3: 3
03
She caught the disappointment on my face.
Maya crouched down, pleased with herself, and shoved the couple photo on her phone up to my face with a cold laugh.
"See that? A husband-stealing whore deserves to die a thousand deaths."
Really?
I stared at the phone, right there in front of me.
I pressed my lips together, threw everything I had into breaking loose, snatched the phone, and smashed it to pieces.
I tried to run, but she yanked me back by the hair and pinned me to the floor.
When Maya saw the scratches I'd clawed into the back of her hand, her face twisted into something ugly.
"Nigel says my hands are the prettiest. How dare you mark me."
I looked at the electronic wreckage on the floor and let out a cold laugh.
Just wait a little longer. These hands of yours won't be yours for much longer.
Ever since that thing happened, my family had put a protective mode on my phone.
Smash it, and it triggered a location alert.
The smile on my face stung Maya's eyes.
She glared at my mangled, bloody hand, her mouth curving without any warmth in it.
"Looks like that wasn't enough to teach you a lesson."
Then she raised the bloodied ashtray and brought it down hard on my finger bones.
Once, then again.
Until a certain ringtone went off.
Maya wiped a spray of blood off her face, took the call, and her voice went instantly coy.
"If you've got the nerve, then don't call. Just let me and the baby die and be done with it."
Listening to the two of them talk.
Right away I could tell it wasn't my brother's voice, but there was something oddly familiar about it.
I forced out a muffled sound, trying to draw his attention.
Sure enough, the man paused.
"Maya, is there someone next to you?"
Maya looked at me, one leg crossed over the other.
She admitted, plainly, that she was dealing with a little slut.
Before she hung up, it was obvious the man's tone turned frantic once he heard my name.
But she just propped her chin in her hand and looked at me, gloating.
"See, Nigel's worried about upsetting the baby. He told me to stay put and not move, to just wait for him to come and deal with you."
"Betty, you're finished."
A few minutes later, someone pushed the door open from outside.
Maya called out my brother's name and rushed over, beaming.
The moment their eyes met, his face went white.
Mine went cold too.
I never imagined the man impersonating my brother would be the son of Sophie, our live-in housekeeper.
Lewis James.
The so-called luxury car collection, the mansion worth billions, were all things that already belonged to my family.
Add to that the fact that his features looked a little like my brother's, and photos that had been touched up and filtered, no wonder Maya had mistaken him.
Seeing how badly I'd been beaten, barely recognizable, Lewis panicked at once.
His hands moved instinctively to untie the ropes.
But Maya stopped him.
"Nigel, are you protecting her?"
"Don't forget, the Hensons have no heir. It's the baby in my belly that inherits the whole estate."
Lewis's hand froze on the rope.
He met my icy stare, and his eyes slowly went dark and unreadable.
Twenty-odd years in the Henson household, and he knew exactly what happened to anyone who crossed me.
At that same moment, the phone in the pocket of Lewis's suit lit up.
The instant he saw the name on the screen, his expression changed.
Without a word he had someone bring a cloth and stuff it into my mouth, signaling everyone to shut up and stay silent.
The second he answered, my brother's frantic voice came through, clear as anything.
"Lewis, Betty's location just lit up at the Bluewater. Take people over and check it right now."
"I'll be there soon. If anyone dares to hurt Betty, kill them on the spot."
