by Lacey Legend
She had hoped they could get married, allowing her more access to his funds and control over their finances. She wasn’t in love with Peter but wanted that legal connection to ensure her finances. She had brought up the idea to him, convincing him he should get married before it was too late. He had no interest in making his partner’s daughter his wife and decided he needed to cut her off as well. He realized too late that he was in a bit too deep with this potentially dangerous girl. This was all too much for Vera to handle and she snapped.
She realized if she eliminated Peter altogether, her father would have more stake in the business, allowing him to have a higher income. She didn’t murder Peter in the heat of the moment. She planned it all out to make sure it went her way. She was wealthy enough to hire someone to kill him for her, but she decided to do it herself. Maybe it was the drugs, or maybe it was the way she was born, but something about taking such a powerful man’s life thrilled her.
When she could get any thrill she wanted in the world, she had to start looking elsewhere to get a rise. She knew she couldn’t make it look like a murder and decided instead to set it up like a suicide. She decided to head over to his house for one more crazy rendezvous. She got him as drunk as possible, and once he passed out, decided to slice his wrists open. She just did two clean cuts and his alcohol-filled blood poured like a high-pressure faucet.
She filled a bath and managed to drag his body into the tub, causing him to bleed out, all while passed out and unaware. He was too far gone to even have the chance to fight Vera off. Since no one had known about their affair, she figured no one would suspect that she was there and that it was just another suicide. She didn’t even write a note or try to fake anything else.
When they made their way to Russia, she had her eyes set on Ruslan. She thought about how she wanted to hook up with him as well, maybe finding another man to help her addiction. Olivia thought that Vera just had an addiction to wealthy men. She never realized that they were just a step in a different direction towards fulfilling her other addictions. He showed no interest in her, causing her to decide it was best to just eliminate him altogether. Unfortunately, she ended up murdering her father instead.
She put the note in Joseph’s hand to set up Ruslan, hoping that now with all three of the men gone, the business would become hers and she would be able to have as much money as she needed. She didn’t know anything about running a business and wasn’t even out of college. She still knew that she would have access to the company’s wealth, allowing her to be able to buy whatever she wanted. She was lucky that her father’s business partners didn’t have children of their own.
After her father was murdered, her mother had mentioned to Vera that she was thinking of just giving the business to Ruslan and donating the rest of the money to charity. She knew that she was going to be dying and didn’t need the money and figured there were plenty of people around the world who would have much better benefited from their fortune rather than it all just going to Vera.
Margot was unaware that Vera had already burned through her own trust fund and maxed out her credit cards. She would never let Vera walk all over her finances the way that Joseph did. When Vera realized there was still someone in the way of her money and had the potential to take it all away, she had to eliminate her as well.
Killing Peter was scary, but with each life she took, she felt stronger and more powerful. She really believed that she was on the right track to a perfect life. She thought killing her mother might be difficult, but she knew that it was what she had to do in order to get everything that she had hoped and dreamed of. She had gone too far, it would have made all those other deaths not worth anything if she let her mother change her will before she died.
Vera revealed all of this to authorities under the guidance of her lawyers. They suggested she might not get the death sentence if she were honest about everything and came clean. They weren’t sure that it was going to work, but it was best for Vera to just be open about it all. Once she was in prison, she was able to detox a bit and realized everything that she had done. Olivia, as well as those following the case, suspected it wouldn’t be too long until Vera was able to get ahold of some drugs in prison. She was destined to live a life of a tragic cycle, but at least she would do so behind bars.
Though Peter’s death was declared a suicide, the case was reopened in the U.S. and the district attorney planned to bring charges against Vera there as well. It was very likely that she’d spend the rest of her life in a Moscow prison cell, however. Olivia had thought about visiting Vera in prison but decided it would be disrespectful to her victims. She couldn’t help but still feel sorry for Vera even after everything she did.
Part of her saw herself in the young girl. She didn’t have anyone there to love her and care for her like Ruslan did for Olivia. She grew up her entire life thinking that she could get whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. She also thought about how if Vera knew Ruslan wasn’t interested in her, why didn’t she go after Olivia?
She wanted to ask her this herself but was scared for the answer. Was it because she saw Olivia as a sister like Olivia thought she saw Vera? Or was it just because she didn’t want to have to kill an extra person? Olivia realized later that Vera wasn’t like a sister, and that living with someone didn’t always mean that they were family. She still mourned the loss of what she thought was a close connection. Knowing Vera’s true character, she could have never unconditionally loved someone like that.
It was hard for her to handle not getting her way, as obviously seen in the way she reacted when she got cut off. It seemed that it wasn’t even about the money either. Vera simply could not handle someone telling her no or turning her down in any way. That was just completely unacceptable to Vera.
Olivia could have given a million reasons why Vera was a troubled girl who just had a rough life, but then she remembered her own childhood. She had certainly seen much more death than Vera and didn’t have the same privileges and advantages that Vera was granted. Though they both had to handle losing their mothers and fathers, they weren’t as similar as Olivia sometimes thought. She desired money and stability like Vera, but she never murdered anyone trying to achieve that. What had separated Vera from Olivia so much that caused one to kill and one to not?
She had never considered hurting anyone in her life and felt guilty when she thought back to how she had to beat Vera with the fireplace rod. She didn’t like having to do that but was willing to do whatever necessary to save Margot. She felt bad for pushing off Ruslan in her bedroom that night he came back to her as well, but again, she did what she had to do. Still, she couldn’t stomach ever wanting money so desperately that she would be willing to kill someone she loved. It made her sick to think that someone willingly tried to take away both of their parents.
When they first arrived in Russia, she almost thought for a bit that she might be part of the family. They had invited her out and introduced her to some of their friends, so she thought they might actually be accepting her as a member of their own family. Little did she know that Vera was actually a psychotic killer and she would have to say goodbye to Joseph and Margot all within short periods of time.
She thought back to her night out with Vera, Ruslan, and the other boys. They had a pretty decent time and Vera never would have seemed like someone who was capable of murder and conspiracy. Olivia couldn’t help but feel a bit foolish that she hadn’t seen everything that was going on.
Though the entire situation was horribly tragic and something that Olivia would never want to have to live through again, she still felt a little glimmer of hope knowing that if she hadn’t been in Moscow, she would have never met Ruslan. He changed her life for the better, and she wasn’t prepared to feel guilty for that.
She felt sick thinking about how she had ever doubted him or his innocence. She was scared and alone in a foreign country, all things she explained to Ruslan, so he understood. She knew now that she would never look at Ruslan an
y other way and that the evil man she momentarily thought he was, was just a product of her fear and paranoia.
Margot died two weeks and two days after her husband did. Before she passed, she had Olivia draft up a new will that wouldn’t include Vera, instead leaving everything to Olivia. Olivia felt a little uncomfortable accepting such a generous donation, but that’s what Margot had wanted so she allowed it. Margot knew that it would be better off in her hands than anyone else’s.
Margot was an only child and Joseph only had one brother who had died in his twenties before having a family of his own. There wasn’t really anyone else that the money could go to. Margot trusted that Olivia would do what was best with the money, and indeed, she planned to. It was more money than Olivia would have ever needed, and since she planned on being with Ruslan, she knew she would never have to worry about where her next paycheck would come from.
She was also now co-owners with Ruslan and planned to keep it that way. She knew less about the steel industry than she did the Russian language, so most of the management was going to go to Ruslan. Still, she was able to earn her own massive income, keeping her independent from Ruslan. The two still planned to stay together for the foreseeable future, however. Olivia didn’t know it yet, but Ruslan planned to propose to Olivia on an upcoming vacation they had planned. As for the rest of Margot and Joseph’s money, Olivia planned to donate it all to various charities throughout Chicago.
When she was a teen, she was sent to live with a foster family when her father was sent to prison. She wasn’t there for long, but her time was not good, and she was given little help when she turned eighteen. She hoped her contributions to various charities that helped at-risk youth would give someone better opportunities than she had.
All of these qualities made Ruslan love her even more. When Olivia was loved by such a strong and powerful man, it made her succeed to her fullest potential. They had to go through hell and back to get where they were today, but Olivia believed that it was all worth it if she got to hear his heart beat against her ear at the end of every day, and see those deep brown eyes looking at her every single morning.
Her and Ruslan were planning a trip back to Chicago, so Olivia could spread Margot and Joseph’s ashes as well as collect a few of her personal items. They weren’t sure where they were going to head after that, but neither of them seemed to care. As long as they had each other, they had the world.
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Authors Personal Message:
Hey beautiful!
I really hope you enjoyed my novel and do not forget to check out all the other releases from the International Alphas series listed below.
BOOK 1 A TASTE OF BRAZIL
BOOK 2 – WHAT HAPPENS IN ITALY
BOOK 3 – THE BILLIONAIRE'S ISLAND
If you already have the above books then just turn the page to enjoy a special BONUS book that has been included in your download. :)
SACHA
HER RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE
A BWWM BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE By..
SUSAN WESTWOOD
Summary
Kendra is a no-nonsense lawyer who has been tasked with the job of preventing powerful Russian Billionaire Sacha from opening a nightclub in Manhattan. Kendra will do whatever it takes to stop this man from getting what he wants and she does not like to lose.
However, things take an interesting twist when Kendra messes with the wrong people and she ends up having to turn to Sacha to help her. The very man she was trying to fight is now the man she needs more then anything else.
Now as Sacha and Kendra fight their growing sexual attraction for each other it is clear that a huge conflict of interests could arise.
So the Russian Billionaire gets a contract drawn up.
There will be no in between. What happens in court stays in court and what happens in bed stays in bed and nothing more...
Chapter1
Kendra Elliott picked up her younger brother’s backpack from the hallway for the third time that day. She’d tripped over it the first time then she’d moved it. Her brother, Cliff, was being obstinate about getting to kindergarten this morning. She had no time for this. She looked at her watch. He’d miss the bus. She’d have to drive him and she had an injunction to file. Some Russian guy was trying to knock down a building that might have historical significance. She was going to stop him.
As the lawyer for the Historical Preservation Society, a non-profit organization, she was always filing injunctions to stop people. No one seemed to care about history anymore.
Her mother, Jamaica Elliott, just sat on the couch; she had Alzheimer’s and most of the time didn’t know where she was. An aid should have been here by now so she could go to work. She couldn’t leave her mother here alone.
She opened her front door then crossed the hall the apartment of her best friend, Tembi. She worked as a flight attendant and often had several days in a row off. She hoped her friend hadn’t gotten in late last night.
Tembi opened the door, her hair a mess and a big yawn creasing her face. “Hey, Kendra.”
“My mother’s aid is late. Can you stay with her until she comes?”
“As long as she doesn’t mind me in my pajamas,” Tembi said.
“You could be naked and she wouldn’t notice.”
Her mother’s doctor had been pushing Kendra to put Jamaica in a home. Kendra didn’t have a heart to do it, but she was having more and more trouble getting people to stay with her mother. She couldn’t afford to lose her job. All three of them would be out on the street.
If she left this second, she might get to court on time for the hearing on her filing for an injunction. The judge certainly wouldn’t grant it to her if she wasn’t there. She knew that judge well. Punctuality was as important as your paperwork being correct. Kendra’s heart sped up when she found Cliff in the doorway to his bedroom. In his underwear.
“Is that how you want to go to school?”
“Yes.”
“Then fine.”
She scooped up his clothes, tucked them in his backpack then dragged him out the door. She buckled him into his car seat. He cried as she did it. She could dress him in the care before she dropped him off.
“I want to get dressed,” Cliff said.
“When we get to school.”
“My friends will see me in my underwear.”
“Not if you dress in the car.”
“I’ll dress now.”
“Not, while I’m driving.”
His school was close to her work and close to the courthouse. This way she could pick him up easily when he was sick. She could park once then walk him to the front door. He’d only have to dress in a parking garage.
She turned the key on her ten year old car. With her loans and small salary, she couldn’t afford anything else. I made a dying whale noise. “Please start. Please start.”
Cliff couldn’t miss another day of school. Nor did she have anyone who could take care of him today. All of her usuals were unavailable. She had to file this injunction before the building was knocked down.
The car finally started.
Damn greedy billionaire.
“You said a bad word, Kendra.”
Crap. She’d said that out loud. “I’m an adult. I’m allowed to.”
“No fair.”
“Life isn’t fair. If it were, we’d both have a father and I’d be making a huge salary.”
Cliff giggled. “You say that all the time.”
She pulled into the parking garage. She swiped her pass. The gate opened which always made Cliff squeal. Oh, to be a kid and see the joys in the small things in life. Life was simpler at five years old. As much as sometimes she wanted to curse her mother for having a baby late in life, she loved the little boy. Probably had been part of her early onset Alzheimer’s. She didn’t even remember the father or having sex. But she did and along came Cliff.
He’d made Kendra a less selfish person. She’d worked even harder with Cliff in t
he picture. She wanted better for him than what she had, but she could never give him a father. She wasn’t ever getting married.
She had sex sometimes. She had a few friends with benefits she could call on when she got the itch, but nothing was going to amount to a romance. Tembi would joke that she’d had her heart removed at law school. At least she’d had the romantic love part excised. That only led to heartache.
Cliff chose to dress himself, standing in the back seat of her car. She took his hand when he was done and he hosted his backpack onto his one shoulder. She dropped him off. He hugged her now that he was calm. She just had to wait him out. He always saw her way of doing thing eventually.
“Bye Kendra.”
He skipped into his school. She sighed for a moment. Must be what a mother felt for her child. Kendra then turned and raced to the courthouse. She arrived a little hot, but not sweaty.
Her phone rang before she could go inside. It was Tembi. Not good.
“Hello?”
“Hey, did you leave food for your Mom? She’s hungry.”
Her mother hadn’t eaten breakfast this morning. “Can you make her eggs?”
“Yes, I can. Okay if I make myself some?”
“Go ahead.”
She’d have to pick up more because everyone ate them in the house. Hopefully she’d remember by the time her day ended. She reached the court with seconds to spare. She didn’t even sit down when the Bailiff told everyone to rise. The judge entered the courtroom with a stack of papers. The woman didn’t look happy, but Kendra crossed her fingers behind her hoping all would go well.
