Denial_A Stone Billionaire Series Novel

by Kaya Woodward

With the nail file in my mouth and my hand closed over the hairpins, I crawl back to the door.

  I've never jimmied anything open in my life.

  The nail file is too big to do anything and the hairpins?

  Useless as well.

  All they do is twist and break.

  I have one last shot at escaping.

  I pull the last hairpin straight and slide it into the keyhole gently.

  There is a click in the silence of my room, so I grab another bent hairpin and shove it in the keyhole.

  I fumble until I hear another click.

  But when I twist the knob.

  The door doesn't open.

  There's something in front of it, blocking my exit.

  I push myself up, to stand in front of the door and press against it as hard as I dare, until I realize there's a deadbolt on the other side of the door.

  “Holy shit,” I swear.

  “I'm fucked,” I tell myself.

  Deflated and out of energy, I crawl back into the bed.

  This isn't how I wanted everything to turn out.

  The only thing I can do has faith that Noah will save me.

  I need to eat something, and I glance at the sandwich.

  I am hungry.

  Not hungry enough to trust anything he gives me.

  Instead, I open it and find it riddled with white powder.

  He was going to poison me.

  Did he think I was that stupid?

  Kill the baby and me.

  Adrenaline suddenly kicks in.

  But I can't just be a damsel in distress.

  I won't. I’m not going to give up.

  Back in the walk-in closet, I find nothing but boxes of shoes.

  It’s with a heavy sigh that I pick up a pair of Louboutins with the biggest heel.

  “I’m sorry babies,” I apologize to the shoes.

  I crawl back to the door and throw one at the glass of the door as hard as I can.

  It cracks slightly.

  Maybe underhand wasn’t the way to go?

  I throw the second shoe overhand, and it only cracks the glass a little bit.

  It’s tempered, obviously, and now I know I need something harder.

  There are no lamps, nothing substantial.

  I search under the bed with one last shred of hope.

  There’s a small bag of tools!

  A hammer!

  “Yes!” I scream.

  Instantly I hurl the hammer at the door as hard as I can.

  The wood end connects with the glass, and it bounces towards me, narrowly missing my feet.

  Well, that was stupid.

  Finally, I stand up, even though I could put the baby at risk, both of us are going to die if I don’t get us out of here.

  I take one good swing with my eyes closed and hear the beautiful sound of the glass on the door shattering into a million tiny little pieces.

  I step right out.

  I'm out! I'm free!

  Even though I should run for the door, I rummage through the garbage in both the kitchen and bathrooms first.

  I want to know what he was trying to give me.

  Then I finally find a bottle.

  It’s apparently off the internet or from China because something about this bottle doesn’t look right, that’s when I see what the medication is: Oxytocin.

  Oxytocin is used to induce labor.

  My hands automatically go to my stomach, and I sink the floor.

  That’s when I hear someone at the door.

  “Oh shit,” I mutter.

  I should’ve escaped when I had the chance.

  46

  Noah

  December 11, 2017

  I stand on the sidelines as Evan gives his speech and all I can hear is nothing.

  Every word floats around me; I can't grasp any of them because all I want to do, is get to Tinsley.

  But I have to wait.

  Wait until I'm no longer missed.

  “Try not to look so tense,” Victoire eyes me.

  “You look like you're on death row. Relax this is going to be fine," she says.

  Vic puts a hand on my arm to comfort me.

  “You were right about Evan," she tells me softly.

  “I know,” I mumble

  I need to get the fuck out of here.

  “Smile, let them clap, and then you can go off and be miserable," she smiles brightly, and I do what I always do.

  Pretend I am with Tinsley.

  I suffer through the reporters and questions until I can get my hands on some water.

  Then make my appearance at the party on the second-floor boardroom.

  Evan outshines even me; everyone wants to talk him.

  Vic is right.

  I'm proud of my son today.

  “See Connor?” Evan asks, he sidles up beside me.

  Servers pass around elegant appetizers, while people chatter.

  My eyes settle on Connor who stands with two gorgeous women.

  “They're escorts. I paid them to keep him busy,” Evan laughs.

  “That was smart,” I said amused.

  “Hey, I'm the mini-Stone around here,” Evan jokes.

  “I have to live up to your reputation, I might as well do it thoroughly," he says.

  Then he looks at his watch.

  “Get out, I’ll keep an eye out,” Evan tells me.

  “Thank god,” I nod.

  I weave through the office and away from the party, from my office.

  My party.

  This was my moment to make NLS Financials genuinely shine, and I don’t give a shit.

  All the people around me, don't even notice their boss slipping away.

  Lucius meets me in the stairwell, and we both take the stairs two at a time, to where his car is waiting at the exit.

  “Oh fuck, I got a ticket," he bemoans for a moment.

  “I'll pay it, now shut up. Drive,” I order.

  “Let's go save your girl,” Lucius confirms.

  Thank god my office is close enough to our Columbus Circle building.

  Lucius breaks at least three laws to get there faster.

  But as I walk in the building, the security guard stops me.

  Not our regular security either.

  “Sorry Mr. Stone, you're going to have to leave," he puts a hand against me, to stop me from going any further.

  Then Lucius jumps into action before I can say anything.

  I step back as he nails the security guard in the head with his elbow.

  A blow everyone can hear, and the rest of the guards run over.

  Lucius fishes the gun out of his jacket, holding it up to put the safety on.

  “Do you guys normally carry guns?” he asks.

  They all shake their heads, scared to death because Lucius is a big man with a gun in his hands.

  “Call the police then," he tosses the gun towards one of the guards.

  I run for the elevator before anyone can decide to stop me.

  Lucius manages to squeeze in just before the doors close, and I groan.

  The doors open again and I smash the button for the door to close.

  But the elevator doesn't move.

  “Did you hit the floor?” Lucius raises an eyebrow.

  “Fuck!” I scream.

  We both move to smash the buttons on either side, just as the door opens again, and seven people get in and hit the buttons for every floor below the one I want.

  All I can do is cross my arms and seriously consider twenty-one flights of stairs.

  “This is faster,” Lucius comments, his arms crossed as well.

  “Right,” I raise an eyebrow as two people get off.

  Four floors to go.

  “She'll be fine you know," he comments.

  “I know,” My voice is monotone.

  The elevator opens and closes so slowly I want to scream.

  “Breathe,” Lucius instructs.

  “Right,” I snort at him.

&
nbsp; It's like the elevator doors close and open slower as we begin to approach twenty-one.

  Then.

  The elevator shuts off.

  The doors don't open.

  They’re locked down.

  I know it.

  “I guess the stairs would've been faster,” I comment to Lucius as I pick up the phone.

  “No tone,” I report.

  Not that they’d let us out if they wanted to.

  “Well... let's get creative,” Lucius says.

  Lucius opens the bag he carries.

  Always prepared.

  Like a boy scout.

  He pulls out a crowbar.

  “Shall I do the honors?” he asks.

  “Go right ahead,” I say.

  With one mighty stroke, Lucius jams the crowbar between the doors.

  Then another, and another until he's wedged the crowbar enough to wrench the doors open a bit.

  “Come on!” I scream.

  “Help me then!” Lucius says through gritted teeth.

  It takes all our strength to open the elevator door, and as I look around, I deflate.

  I see 1801 in front of me.

  “Stairs, come on,” I tell him.

  I read the stairs before he does, swipe my card and open the door as Lucius blows past me.

  With the crowbar still in my hands, I run up the stairs after him.

  Lucius is faster than me, he bounds up to twenty-one with no effort at all, and I hear him grunt as he tries to open the door.

  “It's locked," he yells down.

  “I’ve got my card!” I say, out of breath as I reach him.

  At full speed, I run for Tinsley's door and jiggle the doorknob.

  It’s locked.

  Lucius shakes his head.

  “You could've just let me handle this, idiot," he grumbles.

  The door bursts off its hinges with a powerful kick.

  Tinsley is sitting on the floor, white as a sheet.

  “Noah you came for me!” She screams.

  I rush for her and pull her roughly into my arms.

  “Of course, I did,” I comfort her as I repeat my words over and over again.

  “But you... you missed?” She asks.

  “Doesn't matter,” I shake my head.

  “You're more important than my business,” I whisper in her ear.

  “That's all I ever wanted from you,” Tinsley sobs into my chest.

  “Boss, we'd better get out of here,” Lucius interrupts.

  “Let's go,” I tell them both.

  But as I reach for Tinsley’s hand, she stalls me.

  “The baby, there’s something wrong," she says.

  “The baby is fine,” I tell her fiercely.

  “You need to trust me when I say the baby is fine, and there is no danger. I'll prove it to you in the car,” I say.

  “Okay," she nods.

  “I trust you," her words are all I want to hear.

  47

  Tinsley

  December 11, 2017

  When we glance out the door, no one is around.

  Mercifully, the freight elevator isn’t locked down, and it brings us right to the garage, with Noah’s hand in mine the whole time.

  I shake as I grasp Noah's hand tightly.

  “I said it. I'm divorcing him. No matter what, we stick together,” I look up at Noah.

  “Always," he says, then he kisses my forehead.

  “Lucius, meet us at the house in the Hamptons,” Noah instructs curtly.

  “Done boss. I'll do the regular sweeps," he disappears as Noah, and I get into his Porsche and lock the doors.

  “Connor blackmailed that doctor, the doctor gave me his file," he explains.

  Noah holds out a folder with my name on it.

  “No,” I shake my head.

  He looks fearful for a moment.

  Then I continue.

  “I believe you. I believe you, and only you, promise me nothing like this will ever happen again,” I plead with Noah.

  “Of course,” Noah rubs my shoulder.

  “Noah, he threatened to kill me, he wants me and the baby dead, he tried to sneak Oxytocin in my food, like he wanted to induce early labor or something,” I sob through my words.

  “Come here,” Noah moves over the gear shift and pulls me into his arms.

  “I’ll never let him near you again, and you have my word Tinsley Whittaker,” Noah’s promise quells the fear in my stomach somewhat.

  “My life was in danger,” I sob, then bury my face in his shoulder.

  “We need to get out of here, okay?” Noah asks.

  I disentangle myself and sob the entire way to Noah’s house in the Hamptons.

  “We’re good,” Lucius says when he opens the door for Noah and me.

  “Good,” Noah says as we walk in the door.

  By now, Connor knows that I was rescued.

  I don’t care.

  “I want to know why he did this, what’s so important that he would commit murder?” I ask Noah.

  “You need to nap,” Noah tells me.

  “No, I need to figure this out,” I am persistent.

  “Wait, what did Rita Bradford say before?”

  “What?” I stare at Noah.

  “When you found Dr. Carr eating her out on top of his desk? During, before, or after?” Lucius snickers.

  Tinsley raises one eyebrow.

  “That’s a mental image, I will never forget," she says, clearly disturbed.

  “Her exact words, were something along the lines, of Jamesen and Julian not wanting Connor to run the company, something about Tinsley should be the one to take over. That’s what he husband told her at least,” Lucius reports, back to his serious self.

  “Noah, we have to go to the Whittaker-Bradford Office, whatever he hid, it’s in his office,” I tell Noah.

  “Lucius will go,” Noah dismisses me.

  “No!” I tell him firmly.

  “This is my life, I want to know, I want to see it for myself,” I argue back fiercely.

  Noah mulls over this, looks down at my stomach and nods.

  “Lucius, come with us,"

  The helicopter lands on the roof of the Whittaker-Bradford building, and I wait for the blades to stop whirring so I can finally speak.

  “Noah about what you did...,” I look at him.

  “What about it?” He asks, about to get out of the helicopter.

  “You... you put me above everything else. I can't even explain how much it means to you that-” I start.

  “I told you. You're my priority," he cuts me off as he pulls me into his arms.

  Noah’s kiss is rough, filled with desire, and makes me weak.

  Around us Manhattan keeps turning, the wind blows my hair in every direction, and it’s freezing.

  But Noah’s hands are on my face, and all I care about is this one kiss.

  “Let’s go,” I tell him.

  He takes my hand.

  I swipe my way into the building with Noah behind me.

  Swipe after swipe to get into the office after hours.

  No one is around, so it's silent, almost eerie.

  Especially at night.

  “Noah, go look in the archives,” I say as I open Connor's door with my key card and toss it to him.

  “Down the hall, left. There might be something in there,” I say.

  “Is it a good idea to separate?” Noah hesitates.

  “We're fine,” I wave a hand.

  “Lucius is going to come down in a few minutes anyway. He’s just securing the helicopter,” I add.

  “Alright," he hesitates one last time before disappearing.

  The first thing I notice in Connor's office is one of the windows is covered with a transparent sheet of thin plexiglass.

  I can hear the wind whistling.

  Tempered glass.

  The window must’ve broken when Connor threw something at it, possibly in a fit of rage.

  That’s the
only explanation.

  I shuffle through his drawers and find nothing but endless documents.

  There's absolutely nothing here.

  Not at his desk.

  I go through everything I can until the bookshelf is the only thing left.

  I do something irrational, and I shake it until every single book falls out.

  That's when I see a large manila envelope, and a smaller white one.

  “Oh my god,” the words escape my lips, as I bend down to pick up the envelopes and return to the desk.

  One has my name on it.

  In my father's writing.

  The other is from a London law firm.

  Then I hear footsteps down the hallway.

  They aren't Noah's.

  They are much heavier.

  Connor!

  I forgot the damn alert on his office door!

  Fuck!

  I shuffle through the drawers until I find an old recorder and hit record.

  The drawer is still open when Connor appears.

  “You know," he raises an eyebrow at me.

  “I didn't think you were that smart. It turns out you are,” Connor’s sneer terrifies me, and I want to scream for Noah.

  The only reason I don’t is that I am sure Lucius or Noah will come to my rescue.

  “Well, I must be. I managed to break my way through the bedroom door you locked me in, after threatening to kill me, and my baby,” I answer.

  “I'm still going to do that,” Connor announces without a care in the world.

  Connor approaches the desk.

  “Connor, I wouldn't take another step,” I tell him boldly.

  “You hurt me, or this baby and-” I begin to say.

  “Not with this, dear, you and that stupid bastard child, oh my god. I’ve heard enough. You think I don’t know Stone is somewhere in the building?” he cuts me off.

  Connor opens up his briefcase, pulls on a pair of leather gloves, and sets two glasses down on his desk.

  “Noah's fingerprints, of course, it's only right for a deranged lover to kill the object of his affections," he smirks.

  I can only gasp.

  “Compliments of Olivia, if you were wondering,” Connor laughs.

  “You two set the fire, didn't you?” I accuse.

  “Olivia and I?” Connor shrugs.

  “What fire? The fire that was supposed to kill you all? How do you think that window was cracked in the first place? I was so mind boggled on how you and that fucking dick hole survived I just had to throw something," he sneers.