Corporate Plaything

“I caught her crying last night while hacking my computer.”

“Think she might know what had happened to her father?”

“Could be. She got a phone call around dinner time and looked disturbed afterwards.”

Justin went silent for a moment before he said, “I’ll fly to St. Croix tomorrow. I think it’s time we come clean about everything.”

“Finally.” Ralph drew a relieved breath. “It’s been long overdue. Matt too?”

“Yeah. But we might not be on the same flight. He has to take care of some business with Beautycor first.”

“Understood.”

“Keep your eyes peeled.” Justin disconnected.

Ralph pocketed his cell phone with mixed feelings. He was glad that he and his brothers could soon wrap up their business on the surface world and go back home to Azura. But he also felt worried that things might not go as well as they’d planned. Anna had only been their girl for less than two weeks. Not enough time to woo a woman and convince her she belonged to the three of them. Forever.

He padded back to the dining room to find Anna. She might be interested in going out sailing today. He wanted to take her mind off things until Justin and Matt arrived from New York.

The dining room was empty. One of the staff, Reggie, was taking the last of the dirty plates to the kitchen.

“Did you see Anna?” Ralph asked him.

The young man stopped. “Miss Vincent is in the gazebo, sir. I heard her saying she wanted to catch up with her reading.”

Ah. “Did you see her carry her laptop?”

“No, sir. Just some books.”

“I see. Thanks.” So, Anna was telling the truth. He’d thought she’d continue to try to hack their network to find that formula, which she would never find unless hell froze over.

Even if Justin wrote down that concoction and posted it somewhere in their personal network, anyone who read it would think it just a bunch of babble. Without the magic of the wielder, the secret formula was as useless as a snake oil recipe.

Ralph went outside to find her. When he got to the back garden, he didn’t see her. But he did see her book lying on the gazebo’s bench. Where could she be?

He treaded along the winding stone path to the beach. He thought she might be there. She’d confided she couldn’t swim and dipping her feet in the water was the closest thing to swimming.

When he got there, Anna was nowhere to be seen. The beach was empty.

Where did she go? Ralph slipped into uneasiness. Suddenly, something bothered him but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He decided to go back to the mansion, thinking that Anna might be in her room. Then, he saw odd foot tracks near the stone path.

He studied them closer. Two sets of tracks. One was made by someone who wore heavy boots and the other was smeared, bare foot, like somebody had been dragged on the sand. An alarm rang in his head. Instinct kicked into high gear. His heart pounded faster.

Anna.

Had something happened to her?

Ralph followed the tracks. They led him to the estate’s sugar cane grove. Uneasiness turned into a full-blown dread. He was supposed to keep an eye on her and he hadn’t done a very good job at it. If something happened to Anna, Ralph wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

He ran through the jungle of green stalks with long, blade-like leaves. The tracks had become difficult to see and he had to rely on his sense of smell. He followed her scent, like a bloodhound hell-bent on chasing his prey. It seemed they went uphill towards the lighthouse. The tower perched on the rocky pass, overlooking the sea. The place itself had fallen to rubble from years of disuse, until Justin ordered a contractor to fix it about a month ago. Ralph didn’t think the renovation had started yet. And since the estate was a private area, it should be off limits to everyone besides the staff.

Ralph stormed out from the sugar cane field and into a clearing. He instinctively fisted his hands when he saw what was happening near the lighthouse. Anna was running from a burly man, clutching her hand in agony. He was driving her to the edge of the cliff.

Ralph’s heart skipped a beat.

That man wouldn’t think to…

Ralph hissed and summoned his power, charging forward to save Anna.