Ruin The Billionaire

How much did Jake Rylland pay you to do his dirty work?”

The woman laughed, leaned down and slapped me. Sharp pain assaulted me and I was almost certain the marks of her long fingers were visible on my face. My eyes narrowed as I stared up at her. She was smiling and shaking her head slightly. “Don’t be disrespectful.”

The woman walked to the end of the room, picked up a chair and came to sit in front of me. “We can now talk.”

Amy was still crying so I turned to her. “Don’t worry, Amy. We shall get out of here soon.”

“That lady-.”

“Shut up, little girl.” The woman yelled at her.

“She’s just a little girl. Why did you have to involve her in this? I’m the only person you should be punishing.”

“My son has tried to punish you, but that hasn’t worked so far.”

I knew I’d seen her before. I remembered scrolling through Jake’s family photos and seeing her face. “So he called you to come and help. Had no idea he was such a mama’s boy. Where have you been through? I stalked him for a while but never saw you in the picture.”

“None of your business, girlie. I’m here to help my son and I don’t plan on disappointing him. I’ll have you know that I’m very efficient in these kinds of things.”

“Which kind of things?” I asked, panic rising. “Kidnapping people?”

Murder? I couldn’t say that out loud in fear of scaring Amy.

“Worse,” she said. “But, if you don’t want any of that, you have to do just one small thing for me. Stop writing about my son and stay away from him. If you can do that, I won’t bother you and your family. If you don’t, I’ll do more than just kidnapping and issuing threats.

When I let you go, you’ll have time to research about me, even talk to the people whose lives and careers I have destroyed because they’re many. It’s why my son entrusted me to this. I have destroyed him before so he knows just what I’m capable of. Doesn’t matter who you are, I’ll ruin you if I have to.”

“I can do that. In fact when I was on my way I deleted my new blog. If this is going to hurt the people I love, I think it isn’t worth it. I’d rather have my old ordinary life back. Just let me go and you’ll never hear about me ever again. Your son can live his life however he likes and I will remain unbothered.”

Mrs. Rylland smiled. “I’m glad to see that we are on the same page.”

She stood up and went to a table pushed against the wall. Picking up a clip board, she opened and pulled out some papers, attaching them to it. Picking up a pen from the table, she walked towards me. She hands the papers to me and I grab them. “You’re going to sign those papers. Feel free to read through them for as long as you like.”

At that moment, the door opened and in walked a man wearing a black suit and pointy black shoes.

“That’s our lawyer.”

I read through the papers stating that I would never write about Jake, or come anywhere close to him. If I did, I would be sued for breaching the contract. I didn’t see any shady clauses but had to read through thrice because I didn’t trust the woman.

“What if I need a lawyer,” I said.

“Do you think you’re in position to ask for one? I could kill someone,” she glanced at a whimpering Amy. “In exchange for a lawyer. What would you like Miss Hellman?”

“Give me the pen,” I said, proffering my hand. She put it on my palm and quickly started signing everywhere. “Done. Can I go now?”

“Take the girl out of the room,” she said to the man who went and grabbed Amy’s waist. She struggled and screamed as he forcefully pulled her out of the room. Pain filled my heart as I watched her suffer, crying about wanting her mother.

“What now?” I asked.

The woman slapped me. “That’s for stressing my son out. I could do worse but I’m going to give you a chance and spare you because you helped me a great deal. Thanks to you, I’m back to my son’s life and I want to stay. If you dare try anything, I will come for you.”

“Look, I have no interest in this anymore. I just want to return my niece to my sister and go on with my life. I have suffered enough since I got involved in this. I’m done.”

“Wyre,” the woman shouted and a man walked in.

“Untie her,” he said and strutted out of the room.

The man untied me from the chair but left my hands bound. “Where is my niece?”

“Just go. You’ll find her.”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Running out of the room, I quickly climbed up the stairs. A man was waiting for me at the top, Amy sitting near him. He placed a plastic bag on my head and led me out of the room. There was no point of blindfolding me since I was no longer interested in going up against the Rylland family.

When the car stopped, i was untied and the two of us were thrown out of the car before it sped away from the house. I tried to hug Amy but she turned away from me.

“What’s wrong baby?”

“That man said you told them to kidnap me.”

“I did no such thing.”

“I want my mommy.”

Escorting her to the door, I watched as she walked in. When I heard Hailey’s exclamation, I started running away. I ran down the stairs, not scared of falling over. I relaxed when I was outside the building and pulled out my phone to turn it off. I was sure Amy had told her mother everything and wasn’t ready to face the wrath of my sister.

I knew I was wrong. I should have stayed there and faced whatever punishment Hailey had for me. I was supposed to stay and listen as she unpacked her anger and loaded her unto me. I should have waited for her to attack me for everything I had done.

Because of me, the person she loved most had almost died. Although she turned up fine, it was not a small matter. It had not affected me so much but Hailey had nearly lost her mind because of the disappearance of Amy. I had felt sad and scared but I didn’t think that was anywhere close to how Hailey had felt. She must have felt her world crushing down, especially because the incident happened only four months after losing a new-born, whose trauma she was not yet over.

When I was near my place, I entered a diner and ordered some food. When my food arrived, I dug in, stuffing food in my mouth like I hadn’t eaten in months yet it had only been a few hours.

I was about to leave when I saw a familiar face walking in. Kyle Munther, the man I had met at the beach. His eyes met mine and he walked to my table.

“What are the chances?” I said, happy to see him.

“Hey, you live around here?”

I nodded. “I’m sure you don’t.”

He had told me he lived in New Jersey. I began to feel suspicious. Was he stalking me? Having been involved in several bad incidents, I was starting to become paranoid, suspicious of everything and everyone around me.

“I don’t. Came to see a friend of mine. He’s in the hospital after getting involved in a car accident.”

Sounded reasonable. I felt relieved.

“How is he doing?” I asked.

“He’ll be alright. You don’t look too well.”

“Would you believe me if I said I just got released by my kidnapper?” I asked.

“I do actually. After everything you told me last time, I think I can believe anything. Besides I’ve worked for so long around the rich and famous. Anything is expected when you’re around them. I’m kind of lucky I haven’t been murdered or landed in jail. You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve gone through while serving those people.”

I sighed. “We have something in common, I guess. Being haunted by rich and famous people.”

“Was it Jake?”

I shook my head. “No but I’d rather not talk about it. Honestly I’m done with all this mess. I just want to relax and enjoy myself as I wait to resume work. If I don’t stop to smell the roses right now, I might never get the chance to do it.”

“Why don’t you come with me? I’m planning a vacation for myself. Might travel to long island. Will even pay for you if you want.”

I shook my head. Yeah right. That was not about to happen, not if I had learnt anything from recent events in my life.

“I hope that one day you’ll be able to trust again.”

“I hope not,” I said.