by Iris Deorre
FREED
The Mind Of Her Billionaire, Volume 3
Iris Deorre
Published by Iris Deorre, 2014.
FREED
Published by Iris Deorre
Copyright May 2014 Iris Deorre
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
FREED (The Mind Of Her Billionaire, #3)
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Further Reading: The Look In His Eyes
Also By Iris Deorre
About the Author
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations and incidents are products of author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales or events is entirely coincidental.
Prologue
Amelia paced with her hand to her forehead. She took one look at the little boy in the sky blue top and grey shorts. He had dark black curly hair, grey eyes and beautiful olive skin. To look at him, one would want to run up to the little darling and give him a hug. But as she looked at him, she didn’t know what to feel. He was as calm as a warm summer’s day. He pushed up on his toes and down again, with his hands in his pockets, and flashed a slight smile at his mother, waiting for her to react.
She couldn’t bring herself to acknowledge what was right in front of her, but if she denied it any longer, it wouldn’t solve anything.
‘Honey,’ she said in the calmest manner possible. ‘Could you please just stay here while mummy makes a phone call?’
The child nodded. She nodded too, and then stepped out of the kitchen into the living-room to pick up the portable phone. She knew the number off by heart now, she’d rung it so many times, and she was always passed right through to him.
‘Doctor Gallagher,’ she said. ‘It’s Amelia.’
‘Amelia,’ he said. ‘Something has happened, hasn’t it? I can hear it in your voice.’
‘Yes.’ She was almost in tears, but she didn’t want her son to see her cry. ‘It’s Gabriel, he’s...’ She looked in the direction of the door to make sure Gabriel hadn’t followed her. ‘He’s...’ She couldn’t spit it out.
‘What has he done, Amelia?’
Amelia bit the back of her index finger a moment.
‘Amelia?’
‘He cut a cat’s tail with a pair of kitchen scissors. I don’t even know how he got a hold of them! Rebecca was supposed to be watching him!’ The words trailed out like a gush of water from a tap. ‘I don’t know what to do! Oh God!’
‘First, take a few deep breaths and calm down. We talked about this, about the possibility. Remember what I said to you.’
‘Yes, yes I do.’
‘Good. Now why don’t I make an appointment for you and Gabriel to come and see me?’
‘Yes, yes okay.’ She took in deep breaths.
‘I’ll pass you back to my secretary to make the appointment.’
She nodded, ‘Yes, yes okay.’
‘It will be fine, I promise.’
Amelia hoped so!
Chapter One
Three years earlier
Amelia ran her hand down the growing bump and smiled. It was a pleasure feeling the little baby kick within her. She’d never thought that in her life, she would have such strong feelings for another human being. Life hadn’t been easy, in fact, it had been the most exhausting four months of her life. Not only did the board members try to undermine her judgments, and many times not take her seriously, she also had to deal with Justin.
They spoke a lot over the phone, mostly about business. She had been flying in and out of the country a lot, at his request. The one thing she hadn’t done was visit him. She just couldn’t. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she was terrified, terrified, she wasn’t the Amelia he wanted to see. Not only had she gained back all the weight, the pregnancy had added a few more pounds to her.
‘I do love me,’ she rubbed her belly again. ‘I love me very much.’ This had been her way to get over the constant negative words, Justin had planted in her.
It wasn’t as simple as forgetting, she’d had to relearn how to eat, but the baby had come as a life saver. She wasn’t only looking out for herself, she was looking out for the baby. There had been times, when she’d been tempted to go and see him, to see his gorgeous face, his grey eyes, but she had to remember the things he’d done to her.
Doctor Gallagher had been a God send. Through the months they’d worked together and worked through her fears. The one thing she hadn’t done was go back and see Justin. It didn’t matter how many times Doctor Gallagher had told her she was safe, it didn’t change the fact that Justin might despise her. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to go through the feeling of rejection.
She twirled one last time in front of the mirror. She looked amazing in the black Amanda Wakeley dress. It hugged her body, the curves and the growing bump. She wore a black pair of Christian Louboutin’s that made the look, look simple, but chic.
There was a light knock on the door that caught her by surprised.
‘Your car is here, Miss Woods,’ said Mandy.
Mandy had been hired as a personal assistant. She maintained Amelia’s diary from day to day. With all the work piling up, and the fact she’d soon be a mother, there weren’t enough hours in the day for her to do everything herself.
‘Thanks Mandy, did you have any luck on Au pairs?’ she asked as she picked up her handbag, and headed for the door.
‘I have a few scheduled for tomorrow,’ she said.
‘What’s my calendar looking like tomorrow?’
‘You have the afternoon clear for the interviews, then you have a meeting at the office at four thirty, then its dinner with friends.’
‘Perfect!’ she said. ‘I don’t know what I’d do with out you.’ She smiled at the petite brunette.
Mandy was fresh out of university and eager to please. It had been her up beat personality that had got Amelia’s attention. There had been a few potentials, but Mandy had outshone them all. Amelia had made the right decision, the woman was on top of everything all the time.
‘Shall we?’ Amelia walked past her and down the spiral staircase.
The massive house in Harrogate was one of the many perks of becoming temporary holder of Justin’s assets. Although he was in charge from a far, through his solicitors and phone calls, she had majority of the decision making powers. The change in life style was new and exhausting, but she’d coped rather well.
The driver opened the door and the two ladies hopped into the car.
‘So, give me the schedule for today.’
‘We’re off to see Doctor Gallagher. While you’re with him, I’ll nip into town to get Gary a birthday present.’
‘Ah yes, it’s his birthday, is that why I’m having dinner?’ she giggled.
‘Yes, it is.’
‘Make sure you get him something...what’s the word.’ She moved her hand about trying to find the right words that described Gary.
‘Trendy?’ Mandy took a guess at it.
‘I’d say elegant. Like an expensive watch or something, or an expensive wallet. He loves...should I say quality.’
Mandy wrote down what her boss asked of her. At times, Amelia had to pinch herself just to make sure that the life she was living wasn’t a dream.
‘What’s after my appointment with Doctor Gallagher?’
&
nbsp; Mandy looked at the iPad. ‘You have a dress fitting with Suzanne.’
‘What’s that for?’ Amelia couldn’t remember why that appointment had been set. It was good to have Mandy, otherwise she was certain everything would fall apart.
‘You’re attending a charity event.’
‘Oh, boy not another one! When did I accept that?’
‘You didn’t, Justin did, and you’re going in his place.’
Amelia rolled her eyes, and let out a bit of steam. ‘Okay, what’s after that?’
‘Update call with Justin at three thirty, and then you’ve got a conference call with the creative team, working from your home office.’
‘Please tell me there’s nothing after that.’
‘I’m afraid there’s one more thing.’ Mandy smiled.
‘Seriously!’
‘Yes, but I think you’ll love this one.’
Amelia smiled as she remembered. ‘It’s my scan isn’t it?’
Mandy nodded.
‘That’s fine then, I don’t have a problem with that.’ She beamed.
Amelia touched her stomach and felt a flood of emotion. Things had been so crazy, but the moment she put her hand to her stomach, everything felt okay, everything felt calm.
The driver finally arrived outside Doctor Gallagher’s office. He hopped out and opened the door for her.
‘Don’t forget to make sure you get something elegant for Gary!’ she said before heading for the office.
‘I promise, see you in an hour.’
****
‘Miss Woods, so nice to see you again,’ said Doctor Gallagher as he shut the door behind them.
‘From today please call me Amelia,’ she said. ‘I’m Miss Woods the whole day, but here, I just want to be Amelia.’
‘Fair enough.’ He darted across to the desk, picked up her folder then sat opposite her like they normally did.
‘How are things?’ he asked.
‘Busy,’ she said. ‘Really busy; I don’t think I realised the amount of work I was taking on when I agreed to take over his assets. But I took your advice, and hired someone.’
‘And how is that working out?’
‘So much better, I don’t have to think about the small tasks, like my diary. All I have to do now is show up.’
He smiled and nodded.
‘It feels strange. One minute I’m Justin’s prisoner, the next I’m looking after his business.’
‘He trusts you.’
‘He is a terribly confusing man.’
‘I agree, but you have to admit, there is something about you that he loves.’
She thought about it a moment. That was true; it was always in his eyes.
‘How do you feel about him now, since we last spoke?’
She shut her eyes and then opened them.
‘It’s difficult. It’s hard not to think about him, he’s still pretty much controlling my life,’ she said. ‘I have a call with him today.’
‘Have you spoken to him about anything besides business?’
She shook her head.
‘You haven’t told him about the baby?’
Again she shook her head.
‘He has a right to know.’
‘I know, I’m just not ready.’
The old man sat back and opened the file. He scanned the contents of it, and then looked back at her.
‘Are you a Christian?’ he asked.
The question took her by surprise.
‘I went to Sunday school.’ She laughed lightly. ‘My parents are more of church goers than I am.’
‘Then you’ll have a pretty good grasp on bible scriptures.’ He ran his hand across his beard, and then crossed his legs. ‘I’m not a Christian myself, but I have studied the teachings of Jesus.’
Amelia watched and wondered where the conversation was heading. Was he going to hit her again with more of his words of wisdom?
‘I have to say, that Jesus was one of the greatest teachers that walked this earth.’
Amelia waited.
‘There is a particular verse I keep close to my heart.’ He smiled as he said this. ‘It’s in the book of John 8 verse 7, “Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.” In my career, I’ve always tried to live by those words.’ He took in a deep breath. ‘You’re probably thinking, why I’m telling you this.’
‘Yes, yes I am.’
‘Do you agree that we’re all made in His image? God’s image?’
‘I do.’
‘I do too, even though I’m not a practicing Christian, I do feel there is something, someone bigger at work. Sometimes, some of us come into this world broken. If Derrick –’
‘Justin,’ she corrected him.
‘I beg your pardon, old habits die hard.’ He smiled. ‘If Justin were born blind, it would’ve been easier for his family to show compassion, would it not?’
‘I would think so.’
‘Stick with me here,’ he said. ‘When a child is born, there is no thought of evil in that child. No one thought that Justin would one day murder his own brother. The problem with Justin is that his illness can’t be seen. It isn’t something we can see, like blindness or a deformity. The brain is so complex that we’re still trying to figure it out.’
‘I’m not sure what you want me to say.’
He nodded at her stomach. Amelia touched it unconsciously.
‘You are bringing a child into this world, who is half of Justin.’
She swallowed back hard at the thought. The thoughts of her child being like Justin, had haunted her daily, even though she tried not to think about it.
‘I understand that.’
‘Darkness cannot fight darkness,’ he said. ‘You, Miss Woods, are the light that he needs.’
‘But he hurt me, and I’m afraid that if he sees me this big, he’ll be disgusted.’
‘I understand, and I’m not forcing you to go and see him, if that is not what you wish to do. You are entirely within your rights to refuse. All I’m saying is, be that change, be that light, not just for you, but for the child that is about to come.’
‘By seeing him?’
He smiled gently. ‘I’ve dedicated my life to people classed as criminal insane. I saw hope in Justin, when I saw the change in the part of the brain that deals with emotion in him, I was delighted... When you go into a dark room, what’s the first thing you do?’
‘Switch on the light.’
‘And the darkness disappears!’ he said with a smile. ‘We put people behind bars so that they can’t hurt us, but without fully understanding the why, they did what they did, prisons will just continue to get fuller and fuller. You are the key to that change, let that change start with you. Don’t turn away from him and throw away the key. One day you might have to deal with it all over again.’
Amelia listened to him carefully. There were two sides wrestling inside her. There was no doubt that she still felt something for Justin, but there was the part that remembered all the pain.
‘Pain consumes you,’ he said as if reading her mind. ‘It stops you from moving forward. You came here to move on with your life, and this is one of the ways.’
She was silent.
‘I’m not saying marry him, or be with him. I’m just saying, be that light to him.’
She nodded.
‘It will heal you too, trust me I know.’
This wasn’t the session she was expecting. She wanted Doctor Gallagher to tell her she’d be okay, and that the child she was carrying would be okay too.
‘Is there a possibility my child will be like Justin?’ she asked, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.
‘Yes, there is a possibility, but we can cross that bridge when we get there. The key isn’t to ignore it, but to face it and deal with it.’
She nodded, not the answer she wanted to hear, but like he said. She would deal with it when the time came.
‘Is there anything you’d like to say, tell me?’ He sat back.
/> ‘Honestly, you’ve left me with a lot to think about. I guess my only fear is my child turning out like him.’
‘Remember there was love in him, so try and hold onto that. In life we tend to hold onto the bad rather than the good. There’s a fifty fifty chance either way, why not hope for the best.’
‘Yes, I guess you’re right. Thank you.’
Amelia only shared a few more minor concerns and then soon the session was over. She walked out into the waiting car and joined Mandy.
‘So what did you get Gary?’ she asked.
Mandy picked up the pretty white bag from Harvey Nichols. The items were hidden between soft paper.
‘Oh, he’ll love this!’ Amelia opened the box that contained Tateossian diamond dust cufflinks. ‘This is so him!’ She squealed.
‘I got this as well.’ Mandy held opened a box.
‘Yes, he’ll definitely love that!’ Amelia admired the Uniform Wares, stainless steel watch. ‘Oh he’ll love that.’ She giggled, she couldn’t wait to present the items to her friend. ‘Make sure that this all goes under entertainment, so the accountant can keep track of the spending,’ she said.
‘Yes, Miss Woods.’
‘So, it’s back home then, is it?’
‘Yes, I had a call from Suzanne, she’ll be at the house within the hour.’
‘Great.’ Amelia sat back and tried to take everything in.
She thought about what Doctor Gallagher had said, and wondered if it would be so bad to go and see Justin. It wasn’t like he could hurt her. The trial was coming up soon and she also worried about that. Justin had been given special privileges, that didn’t make her feel too comfortable.
As the car moved, Amelia’s eyes shut for a moment. She was exhausted by it all. The nap would do her some good, she hoped.
Chapter Two
‘Ah, Amelia!’ Suzanne took both her hands, pulled her forward and kissed both cheeks. ‘Look at you!’ She looked at the bump. ‘You’ve certainly put on a little bit of weight the last time I saw you.’
Amelia smiled curtly. ‘I’d appreciate it if you keep this to yourself,’ she said.
‘Don’t worry about me. It must be hard for you with Justin in prison. I don’t believe they’re accusing him of murder, and kidnap! I mean, look at you, you’re okay and the last time I saw you, you were fine.’ She started to fiddle with the dresses.
