“Hi, Jack,” I said, forcing a smile to my face.
“How are you doing, beautiful?” he said. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, of course,” I said.
“Is it the case you are working on? The Avery case?” he asked, frowning. “Is it bothering you?”
I had told Jack about the case and a little about my past too. It surprised me how easy it was to talk to him.
“I guess,” I said. “It’s part of it.”
“Want to go for some coffee? A quick break?” he asked.
I glanced at Gale’s office, where he and Stella were still inside, and nodded.
“Okay,” I said softly.
Ten minutes later, we sat in a small café, sipping on our coffees.
“I am sorry you had to go through so much,” he said. “I can’t even imagine what you went through. How it must all have felt. The fear and the pain. Working on the case must remind you of all that, huh?”
“It does,” I said. “It makes me wonder if there is any hope. The man who abused me is still at large. This is a man of wealth and power. What hope is there that he will be brought to justice?”
“There is hope,” Jack said. “As long as there is someone out there fighting, there is hope. Hope is only lost when no one fights for justice anymore. When everyone gives up, that is when hope is lost. Until then, there will always be hope.”
I looked into his kind eyes and smiled, squeezing his hand.
“Thank you, Jack,” I said, smiling at him.
Stella
I smirked as I looked at Gale sitting next to me, ordering our drinks. I knew I had him in the palm of my hand, and there was nothing he could do. Everything was going perfectly.
My phone rang and I frowned as I looked at the caller ID.
“Excuse me,” I said to Gale, but he ignored me. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t overcome his anger and hatred toward me. But it didn’t matter. I didn’t want his love anyways. I wanted his money. Also, I wanted to have fun seeing him tortured. He deserved it- for sleeping with that bitch secretary. - No one knew about it, but my father had racked up a lot of debt lately, and we were almost bankrupt. I needed money desperately, and Gale was my way to get it.“What is it?” I asked, picking the call up.
“How dare you release the information into the news? Without my permission?” his voice thundered in my ear.
“He needed to be punished,” I said. “He slept with that stupid girl again. I had to do something!”
“Don’t forget who gave you all this information,” he snarled. “Don’t forget who brought you back. Don’t forget whose plan this is! And don’t forget who is paying you to do all this. You will follow my orders, Stella, or else. Put a toe out of line one more time, and I will cut you off.”
“But—” I protested.
“Enough!” he cut me short. “I have made myself clear. If you want your money, you will do as I say. I am not going to let some girl ruin my plans. I will have my revenge. My perfect revenge.”
I heard him laughing across the line, and I shivered. He even scared the hell out of me at times.
“All right,” I said. “You got it.”
Chapter 15
Kidnapped
Gale Fears
“Seth,” I called out. “Get in here. What’s going on with the investigation?”
