brick surrounded by a lawn that looks to have been trimmed by hand.
As soon as we entered the house, I have the urge to put on a pair of sunglasses. Blinding white marble lines every inch of the floors and the columns dividing the entry from the great room. Crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling, causing an even brighter, blinding effect. Not something I appreciate considering I try to spend as much time in the dark as possible. There is even a bloody fountain in the middle of the entrance, sitting directly between the two grand staircases, which are also marble with wrought iron railings that give away the original art deco design of the house.
The entire place brings bile up my throat as thoughts of my mother begin to surface. This is exactly the kind of opulent extravagance she loves. The kind she thinks is deserved simply because she is fortunate enough to be born a Rosenthal. Because her great-grandfather started a jewelry company that her father turned into a billion-dollar organization.
Money is a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands. My mother has proven it over and over throughout the years, never caring who she hurts. I guess it would be impossible to care since she has no real emotion.
Money gives some people the idea that their wealth means they’re smarter and better when in reality, it just makes them arrogant assholes. They forget to be grateful for what they have and look down their noses at those less fortunate. They don’t seem to realize that it could all be gone in an instant. And there are some things money cannot fix. I’m proof ofthat.
“Someone’s overcompensating,” I remark tersely.
