My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 516

Chapter 516

+15 Bgma

Every alarm in my body went off at once. I looked around and nobody even looked surprised. That scared me more than Cole did.

I turned sharply toward Mama D, “What is he doing here?”

Mama D looked exhausted, older than I had ever seen her, “We owe him money.”

I stared, “I know that but what is he doing here?!”

“We sold the Garden.”

“I know.”

“The debt didn’t disappear.”

I looked between her and Cole, then back again, “How much?”

Mama D swallowed, “When everything was over…” her voice dropped, “…we were still short.”

My chest tightened, “Short by how much?”

Then she said quietly, “Twenty-five million dollars, sweetheart. That’s why Cole and I work together now.”

Cole clicked his tongue, “You and your whores work for me, Denise.”

I looked around the apartment, at the stained walls, at the broken furniture, at the girls, at Cole and then back to

Mama D.

“No,” the word came out immediately, “No.”

Mama D’s expression hardened, “It’s done.”

“You’re working with him?”

Mama D looked away.

“Oh my God,” my voice cracked, “Oh my God,” I pointed directly at Cole, “Him?”

The girls looked miserable and Cole looked amused. That told me everything. This is exactly what he wanted.

This wasn’t about escorts, this wasn’t about business, this wasn’t about protection, this was ownership, “He’ll destroy this place. He’ll destroy all of you.”

Mama D’s jaw tightened, “That’s enough.”

“No!” I took another step forward, “He’ll turn every one of you into products.”

Cole laughed and the sound made me want to throw up.

I ignored him, “Mama D, look at me. We can fix this. The Capones will help.”

The entire room froze, every single person. Even Cole’s smile disappeared for a second.

“They’ll pay it. I’m serious,” my words rushed out, “Salvatore wouldn’t even blink at twenty-five million. Raphael could probably transfer it before breakfast. We can fix this.”

Shock flashed across her face, then anger, “No.”

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I blinked, “What?”

“We are not taking their money, we’re!or taking your money!”

I stared, “Why?”

“Because this is our problem.”

“I’m a part of you,” my voice came out little and broken.

“No, you’re not.”

I shook my head desperately, “Please.”

“No!”

The shout made me flinch, tears filled my eyes. She never yelled at me, never, not once.

“We don’t want your help. We don’t want their money,” her voice broke, “We don’t want their favors,” I couldn’t breathe, “We don’t want anything that comes attached to you.”

The words shattered something inside me then Mama D grabbed my arm and roughly dragged me with her. She walked me toward the front door.

“Mama D-” tears ran down my face and the girls wouldn’t look at me.

Mama D opened the door, cold night air rushed inside. I looked at her, hurt, “Mama D…”

Her face crumpled. For a second I thought she would change her mind. Instead she shook her head, “You need to let us go. Don’t ever come back.”

The tears spilled down her cheeks now but she shoved me out of the door, and stepped back into her place, back toward Cole.

The door slammed shut.

1

The theater was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

Everything gleamed, the floors were polished. The walls were spotless. People moved quickly around me with clipboards and headsets, speaking in hurried whispers as dancers stretched and prepared for their performances.

Somewhere beyond the heavy velvet curtain, hundreds of people filled the audience.

I sat in front of one of the mirrors, staring at my reflection. My costume was finished and makeup was done. My hair had been pinned into a perfect bun so tight it felt like my thoughts had been secured in place too.

A pale blue tutu spread around me like layers of clouds. Tiny crystals sewn into the fabric caught the light every time I moved.

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