Page 82 of Suddenly Yours

My hands curled into fists beneath the thin hospital blanket as she hit the next message.

“I won’t be held responsible for the consequences of your decisions. You have obligations to fulfill. I’ve made promises and this is your last chance to make things right. Maybe now you’ll see the truth in the matter.”

Max let out a low, dangerous laugh. “Wow. He really said that out loud.”

“There are more,” Missy said quietly. “At least two dozen.”

“That’s enough,” I said. “You don’t deal with him alone.”

“He’s right.” Max nodded. “Call him back now. Put him on speaker. We’re here, let’s deal with him together.”

Missy’s fingers trembled a little as she hit dial.

Gerald answered on the second ring. “Melissa. I can’t talk long. My flight is boarding.”

“You called me first,” she said, her voice steady despite the shake in her hands. “What do you want?”

“I was giving you one last chance to make this right. To do what you should. You have the power to turn all this around.”

“What does that mean?” She shook her head and closed her eyes.

“I’ve had a contract drawn up. Since you refused to convince your mother to be reasonable in the divorce, I’ve decided that you’ll sign over your shares of Sharper Image to me instead.”

Missy’s eyes jerked open and widened. “I don’t have them anymore.”

“I do,” Max said calmly, stepping forward. “I bought them almost a year ago, and you can’t have them.”

“I sold them to Max and used the money to pay for my business, my building,” Missy added.

Silence.

“That’s… unfortunate,” Gerald finally said, his voice dropping slightly. “You’re both there?”

“Yes,” Missy said. “We’re at the hospital.”

“Cade was in a serious accident,” Max added. “He’s here too.”

A long pause.

“He… survived?” Gerald asked in an odd tone.

The pause that followed was too long.

Cold settled in my gut. He hadn’t said, Is he okay? Or, How bad is it? Just… He survived.

Max stepped closer to my bed. “Dad,” he said evenly, “what did you do?”

A sigh came through the line, heavy, and tired. “I made a deal I had intended to follow through with. Only now, new information has come to light.”

Missy sucked in a sharp breath as Max pulled out his phone and fiddled with the screen.

“Levi approached me a few months back,” Gerald continued. “He claimed that he wanted to get back together with you. Since your mother wanted to pay me pennies for my half of the company, I had to look at other options. I knew I could use a little of his family’s capital and power to my benefit. In order to do that, I needed to secure that permanent connection.”

“Permanent… Me? You used me to get to them?” Missy whispered. “So, what? You were going to get money if I married him?”

“No, it was far more practical,” he snapped. “After your marriage, I would use your influence to make a family merger. Business like that happens all the time. I would get security, you would get a husband and your old life back. You were already involved with him once. We both know he’s exactly your type. All Levi had to do was stay in line, for a while, at least.”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this. It’s all so… crazy.” Missy shook her head. “You planned on selling me off like livestock.”