“Jonathan, Lily and Olive are my dearest friends–you have to stand up for them!”
Marina sobbed as she clung to Jonathan’s hand.
“In front of everyone, and you’re grabbing a married man’s hand? Have you no shame?” Lana finally seized the chance to snap at Marina, something she’d been itching to do for ages.
Niamh immediately tugged on Lana’s sleeve, shaking her head in warning. Now was not the time to make an enemy of Marina–especially with Jonathan, and all the power of The Thomas Group, at her back. The last thing Niamh wanted was for Lana to get herself into trouble because of her.
Marina, lips quivering, tried to pull her hand free, but Jonathan’s grip only tightened. “Worthless jerk,” Lana muttered under her breath.
Jonathan kept hold of Marina’s hand as he spoke to the police, but his eyes were fixed on Niamh.
“Chief Lawson, put her in holding.”
“You can’t do that!” Niamh blurted out, panic in her voice. “Officer, we’re willing to settle. We’ll pay whatever’s needed-”
“How much can you offer?” Jonathan’s smile was chilling as he turned to Niamh. “And whose money will you be paying with?”
“It’s not your money, that’s for sure,” Julian said, slapping a black credit card on the table with a sharp smack.
Lana, suddenly deflated, kept quiet. The bravado she’d shown earlier had evaporated. She came from an ordinary background–if Jonathan demanded a ridiculous sum, she couldn’t scrape it together if she sold both her kidneys.
As for Niamh, she’d been a homemaker for years, spending only what Jonathan allowed.
Julian had money, sure, but everyone knew he was only doing this for Niamh.
Lana also knew that Niamh had no interest in Julian, at least not like that. She didn’t want to see Niamh in his debt, either.
Niamh bent down, picked up the black card, and handed it back to Julian. Then she
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turned to Jonathan, calm and resolute. “Everything you ever gave me money,
gifts–I’ve already sent back to you. Not a cent I spend now comes from you. Name your price. Whatever it is, I’ll pay it.”
Suddenly, the police station fell silent.
All eyes turned to Niamh.
Even Jonathan.
He frowned slightly, as if realizing Niamh wasn’t bluffing.
Niamh was already calculating in her head. She only had a few million left in her account. For most people, that was a fortune, but to Jonathan, it wasn’t even pocket change.
If Jonathan demanded hundreds of millions just to settle…
She clenched her teeth. If it came to that, she’d have to go begging to the last person she ever wanted to face.
A long, tense silence. Then Jonathan gave a soft laugh and turned to Marina.
“What do you think? I’ll let you decide.”
Marina dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, her voice trembling with righteous indignation. “We don’t need the money. I just want the person who hurt us to be properly punished.”
Her display of moral outrage clearly pleased Jonathan. Niamh saw the admiration in his eyes as he looked at Marina. /
“That’s right–we refuse to settle. No amount of money will change that.”
“Jonathan-”
“Nia, don’t bother,” Lana cut her off, stepping protectively in front of her. “Let them put me in holding if they want–I’m not scared!”
But Niamh wasn’t ready to give up. She tried one more time.
“Jonathan, what do you even gain by having Lana locked up? You’re a businessman–don’t you care about the return on your investment?”
Lana was about to be led away by the officers when Niamh grabbed her phone, desperate for a solution.
But before she could dial, Jonathan’s voice came from behind, deep and cold.
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“I could let her go. Unless…”
Aldenville woke beneath the first rays of morning sun, the city’s commuters already rushing into their day.
The Thomas Group.
President’s office.
Preston Winslow sat across from Jonathan, sipping his coffee.
“Jonathan, aren’t you worried Marina will blow a fuse if you bring Niamh into the office?”
