Page 27 of His Forbidden Obsession

“Your own father is bad enough, but Ivanov is worse. There are powerful people who want to make sure this marriage doesn’t happen. We’re not alone in this, and I have money for you.”

“Mom, what⁠—”

“We don’t have much time. You need to get out of here. I failed you before, but I’m not going to let you end up in a marriage you never wanted with a father-in-law who will… I know what a monster Ivanov is. I won’t let him have you.”

She pressed a bag into my hand. “There’s a phone in here, some money, and an address. Go there.”

“What address? Whose?”

“Where is that bitch?” my father’s voice boomed down the hall.

My mom pushed me toward the window. “Go. Now. I bribed the guard that was outside your window, but he can’t stay gone long.”

I opened my window and looked down. It was a long climb, and it would be hell with a broken arm, but I didn’t have a choice. I slung the bag over my head with my good hand and leapt to the drainpipe, gripping it with my legs. I could use it to help me descend. At least this way, I had a chance one-handed.

I looked back at my mother. What would happen to her? How could I just leave her there? “Come with me.”

She shook her head. “No, this is for you. I want you to get away.”

I heard my father pounding on the door. It was time to go. “Thank you.”

“It’s so much less than you deserve. Go! Don’t let this all be for nothing.”

I made my way down the drainpipe, using my bad arm as little as I could and trying to ignore the pain. Once my feet hit the ground, I ran toward the woods behind the house, praying I wouldn’t run into anybody. I needed to get off my father’s property as quickly as I could, but not by the road at the front.

Thank God I’d spent so long playing out here when I was a kid. I knew a few paths that would take me to one of the back roads. When I was far enough away that I didn’t think anyone would find me, I stopped to take a breath and examine the contents of my bag.

As promised, there was a card with an address there for a location in Ville Marais. Why was she sending me there? I saw a rideshare app on the phone and realized there was money in the account that automatically opened. At least I had a way to get there once I docked the boat.

I quickly counted the money she’d given me. I had five thousand dollars. Should I just go to the airport and get a plane ticket? Not without an ID, and even if I had one, my father would track me. Surely he had already sent people out searching for me. I started moving again as I requested a ride from the road where the path would end.

Half an hour later, I stepped out of the rideshare in front of a beautiful house. Who lived here? How did my mother know them?

The car pulled away, and I still stood there, heart pounding, sweat rolling down my back. The humidity pressed down on me. If I kept standing there, I’d pass out from the heat.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had anything to eat. I took a shaky breath and forced myself to walk down the sidewalk and up the steps.

I rang the doorbell, aware that I was now on camera. I glanced up, hoping the person would somehow recognize me or be expecting me.

The last few days had been so crazy, so unreal. Was this any worse? Was anything worse than being stuck in the house with my father?

I heard footsteps, and then the door flew open. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

It was Lorenzo, the only man who had ever touched me so tenderly, made me feel so hot, so needy. My mother had sent me to his house.

11

LORENZO

Iclosed my eyes for a moment, then opened them again. The doorbell camera app still showed me Nikolai was standing on my porch with a bruised face and his arm in a cast. Had his father done that? If so, I would make sure he suffered for a good long time before he died.

I hurried down the hall and flung the door open. “What are you doing here?”

“I… I’m… Can I please come in?”

I didn’t even stop to think before gesturing for him to step inside. His presence had my head swimming. This situation was not good. Remington didn’t want Nikolai getting married tomorrow, but I was sure he hadn’t decided to take such a serious step as kidnapping the bride or groom. “What happened? Do you need me to call the doctor?”

“No, but I… I could use something to eat, and…” I caught him just as he slumped over.