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Ella sounds angry when she retorts. “Well, I’m not. Lord Grayrose is a busy man, Daddy. He’s running a freaking media empire here so I’m not sure why that would be a surprise to anyone.”
“Figure out how to spend more time with him. Your sister is depending on you. Would you deny her care?”
What exactly is Ella’s father talking about? Why would he pressure her to spend time with me? My mind trips over the problem, working in a frenzy in understand. But without knowing more, I can’t put the pieces together.
Something is starting to smell, though.
There is a pause. “Daddy, Joy says she feels fine.”
“She’s not fine!” he yells. “She needs you to care for her. Should I go tell her right now that she’s probably going to—”
“No, Daddy,” Ella interjects. “I misspoke.”
“You’re damn right you misspoke. Talking about how she’s fine. I’ll tell you what, Joy better not get any worse while we are waiting on you to come through for us.”
Ella’s voice sounds deflated. “Yes, Daddy. You know I’m trying.”
“Do I know that? I can only judge by actions, Ella. It seems like you don’t even care about your family from where I’m sitting.”
When she next speaks, her voice sounds tearful. “I know. I’m working on it, Daddy. I promise.”
“Don’t tell me. Tell your little sister. She’s counting on you, Ella.”
“Okay.” Her voice wavers.
“All right. We are expecting an update sooner rather than later. Ask about his exes. His assistants. Anyone close to him. Bring me some news that I can really sink my teeth into.”
She replies after a long, nearly silent sigh. “Yes, Daddy.”
“All right. Goodbye.”
Silence fills the air. For several long seconds, I strain to hear anything at all. But all I catch is her muttered, “God damn it all.”
I head down the stairs, intentionally clattering and making as much noise as possible. When I hit the landing and come around the stairwell, Ella is wiping at her eyes and straightening her posture.
Eyeing her, I arch a brow. “Everything okay?”
She swallows and nods. “I just tripped and stubbed my toe. It’s stupid.”
The lie rolls easily off her tongue. I’m a little taken aback; I don’t read any guilt in her expression, just a light smattering of hurt echoing back at me.
What the fuck was that phone call all about? What did her father mean when he pressed Ella to check with my exes and my assistants?
As much as I want to ask, I bite my tongue. As the head of NewsCorp, I know exactly how much the truth is worth. There is more to gain from holding back information in this case than in confronting her with her lie.
For now, anyway.
Ella turns, a frown on her face. “What do you know about Wendy?”
I blink, running my hand down my white button up. If I’m honest, I forgot about the fact that Ella and I had such an ugly little run-in with Wendy, the current bane of my existence.
“Not much, other than her name. I have asked my private investigation team to look into her, though.”
Ella squints at me. “When?”
“When what?”
She looks impatient. “When do you expect to hear back from…” She waves a hand. “Your team, I guess?”
