Beast (Happily-Ever-After: The Illegitimates Book 1)

by Trisha Grace

  She leaned back and studied the illustration.

  Judith had been asking her for the drawings, but Helena couldn’t hand them over yet. Something was missing; the illustrations weren’t ready.

  She had everything else done. The other characters. The settings.

  Suddenly, her laptop’s screen went black.

  Helena frowned and tapped on the trackpad.

  The screen remained black.

  Did her laptop die on her?

  But the music was still playing.

  Leaning forward, Helena tapped twice on the spacebar.

  Her music cut off. “What’s go—”

  A loud voice, like the lead singer in a heavy metal band, shouted into her ears, and the shock of it made her scream.

  Helena pushed herself back—a little too hard—from the desk when a sudden blotch of red splashed onto the screen.

  The chair toppled backward, taking her along with it.

  The impact of hitting the floor cut off her scream.

  Helena scrambled to pull out her AirPods and threw the offending white earbuds across the room, her heart pounding.

  On her laptop, the red blotches flowed down the screen like dripping paint and formed the words ‘You’re mine.’

  She’d been so surprised she hadn’t registered what the voice in her ears was screeching about. Now she did. You’re mine.

  Helena stared at the screen. She didn’t know what to do, so she merely stared at her laptop while sitting on the floor next to the fallen chair.

  “You’re mine!” The screaming voice that had been coming from her earphones was now coming through the speakers of her laptop.

  She pushed herself further back.

  “You’re mine! You’re mine! You’re mine!”

  Chapter 5

  Liam had just gotten out of the shower when he heard Helena screaming.

  He had already come to a decision to keep her at bay. He couldn’t trust her, not with her connection to Bobby. But all that flew out of his mind when he heard her scream.

  Without even putting on a shirt, he sprinted down the steps. He was right outside her door when he heard a deep, distorted voice of a man screaming, “You’re mine!”

  He burst into the room, thinking Bobby was back and was hurting her, but the only one in the room was Helena. She was on the floor, staring at the laptop screen. Her hand was pressed to her chest while her mouth hung open.

  Liam moved over to the laptop and closed it. “Is this the first time that’s happened?”

  Helena looked up at him and blinked twice.

  He got down on one knee. “Helena.”

  She swallowed and blinked again. “Yes. Yes, it’s the first time.” She ran her hand through her hair, then put her hand in his.

  Liam hadn’t realized he had extended his hand, not until her soft hand was nestled safely in his. For a second, he just stared at her hand in disbelief. He couldn’t believe he had reached out to her, and she had willingly—willingly—put her hand in his. She had every chance to ignore him, but she didn’t. She had behaved as if that was the most natural thing in the world.

  Yet last night, she couldn’t even bear the thought of having dinner with him.

  His fingers curled themselves around hers, and it felt as if he was holding a brittle glass sculpture.

  Hurried footsteps, getting louder with each second, drew him out of his trance. Liam stood, pulling Helena up with him.

  She winced.

  “Are you hurt?”

  “Master Black?” Kelly skidded to a stop in the doorway. Her gaze immediately dropped to Liam and Helena’s hands.

  Helena hastily yanked hers back and kneaded her shoulder.

  “Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

  She looked over at her hand and dropped it. “No.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “It feels like my heart’s going to jump out of my chest.” She looked back at the laptop.

  “It’s probably just a virus.”

  Helena stuck the tip of her thumb between her teeth.

  “Or is there something else I should know?”

  She bit down on her thumb, and Liam gently pulled her hand down.

  “Helena, is there something I should know?”

  Without her thumb, she decided to chew on her lower lip instead. If her lips weren’t so distracting, he probably would have run out of patience before she said, “I’ve been having a stalker issue.”

  “Stalker?”

  “Online stalker. Someone fell in love with the illustrations I did for Flora.”

  “The game? You did the graphic design for that?”

  She shook her head. “The original illustrations of the characters and settings were based on my drawings.”

  Liam frowned. “But that’s produced by GS Inc.” He knew, since that was one of the companies Shadow Corp. was trying to buy out.

  Helena’s brows flicked up as she shook her head. “Long story.”

  “So what if someone fell in love with your illustrations?”

  “He started stalking me online. He kept sending me messages on Facebook and Instagram. At first, it was about how beautiful the illustrations were. But it got to be kind of too much, so I blocked his account. But that guy just keeps creating new ones to harass me.”

  “So you know who is behind this.”

  “No. None of the profiles ever had a photo or a real name. They all used anime or gaming characters.”

  “Did you report him? How do you even know it’s a him?” After all, Flora was a game geared toward women.

  “I just assume it is, and yes I did. Facebook shuts down the accounts, but the stalker just keeps opening more.”

  He picked up her laptop, along with the tablet and phone on the table. “Do you have any other devices?”

  Helena eyed the devices in his hands. “I need them for my work.”

  He sighed, frustrated at her lack of trust in him. Didn’t matter, of course. He didn’t trust her either. “I’ll get them back to you after I make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

  She licked her lips. “How long will that take?”

  “I may be a monster, but I’m not a thief. I’m not going to steal your things.”

  “That wasn’t what I meant. I have a deadline to meet.”

  The gaming industry was always crunching new updates or releases. Being stuck here definitely wasn’t helping her career much. “Don’t you need to be in the office?” Liam could probably get his half-brother to speak with the owner of GS Inc. if she needed.

  “I’m not working for GS Inc. anymore. Jude and I are doing this on our own.”

  “Releasing a new game with a team of two? You do know that’s impossible.”

  “We’re not releasing the entire game. I’m doing the illustrations for the pitch. We’re taking this game elsewhere.”

  “Where?”

  Helena arched a brow. “An avid gamer?”

  “Not my thing.”

  “Not mine either.” Her lips curled when he frowned. “I only got into it to do Jude a favor.”

  Jude. That was the second time she’d mentioned that name. “Boyfriend?”

  She laughed softly. “No. She isn’t my boyfriend—or girlfriend.” Her curious gaze roamed across his face. Not once did her expression hint at any disgust. “How do you know about GS Inc. if you’re not a gamer?”

  He shrugged a shoulder.

  “And you’re not a monster, Master Black.”

  This time, Liam was staring right at her when she said it. She didn’t look as if she was lying.

  Perhaps she’s a good actress. Or maybe this was just gratitude. “Because I’m volunteering to keep your stalker from blasting creepy messages through your devices?”

  “Because you stepped in when Bobby grabbed me. Because you came running into my room when you heard me scream.”

  “Yet you can’t even stand to have dinner with me.”

  “It wasn’t that. I was just tired. I needed
some time to be alone, to process everything that’s happened and figure out how I was going to get whatever I needed without stepping out of this place. Also …” She waved it off. Her gaze shifted to the scar on his face. “What happened?”

  That was when Liam realized how, in the short span of a day, he had grown used to Helena looking at him right in the eye. “Mark of a monster.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to let what others say define you.” She reached up, and Liam grabbed her hand.

  He turned his face away, hoping to remove the scar from her sight.

  “Who did that to you?”

  “Your dear Bobby.” He threw her hand down. “And don’t touch me.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  So she wasn’t denying that Bobby was dear to her. He glared at her. “Your boyfriend hated my existence so much he made sure no one could ever stand to look at me.”

  “You’re perfectly fine to look at.”

  Liam stared her down, expecting her to cower.

  Instead, she looked back at him as if he was … normal. She twisted her arm and pointed to a pale diagonal scar right above her elbow. “Courtesy of Bobby Eolenfeld.”

  “He did that to you?”

  “He has tantrums.” She sighed softly. “But that was years ago. He’s much better now.”

  “You let him hurt you?” Liam couldn’t keep the anger out of his voice.

  “No. Of course not.”

  “I saw him grab you yesterday.”

  “And I would’ve shoved him away myself.” She jerked her elbow. “This was kind of an accident.”

  “Let me guess, your boyfriend was sorry after that?”

  “He isn’t my boyfriend, but yes, he was sorry.” She held her index finger up. “Doesn’t mean it was okay. I’m careful around him.”

  “Why do you even need to have him in your life? For his money?”

  She closed her eyes. “Do I have the word ‘gold-digger’ engraved on my forehead or something?” She turned away from his grasp. “Just do whatever you need to my things and return them as soon as possible. I have a project I need to complete.”

  Liam grabbed her arm, and his thumb brushed against the scar on her elbow. “I …” He cleared his throat.

  “So-rry,” she enunciated the word for him. “So-rry. Go on, you can do it.”

  His lips curled.

  Helena pulled her arm from him. It seemed he’d worn out her patience.

  “Sorry,” he blurted.

  “Well, Mr. Black, looks like there’s hope for you yet.”

  “Liam.”

  “Ah …” She tipped her head back. “Liam,” she said, as if she was testing how his name would roll off her tongue. “Now you’re no longer the mysterious Mr. Black.”

  Was that a good thing? To remain as the mysterious Mr. Black?

  She pulled her lips back in a small smile. “Thanks, Liam.”

  No, it isn’t. He liked hearing his name from her lips. “Do you think Bobby is behind the threats?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so. He wouldn’t do something like that.”

  Of course. Because Bobby Eolenfeld could never do anything wrong. “I’ll scan your devices to make sure none of them is infected with a virus, and figure out how he got into your laptop.”

  She nodded.

  “No one knows you’re here, so you don’t have to worry about your stalker showing up here in the middle of the night.” He’d meant it as a joke, but he clearly needed work on his humor because Helena paled. “I’m kidding.”

  She swallowed hard and turned away.

  “Helena.”

  “I know.” Her chest rose as she sucked in a breath through her mouth. “I just need a minute.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing!” She licked her lips. “I’m sorry. I just need …”

  “Space.”

  She nodded.

  Liam gave it to her. He left her room and closed the door behind him.

  When he got to his home office, he put her devices down and settled back in his leather office chair. Instead of getting to work on her devices, he opened his laptop.

  He ran a search on Helena Shaw and read everything he could about her.

  It wasn’t long before he figured out why his words had scared her so badly. He closed his laptop and sighed, then pushed himself to his feet and strode back to Helena’s room. He opened the door, and Helena gasped.

  She jumped up from her chair. “Why didn’t you knock?”

  Because he never had to. He had been by himself for so long he didn’t even think about it. “I … I’m sorry.” I’m sorry. The words sounded strange to him. He hadn’t said them for so long that they sounded foreign.

  But it seemed he would be getting reacquainted with them.

  She waved it off. “Is something wrong?”

  “No. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

  She cracked a smile.

  “I’m sorry about your parents.”

  Her brows puckered.

  “You’re safe here. No one ever comes here.”

  Her brows drew closer in spite of his words. “How did you find out what happened to my parents?”

  “I ran a search.”

  Her brows rose. “You what?”

  He had clearly done something wrong again. He just wasn’t sure what. “I ran a search. There were news articles about—”

  “That’s not okay, Mr. Black.”

  “Why?” And why had he become Mr. Black now?

  “Invasion of privacy?”

  But that had always been his way of seeing the world, of knowing what was going on. “How am I supposed to know what’s wrong if I don’t do that?”

  “You could’ve asked me.”

  “You basically told me to get lost.”

  “So you just ran a search on me?”

  “Yes.”

  She threw her hands in the air. “Get out.”

  He frowned. “Why are you angry?”

  “I already told you!”

  Liam shook his head. “Whatever.”

  “And I want my stuff back.”

  “Fine!”

  “Fine!” She slammed the door closed the moment he was out of her room.

  He went back to his office and set up a firewall on her devices, then stormed back to her room. He didn’t open the door this time. He just dropped the devices on the floor.

  The devices thudded heavily on the old wooden floorboards.

  Helena opened the door, and her jaw dropped. “What’s your problem?” She gathered up her things. “You may have the Eolenfeld money right now, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to respect other people’s things.” She brushed off her laptop as she examined it. She glared up at him. “You and Bobby deserve each other.”

  He stepped forward so they were toe to toe and he stared her down.

  She rolled her eyes and went back into her room, slamming the door in his face.

  “Ugh.” He pounded his fist into the door. If he had punched any other door in the house, it probably wouldn’t do much. All the doors in the mansion were made of solid teak. Sturdy, and way stronger than his fist.

  But this had been his old room. His mother had spent years of drunken rage kicking and pounding at the door, enough to mess up the hinges.

  The door swung open, and Helena turned to face him. “Liam Black.”

  “What?” he shouted.

  She closed her eyes for a moment. “If you don’t stop behaving like a child—”

  “What? You’re going to carve my face up?” He grabbed her hand and pressed it to his face. “Do it.”

  Helena pulled her hand away.

  “Or what? You’re going to leave me?” He opened his arms. “Do it. I’ve been here alone all this time. I don’t need anyone else here.”

  “You know full well I can’t leave here.”

  He smirked. “Then maybe I should make you.”

  She blew out a breat
h. “I’m going to walk away before I say something I regret.”

  “What? That I really am a monster?”

  She stared at him for a long moment, then took a step back and closed the door.

  How did things go so bad with Liam so quickly?

  Helena shook her head. She couldn’t focus on getting anything done now, so she decided she’d do some exploring and complaining. She grabbed her phone and walked down the second-floor hallway. She was in the second to last bedroom on a floor with six other doors.

  Helena moved down the hallway and opened a door.

  Using her phone, she swept a beam of light over the wall.

  She stopped when she found a light switch. She flipped the switch, but nothing happened.

  It seemed she would have to rely on her phone’s flashlight.

  Helena turned the beam on the room. “Whoa,” she said as she took in the mess.

  Pieces of broken furniture were scattered all over the floor. It looked as if someone had made a real effort to destroy every single thing in the room. She could see a broken desk and chair and parts of a bookshelf, along with scattered fragments of broken glass.

  Why hadn’t anyone cleaned this up?

  Judging from the dust, this wasn’t a recent mess.

  She moved down to the next room, and it was in the same condition. Different furniture maybe, but all broken and smashed.

  She headed down the stairs and moved toward the hallway she’d seen when Bobby arrived. Using the light from her phone to guide her, she trotted forward until she noticed a light up ahead.

  “Finally.” Helena strode ahead, passing another large room that held one long dining table before reaching the source of the light. The kitchen.

  “What can I do for you, Miss?” Kelly asked without turning around.

  Helena shouldn’t be surprised. Her heavy footsteps had thumped on the wooden floorboards, announcing her arrival. That was something she actually liked about this house. It meant no one would be able to sneak up on her.

  She cleared her throat as her thoughts threatened to take a dark turn. “What happened to the other rooms?” she asked, trying to distract herself.