Page 36 of The Billionaire's Timed Wife

“Now tell Amin I need him in my office.”

Minutes later

“Daisy Ellis. Is that a common surname in the United States?” my assistant asks.

“I’m not sure, but considering she’s an American citizen, a good private investigator shouldn’t have trouble finding her. It’s best to start in New York—that’s the state she was born in, according to Adeela.”

“Would it be intrusive if I asked why we’re looking into this woman, besides the fact that she’s Miss Ghazal’s mother?”

“She’s dying, Amin. That’s why I need you to find her as soon as possible. Spare no effort, no expense. Hire as many investigators as it takes.”

“We haven’t had much success locating people in that country,” he reminds me, alluding to my brother’s disappearance.

“This case is different. She’s just a sick woman, not someone in hiding.”

“And His Highness Sheikh Naim is hiding?”

“Maybesomeone’shiding him,” I answer bluntly.

I’ve gone over Naim’s disappearance a hundred times in my mind. And even though there’s no evidence connecting him to Odin Lykaios, my instincts tell me that man is involved.

“Are you saying Your Highness believes he was kidnapped and they’ll demand a ransom?”

“No. If that were the case, they’d have made contact by now.”

“You believe the sheikh is no longer alive, then?” His question is calm, detached, and I understand why. Years ago, before I ever dreamed of taking power, Naim pursued Amin’s sister, refusing to accept that she’d turned him down.

Yes, because the bastard didn’t think she was good enough to be a wife, yet he still wanted her in his bed.

The situation escalated to the point where I had to get her out of Rheadur, so I brought her here to study in Paris. Today, Abla is a successful dentist. She’s married and has three children.

Even so, Amin has never forgotten that Naim nearly destroyed his sister’s life.

And that’s the biggest problem with my half-brother’s disappearance: he has so many enemies scattered across the world that even though Odin Lykaios seems the most likely culprit, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else from Naim’s past in America decided to settle an old score.

“No, I don’t think he’s alive. But keep the investigators searching. My father needs closure on this matter. As for Adeela’s mother, the situation is far more urgent. We don’t know her condition or how much time she has left.”

“And if we do find her, what will be the next step?”

“As soon as she’s located, if she truly is ill, have someone take her to the best hospital and start treatment immediately. I want updates on every development. If she’s healthy but livingin poverty, move her to a good hotel until I can arrange for her daughter to see her.”

He’s about to leave when a thought strikes me.

Absurd as it may sound, I’m not willing to take any risks. A man capable of offering his daughter in marriage to a brute, knowing she’d be hurt—what limits could such evil possibly have?

“Amin, one more thing: sick or not, in a hotel or a hospital, assign guards to ensure no one connected to Arif Ghazal gets near her. Daisy Ellis is under my protection now.”

Chapter 18

“He only said that?”

“Yes. My brother asked us to buy you a beautiful dress for tonight, then said he’d pick you up at eight.”

I twist my hands in front of me, trying to control my nerves. I barely slept, thinking about everything that happened, from my father’s phone call to Kaled’s kiss.

I push away the image of the man who, along with my mother, gave me life. Father doesn’t deserve to have his name mentioned in the same sentence as Kaled’s. They’re like water and oil.

Unlike my father, the prince is an honorable man.