Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 104532 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 523(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104532 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 523(@200wpm)___ 418(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
“Fine. You proved your point, son,” Gus says to me. “I want my data restored. I want everything intact.”
I smile. Does he think giving me a figurative pat on the back and calling me son are going to make me forget about everything? “That’s not going to happen.”
His eyes bulge. “What do you mean it’s not going to happen?”
I advance on him, getting into his face. “Call it payback for how you treated Violet. The information stays with me. It’s already been sent to a secure virtual location. If you put one foot wrong, a file will be emailed to the feds. They’re just waiting for a reason to lock you away, and I have enough reasons to get you a life sentence. As for Gia, you’re going to divorce her, sell whatever possessions you have left, and give her everything. After what you’ve put her and Violet through, I’d call that fair, wouldn’t you? And just so you know, I have eyes on you. Wherever you go and whatever you do, I’ll know. Get ready to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life.”
He looks like he may have a stroke. “You… You fucking…”
“Have a nice retirement,” I say, turning my back on them and walking from the basement.
If they think I’m done with them, they’re in for a surprise. My vengeance has merely started. Their lives will inevitably end with tragic accidents, but not before they’ve suffered. I want them to die humiliated and dirt poor.
Outside, the parking lot is deserted. The staff, including the guard, have scattered. Only my Harley, Gus’s Maserati, and Elliot’s BMW are left.
That feeling I got when Violet and I drove to Sun City wraps around me.
Freedom.
Finally, I can breathe.
Finally, we can shut the door on this chapter of our lives and move forward.
I once thought I had my place cut out for me here, but now I can’t wait to shake the dust of Starley Solutions from my feet.
Revenge is sweet. People who walk the straight and narrow will tell me it’s wrong, but I’m not a good person. I’ve never claimed to be one.
When I married Violet, I knew I was going to use her as an instrument in my revenge. Because she betrayed me, I wanted to make her my revenge. But now I know better. Now I know Violet has always owned me. She was always going to slay me. She bewitched me on the first day I saw her, and she conquered me on the day she drenched Elliot’s keyboard in coffee.
I get onto my bike and fit the helmet. The powerful machine vibrates underneath me when I start the engine. I pull out of the lot without looking back. It’s time to start over, to build a business of my own.
The road ahead is open. I smile and floor the gas. The possibilities are endless. The future is ours, Violet’s and mine. We’re young, and I’m in love. Maybe one day, Violet will learn to love me back. The words that healed us were I’m sorry. The words that will give us our happy beginning are I love you. I’ve written them on an envelope. Perhaps one day, she’ll be able to say them.
A ping coming through my headphones announces a message on my phone. It’s almost nine. Violet will be at work. She must’ve read my note.
Grinning like an idiot, I pull my phone from my pocket at a red light.
The message isn’t from Violet. It’s from Elliot.
I tense.
My gut drops as I open the attachment.
It’s a photo of Gia wearing nothing but a sheet on her lover’s porch, taken from across the street.
CHAPTER 25
Violet
I’m smiling from ear to ear when I leave the house to go to work.
“Hey,” Zelda calls from across the street where she’s watering her garden. “You look like you won the jackpot.”
I open my car door. “I think I may just have.”
She turns the hosepipe on the roses. “Morning sex?”
“Ew. No, and even if that was true, that would be TMI. Leon is taking me to Zanzibar.”
And he loves me.
He loves me.
I still can’t get over it. But I don’t tell her that, because normal people fall in love before they get married. We did the whole thing backward.
“That’s so cool.” She sprays the water over the flowerbeds. “You totally deserve to be spoiled.”
“Thanks. How’s your sperm donor selection progressing?”
“The interviews are booked for this weekend.” She adds jokingly, “I’ll show you the mugshots on Wednesday night.”
“I look forward to it,” I say, getting into the car with a wave.
She returns the greeting when I drive past. My heart squeezes as I take in her slender frame in the rearview mirror. I’m happy they found a solution. I can’t help but think about Leon and me. I’m not sure if children are in the cards for us, but the thought doesn’t scare me half as much as it used to.