by Lexy Timms
“Watch what you say next,” Dane interrupted.
Fran laughed. “I’ve been dreaming of this moment for months. You’re not going to ruin it for me, Dane dear.”
“You framed me.” Allyson couldn’t keep the accusation out of her voice.
“Of course I framed you,” Fran said with a sneer. “New York and the entire East Coast society have been gunning for you ever since that first photo of you in that wedding dress made the papers. You’re a usurper. You don’t belong here.”
“Is that why you did this?” Lester demanded. “Was all of this some petty stunt because my client isn’t the right sort of person?”
Fran crossed the office and sat down at the judge’s desk. She raised her chin, a look of triumph on her face. “This is me fixing things. Making sure the natural order gets restored. People like me don’t end up taking orders from the likes of you, Allyson.”
A chill crept down Allyson’s spine. Lester was wrong. This wasn’t petty. There was a hatred burning in Francesca’s eyes. “What is this? Did you marry Nicholas to get back at me or something?”
“I love Nicholas,” Fran snapped. “We met a year ago. We fell in love. But we couldn’t be together because I wasn’t good enough for his mother and his sister. My family used to be important. Until my stupid brother fell in love with a social-climbing, gold-digging tramp who reminds me so much of you, Allyson. And then that gold-digger ruined us and left my entire family broke. That’s why I have to do menial jobs to make ends meet. I’ve been acting like a damn servant for months.”
Realization dawned on Allyson. It was too late now, but the puzzle pieces were finally falling into place. “You married Nicholas Handel in secret because his family wouldn’t accept you.”
“But they accepted you,” Fran bit out, her voice dripping with venom. “Sure, everyone hated you. They still let you in to high society anyway after you married Dane and saved Prescott. You got invited to the most exclusive parties. Made friends with people who ordinarily wouldn’t give you the time of day. Somehow, you’ve managed to keep on climbing, Allyson. You were a nobody. From a nothing family, with no money and no breeding. You were just an assistant, for bloody sake.” Fran’s face turned crimson, her entire body shaking with unrestrained fury.
“So you framed me to get rid of me?”
“Yes. I also needed the money so that Nicky’s family would finally accept me. Embezzling funds from Prescott was just killing two birds with one stone. I’d get rid of you once and for all, and I’d finally have enough money to buy my way back into the upper class.” Fran smoothed her hair, her rage seeming to melt away now.
Allyson glared. “So you hate me because I’m from a middle-class family.”
“I hate you because you’re living my life. Your husband parades you around like he’s proud of you. Like he doesn’t care that you’re a cheap, low-class tramp everyone secretly hates and envies. Somehow you got this fancy job and this perfect life,” Fran said. “I hated you enough to work with that cow, Katherine. She knew how I felt about Nicky, but she kept reminding me that I wasn’t good enough for her family. Still, I teamed up with her because I thought if I helped break up you and Dane, she’d accept me. Let me be with Nicholas.”
“Let me guess,” Dane said. “Katherine Handel knifed you in the back.”
“She swore she’d get me a good job. Swore she’d talk me up to her family so that they’d let me be with Nicky. But after you chased her and Nicky back to England, she totally screwed me over,” Fran said. “There was no fancy job. Katherine just used me to try to destroy you, Allyson. When that didn’t work, she left me high and dry. Joke’s on her, though. I married Nicky.”
“She has no idea,” Allyson pointed out.
“She will soon,” Fran said icily. “Then she’ll realize that she lost. She lost Dane to you. And she’ll lose Nicky to me. I’ll be the most important woman in the Handel family. Not her.”
Allyson stared in stunned silence. The loathing that seemed to consume Francesca was palpable. For months she had believed that Katherine Handel had been her most dangerous enemy, but seeing Fran now in her hideous glory, Allyson realized the truth. Katherine might have been ruthless, but Francesca Barnes would kill to get what she wanted. “You sent the attacker after me, didn’t you?” she choked out. “That night outside the hotel. You sent someone to hit me with a baseball bat.”
Fran laughed. “I didn’t send anyone. I’m the one who hit you with the bat. A pair of boots and a mask make a perfect disguise in the dark. You were an idiot to not realize it was a woman.”
“You’re lucky you’re a woman,” Dane growled.
“Yes, I know how chivalrous you are, Dane,” Fran mocked. “So honorable. So noble. You hit poor Nicky, but I know you’d never lay a finger on me no matter how badly I beat your wife.”
“Nicholas doesn’t know what you’ve done, does he?” Allyson asked suddenly, the realization dawning on her.
Fran shook her head. “Nope. If he did he’d probably never forgive me. Which is why you have to go away for a long time dear, sweet Allyson.”
“How did you do all of this?” Allyson tried to think back to all the moments where she might have worked out what Fran was up to. She wracked her brain, trying to figure out what she hadn’t been able to see.
“Easy. After Nicky and I got married I got a job as an assistant at Prescott. Then, I started funneling money out of Prescott’s New York accounts to an account in London,” Fran replied. “Framing you was the easiest thing in the world. I made sure to funnel money through the women’s division, so you’d be the prime suspect. After that, it was so easy to slip some damning information into the box of files I handed over to Detective Rossi.”
Allyson’s heart sank at the realization. Fran really had been that devious and calculating. That cunning. “Oh my goodness...”
“No one’s going to save you now,” Fran said, smirking.
“You sent that threatening note,” Allyson said.
Fran nodded. “I was the last one to leave your room that day. Dropping the note was easy. I needed you out of London. I needed you to stop snooping around. I couldn’t have you figuring things out before the cops were ready to put you back in jail. But you didn’t leave.”
“No,” Allyson said evenly. “I didn’t leave. It takes more than a note to scare me off.”
“I figured that,” Fran snapped. “Then I saw you sneak into Nicky’s office at his flat, and I suspected you discovered something important. You left me no choice. I had to scare you into leaving London and get back whatever it was that you had stolen from Nicky.”
“You knew the will was in my handbag?” Allyson asked.
“No, I just guessed,” Fran replied. “It’s a good thing you left London when you did, Allyson. Especially now that you’ll be put on trial. You’ll be put away for years.”
“Why would you do this?” Allyson demanded. “I’m not a threat to you. I didn’t keep you from marrying Nicholas. I didn’t take your family’s money.”
“You’re living a life you don’t deserve,” Fran said. “And you hurt Nicky. After he took control of Prescott Global six months ago, you drove him out. You almost ruined his reputation. Then you had the nerve to attack him, Dane. You just can’t leave Nicky alone, can you?”
“So all this is revenge,” Allyson said.
“You don’t get to judge me,” Fran said shrilly. “You do what you have to do for your husband. I’m doing what I have to do for mine.”
As crazy as it sounded, Allyson could understand what Fran meant. The woman was cruel and horrible, but in her twisted, vindictive mind she had stolen and assaulted to keep and protect the man she loved. Allyson knew how it felt to risk everything for love. She had been willing to face jail time to save Dane from his own reckless, protective instincts. “How long have you been planning all this anyway?”
“Well, since the merger with Handel and Company,” Fran replied. “I had already met Nicky, but
Katherine forced us to break up. You weren’t in the picture then, so I hadn’t been planning on ruining you, Allyson. But I did plan on getting my hands on enough money to force the Handels to accept me. The merger seemed as good a time as any to make my move and get into Prescott Global so that I could get some money. Only, you kept getting in the way. First, Katherine made me tell her every bit of gossip I heard about you. And then you tried to ruin Nicky.”
“You’re not getting away with this,” Dane said forcefully.
“Wake up, Dane,” Fran said. “The judge has you in here because this is exactly where he wants you. Without my testimony to back up your father’s claims, the charges against Allyson won’t be dropped. Which means she’ll be back in police custody before the day is over. Even if for some reason she’s eventually found innocent she’ll still spend months if not years in jail, waiting for the trial. By that time your marriage will probably be destroyed, and you’ll be nothing more than a memory, Allyson.”
“And you’ll be back on top,” Allyson said coldly.
“You flew too close to the sun,” Fran said with a shrug. “It happens.”
“You’ve just confessed everything to us,” Lester said. “We can go to the judge with this.”
“With what evidence?” Fran got to her feet. “You think you’re the first person to go to the judge with a story about being framed?” She laughed. “Get real. Without evidence, you have nothing. No proof. No case against me.”
Without another word, Francesca Handel sauntered out of the office.
The silence in the room was almost maddening. Dane was glaring at the door. Lester’s shoulders were slumped in defeat. All Allyson wanted to do was scream and cry. She was completely and utterly out of her depth. Her feud with Katherine looked like a minor tiff compared to this. Prison. She might actually end up spending years in prison.
The awful horror of it all washed over her.
She didn’t have time to catch her breath before the door swung open again. Two police officers stood in the doorway, one holding a pair of handcuffs.
The urge to run was impossible to ignore. She was trapped and there was no escape.
Dane advanced towards the officers, shielding her with his body. “You stay the hell away from my wife.”
Judge Caldwell appeared. “We don’t want to do this, but you don’t have enough witnesses or any compelling evidence. After the so-called attack in London you’ve given me no choice but to put you back into custody, Mrs. Prescott.”
“But the attack was real,” she cried desperately. “Someone did attack me. Francesca Barnes attacked me.”
“Enough!” Judge Caldwell glowered at her. “Take her into custody immediately.”
The two officers forced their way past Dane and grabbed her arms. The thought of being put back into a jail cell terrified her so much she wanted to scream. But this time, as one of the officers handcuffed her, she didn’t put up a fight. Didn’t even say a word. Because she knew it was no use.
Chapter 18
There would never be a worse moment than this. Nothing could ever compare to watching the police haul his wife away for the second time. Except, this time she didn’t struggle. Didn’t call out to him. As they dragged her out of the office, she didn’t even meet his gaze.
Dane chased after them. Shouted threats at the officers. But they shoved her into a police car and sped off, away from the courthouse. Lester was right on his heels as reporters closed in.
“Get in the car,” Dane said harshly. “We’re going back to the police station. We’re getting her out.”
“That isn’t a good idea, Mr. Prescott,” Lester said, his voice irritatingly calm.
“The hell it isn’t!” Dane bit out. “They’ve just taken my wife, goddamn it. I’m going down to the station with or without you.”
“If you make the police angry, they won’t treat Mrs. Prescott very well,” Lester warned. “Think about this. You want your wife to have as easy a time as possible in there. If you antagonize the police, they’ll take it out on her.”
A hot, desperate rage roiled through him. They had taken her from him. Just dragged her off like she had done something wrong, when in reality Allyson was the victim. That viper, Francesca, was responsible for this nightmare.
“So, what do we do?” Dane asked. “You can’t expect me to accept this. To let her suffer in jail until a trial. And if you lose the case when it comes to trial…” His stomach tightened. There was a very real chance that he would never see Allyson ever again outside of a cell or a courthouse.
Today might very well be the last day he would ever see her as a free woman. From now on she might always be behind bars, behind glass, or handcuffed.
No. He refused to accept that. Refused to give up on the only woman he would ever love. There was no life without Allyson. No point in living if she wasn’t by his side.
Lester gestured for him to follow and they forced their way back into the courthouse, leaving the crowd of reporters behind.
Dane’s phone started ringing. Yanking it out of his pocket to drop the call, he saw that it was from Katherine Handel. Why in the world was she calling him?
Rage made him answer the phone. He wanted to take his rage out on every Handel who had ever lived. The merger had been the worst business decision he had ever made. The more entwined the Prescotts became with the Handels, the worse his life got.
“What the hell do you want?” he growled.
“Is that any way to speak to an old friend?” Katherine chirped.
He swore loudly. “Now isn’t a good time. I’m hanging up now.”
“Oh, I don’t think you want to do that, darling,” she purred. “You’re going to want to hear what I have to say.”
~~*~~
The drive to Manhattan was a long nightmare. Traffic almost made Dane want to punch through the windows of the car.
As the chauffer pulled up to the luxury apartment block, Dane stepped out of the car and rushed upstairs to the top floor. He had left Lester behind at the courthouse like Katherine Handel had requested. It didn’t matter that he knew he was walking into a trap. Some petty, vindictive nonsense Katherine had cooked up. As long as there was a chance he could save his wife, he’d hear Katherine Handel out.
After ringing the doorbell, Martha Faraway opened the door and ushered him inside.
“Thank you for letting us use your apartment for this meeting,” Dane said to Martha. Katherine had insisted on meeting somewhere private and away from potential tabloid reporters. He had texted Martha, hoping that there was a chance one of Allyson’s friends might help, and Martha had been kind enough to offer to let him meet in her home.
Martha was a socialite who sometimes appeared in gossip rags, but a lot of that had died down since she had married Gordon Faraway, a self-made millionaire who had made his money in office supplies of all things. The Faraways’ luxury apartment was as out of the way and private as they were going to get.
Martha smiled as they stepped into the living room. “Of course. Anything for Allyson.”
He paused. Stared at Martha for a moment. Clearly, he had misjudged his wife’s friends. Had been convinced they were disloyal and scheming like so many people in the upper class. But now, Martha and her husband had graciously let him into their home. Despite knowing that Allyson had been just been arrested again. “I really am grateful,” he said finally.
Gordon Faraway was already in the living room, talking to Katherine Handel, who was sitting on a chair like it was a throne. Her blond hair cascaded down her back, her blue eyes as icy as ever.
“Hello, Dane.” Gordon stood up and gave Dane a quick, firm handshake. “It’s wonderful to see you again, in spite of the circumstances. I can’t believe this is going to trial. It’s absolute madness. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do for you and Allyson.”
“I will,” Dane said. “Thank you, Gordon.”
“We’ll be more than happy to be character witnesses at the
trial,” Martha said. “It’s the least we can do, considering how obvious it is that Allyson is innocent. She doesn’t have a dishonest bone in her body.”
“Other than her fake marriage fiasco,” Katherine cut in.
“Didn’t you have something to do with that, Katherine?” Martha flashed Katherine a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
Katherine sniffed. “If you could just give Dane and me a moment—”
“Oh, how rude of me,” Martha said. “Gordon and I can give you two some privacy. Or, better yet, you can talk on the roof. It’s very private up there.”
After Gordon and Martha led them up to the roof of the apartment and left them alone, Dane regarded Katherine with suspicion.
Her lips curved up into a cruel smile. “I saw your poor wife getting dragged away in handcuffs on the news.”
“You sound really cut up about it,” he muttered. “What’s all this about? You claim you know a way to help Allyson but you wanted to meet in secret, and you insisted I come here alone.”
“It wasn’t very nice of you to hit my brother.”
He clenched his teeth. If she knew the truth, that he had wanted to do more than punch her brother, she probably wouldn’t help him. And he needed that help. Even if it meant he couldn’t tell Katherine that he wanted to beat her brother within an inch of his life when he had thought Nicholas had been the one who attacked Allyson. “Your brother’s an ass. You know it as well as I do.”
Katherine headed over to the edge of the roof and stared down. Turning to him, she beckoned.
Dane didn’t trust her, but he didn’t have much of a choice. Apprehension twisting his gut, he sauntered over to her. It was an unseasonably warm day, so at least there weren’t going to freeze out here. “Get to the point.”
She pouted. “You’ve always had atrocious manners. Unlike your wife, who has always been far more sociable. She doesn’t have our breeding, but she certainly makes up for it with her charm and good manners.”
“I don’t have time for this.” He pulled away from her, but her hand on his arm stopped him.
