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Chapter Thirty-one
***Autumn***
Igrimacedandsat up, wary of her. She looked just as nicely put together as ever, but there was something in her eyes that scared the hell out of me. She looked too happy, too pleased with herself, while also raging mad. I didn’t know how she managed it, but her feelings were clear.
“Well, look who got off my ex-husband’s dick long enough to be caught outside.” She gracefully settled into the chair next to me and crossed her long legs. “You’re looking a little chunky, too. I shouldn’t take so much pleasure in you gaining weight, but I do.”
I pursed my lips and nodded. I wasn’t going to engage with her, especially not where her kids could see us.
“I’ve got such a great gift for you. I mean, it’s really going to blow your socks off.” She leaned closer to me. “Or maybe all of your clothing.”
My stomach twisted as I turned to her, unable to help myself. “Stacy, stop it. I don’t want to do this with you. Go play with your kids.”
“How can I relax and play with my kids when I know that their slut nanny is fucking their father and both of his brothers under their roof?”
I winced but shook my head. “You should see someone about all this anger you have at other women, Stacy.”
She yanked at the envelope and snatched out a photograph, thrusting it into my face with a smug smirk stretching her mouth. “And you should see someone about the obvious sickness you have. Are you a sex addict or just that big of a fucking whore?”
I grabbed the photo and crumpled it, holding it tight to my stomach. “Where did you get that?”
Finding pleasure in the obvious fear in my voice, she stretched out and smiled. “I have friends, Autumn Aarons, of Montauk, New York. I have friends inside that house, and I have friends who buy pictures like these.”
My heart sank, and I sat forward, pressing my head between my knees. I was going to be sick. Definitely sick.
“I have more. Do you want to see them? It’s just so very convenient that Griff has security cameras all through the house, don’t you think?” Stacy pulled out another photograph and waved it in front of me. “This one with you getting fucked perfectly in front of the camera is just too good. I couldn’t have asked for a clearer picture of your face.”
I yanked it from her and stood up. “Stop it! What the fuck do you want?”
“I want you gone.” She stood up and glared at me. “I want you out of that house and away from my kids. I want you to crawl back to whatever hole spit you out and I want you to forget you ever met the Phoenix men or my kids. You’re done here.”
I shook all over, unable to control it. “And if I don’t leave?”
She pulled out more photos and tossed them into the air, sending them scattering everywhere. While I scrambled to get them, crawling in the sand to catch each horrible image before someone else saw it, Stacy landed her final blow.
“If you don’t leave, I will have my friends publish the story of the billionaire ex-husband of supermodel Stacy Laray who is involved in a disgusting relationship with his brothers and the fucking nanny. The media would love to see inside the twisted lives of the rich, don’t you think? You’ll be outed as their whore and shamed like you should be. I imagine the school you teach at would frown upon their employees living this sort of life. And, the cherry on the cake, I’ll be able to take my kids back from Griff. Win-win.”
Kneeling on the ground before her, clutching the photos to my chest, I glared up at her. “You can’t publish these.”
“Watch me.”
I fought tears as I watched her stomp away, the confident sway of her ass catching admiring glances of everyone around. People had no idea what a monster lived inside the pretty package. They would believe her when she told of the horrors that existed inside of Griff’s home. They would take the kids from him.
“Autumn, are you okay?” Jones stood next to me. He reached out and touched my face. “You’re crying.”
I bundled the pictures against my chest tightly and wiped my eyes with my other hand. “Um, I’m so sorry, Jones, but I’m feeling sick. Can you get your sister and Grace? We need to leave.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but then he turned and chased down Caroline and Grace. Bringing them back to me, he chastised them both for complaining. “Autumn is sick. We can see the kites later.”
I tried folding up the chairs, but I couldn’t think, couldn’t focus. “Leave them. I’ll get them later. Come on, guys.”
The driver was surprised to see us coming so soon, but he started the car and pulled back into traffic to pick us up. When he saw my face, he stepped forward. “Ms. Aarons? Is something wrong?”
I nodded. “I need to get home right away. I have to speak to Griff.”
In the car, the kids were silent as they watched me. I knew I was probably scaring them, but I couldn’t get my wits about me. The pictures had shaken me. Stacy having them made my body flood with anxiety. My heart raced, and I was sweating all over, despite the air conditioning in the car. She was going to ruin me. More than I thought possible. Those photos would be the end of my career. They’d be the end of everything.
The driver got us to the house fast and helped me get the kids inside. I passed Helen and Greta on the way in, and they both looked stricken by my appearance.
“Autumn?”
I shook my head and raced through the house. “Griff!”
Jones stood with Caroline and Grace, watching me as I panicked. They looked freaked out, and I realized I was probably traumatizing them.
“I’m so sorry, kids. I just need to talk to Griff. I’m not feeling well and he’ll know how to help. Why don’t you three go upstairs and put a movie on? Can you do that for me?”
Jones nodded. “Come on.”
Griff rushed out of his office, his eyes wild. “What? What’s wrong?”
I rushed towards him, the need to throw myself in his arms and sob strong. “Um. Can we speak in your office?”
“What’s going on? Tom said something’s wrong. You had him race back here.” He looked over at the kids and took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s go to my office.”
I hurried ahead of him and sank onto his couch, dropping the photos at my feet. “Griff, how did she get these? These… She had these and she’s going to publish them.”
Griff grabbed a few and uncrumpled them. Swearing viciously, he pulled out his phone and dialed. “Get the fuck in here. Now!”
I buried my face in my hands and sobbed through them. “Stacy is going to show everyone. She said I have to leave. I have to go and stay away. If I don’t, these are going to get out. How did this happen?”
Griff knelt in front of me, crushing the photos under his knees, and pulled me into his chest hard. Holding me, he pressed his mouth into my hair and swore. “I am so fucking sorry, sweetheart. I don’t know how it happened. I’m going to fix it, okay? I’m going to take care of you.”
The door to his office opened and his driver, Tom, rushed in. “Sir?”
“Photos from the house security system got out. How?”
“Photos? Sir, what—”
Growling, Griff crumpled the photos in his hand. “Photos. Stills from the security footage of the house, footage from last night, were taken somehow and given to someone outside of the house. Tell me how the fuck that happened, Tom.”
I clung to Griff, not wanting to have to face Tom or anyone else. I didn’t care how they got leaked. I just cared that they were.
“I don’t know how that could’ve happened, sir. No one looks at the footage. No one is supposed to, anyway. It’s never been accessed before.”
“I don’t fucking care about before! Someone fucking stole images from that footage and are using them against us. Find out who the fuck did it and bring them to me. You have thirty minutes. Call my brothers home, too.” Griff’s voice shook the room, it was so loud and powerful. “This is your second fuck-up, Tom. You’re only as good as the men you employ.”
Tom didn’t reply as he left the office, the sound of the door closing the only response from him.
“Fuck. Autumn, sweetheart, I’m going to take care of it. I’ll figure it out.”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter how the photos got out. Stacy has them. I have to leave. I have to go home.”
“No.” Griff’s loud denial was only softened by the way he gently rocked me in his arms. “No, Autumn. You’re here, where you’re supposed to be. I’ll figure this out and fix it. You can’t leave, though.”
“How can I stay?”
Looking me in the eye, feelings clear on his face, he shook his head. “How could you leave?”
