Beneath The Billionaire Vow

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at across from my father at the long mahogany dining table, idly pushi

n thoughts.Mike's voice. His smirk. The look in his eyes when he realized who I truly

ce broke through the silence."Sir... there's a letter. It came in a black envelope. No return address."She was holding

intuition,or maybe it was just paranoia. Either way, I knew better than to act first.My father took it with

t?" I asked, standing slowly.He didn't answer. His eyes were wide, hollow in shock.My stomach dropped. I walked around the table, crouched to the floor, and

forced my expression to remain calm.My father had a heart condition. One strong emotion could be the final na

ale, sweat beginning to bead at his forehead.And then his phone rang.The ringtone was sharp, slicing through

f his lips.I stared, confused, what could he have heard that changed his expression.Whoever was on the other end of that call had just brought

seen in months."We have a job," he said, his voice tinged with something close to excitement. "A very

re bankrupt."His eyes locked with mine,cold, determined, and completely devoid of empathy."If we don't take this,

e price!"He slammed his palm on the table."You are all I have, Avery!""And what am I to you? A pawn? A tool? A daughter you can pi

r as I pushed it back."I'm not your puppet," I whispered, my voice low and trembling with fury. "Not

s.I reached my room, slammed the door shut behind me, and locked it.I stood still for a moment, my chest rising and falling like a wave crashing aga

ere it shouldn't be. Maybe Mike watching from the shadows. But all I saw was morning sunshine painting the driveway like nothin

er, not Mike, not anyone.This was about reclaiming my life.Whatever "job" he had in mind... whatever trap he was about to drag me into next,I nee

ffluent life but pimping me up every now and then?I stood up and walked over to my set o

r still,you should have taken me along, at least