Married On Paper To The Billionaire
Chapter 18: Tying Up Loose Ends

"It's so good to hear from you again, Emilia. How are you?"

"Annoyed most times, but I'm fine. What about you?"

"I miss you," he blurted out. "I know I shouldn't say that but it's true. I miss you a lot."

Crap! Maybe this phone call was a mistake.

"I shouldn't have called you, Matt," she said softly.

"Please, don't say that. I didn't mean to offend you. I know you and Kane are married again, I was just saying..."

"It's fine. I'm not offended. I just don't want you to think that I was trying to get back with you again. I just felt like talking to someone who isn't heavily invested in my current situation." "I understand. I wasn't expecting to leave your husband for me either. I know that's impossible."

She chuckled. "I still love him but I'm so angry with him. I'd probably punch him in the face if he showed up in front of me right now."

"Maybe you should. He deserves it."

Someone knocked on her door, interrupting their conversation. She frowned, wondering who it could be. Maurice the manager knew not to disturb her unless she requested his services. "What's that sound?" Matt asked from the other end of the line.

"Someone's knocking on the door. I better go see who it is. I'll call you back later, ok?"

"Ok. I'll look forward to it."

She hung up the telephone in its cradle and got out of bed. Who the hell was pounding on the door like that?

"Who is it?" She asked suspiciously.

There was no response but the person kept knocking. The sound was driving Emilia nuts, so she unlocked the door and pulled it open.

The angry words she'd intended to say dissolved inside her throat when she saw who the visitor was.

"What are you doing here? How did you find me?" She asked.

Kane simply stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her instead of answering her questions.

"Ah... I have missed you so much," he sighed into her hair.

Emilia's first reaction was to melt into his arms and accept the warm hug. But then, she came back to her senses and broke free from his embrace. "You haven't answered my question. Why are you here?"

"You know why I'm here, Emilia. We've been searching for you for nearly two weeks!"

"Am I supposed to apologize for that?"

"No. I am the one who owes you an apology. I am so sorry for what I did to you, Emilia. I just couldn't see another way out of the problem."

"So, the solution was to label me as a mentally unstable person who tried to ruin your lover's life?"

"Please, don't say that, my love. I feel terrible already. Can you ever forgive me?"

"No."

"Please."

"Look, you have to leave now. I need to rest. Meanwhile, remind me to get Maurice fired before I check out of this hotel." "Who's Maurice?"

"The hotel manager."

"He wasn't the one that told me you're here."

"Who did?"

"Never mind. Come on, let's go home."

"I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't feel protected by you or your family."

"That's going to change, I promise you."

"Your promises don't mean anything to me, just as I don't mean anything to you."

"Please, don't say that, Emilia," he replied softly. He stepped towards her and held her hand in his. "You mean the world to me. I'm sorry I put my family's reputation over your safety. That will never happen again." "Tell me, what did they do that was so terrible that you'd rather lie than let the world know about it?"

He sighed. "Let's sit down. What I'm about to tell you may take hours to get through."

She reluctantly closed the door and followed him into the suite. They sat down in the sitting area, and then Kane began talking.

"You know Kendra and I have been together for many years, so in that time, she's gotten to know a lot of things about my family." "Yeah."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm not saying yes," she said haughtily.

"You just did," he replied with a grin.

Emilia tried not to smile but she failed. She immediately schooled her expression and said, "Let's get back to the story, shall we?"

"Right. So... I'll start with my father. He died 11 years ago of what everyone believed to be a cardiac arrest at the age of 56. It was a better cause of death than the truth." "Which is?"

"Suicide. He shot himself dead inside his study."

Emilia gasped. "Oh my gosh! That's horrible. I'm so sorry."

"Thank you. Well, Mother found him after the fact. I was in Korea at the time for a business trip. Jack was still in college then, while Mother and Linda had been out attending a charity gala in Texas." "He was all alone..."

"Yes. He'd been struggling with depression for a while but after going to therapy many times, he seemed more like himself again and we believed that he had recovered. We were so wrong. A maid found his body and called Mother. She and Lillian flew back into town immediately and I was summoned too."

"Why did you guys decide to announce his death as a heart attack?"

"It was Mother's idea. She thought it would tarnish Father's reputation and ruin his legacy if the world knew how he truly died. We had to pay several people handsomely to make sure that the truth never came out."

"And they all kept to their side of the deal."

"Yes. I'd confided in Kendra about it during a moment of weakness. I only mentioned the incident in passing and swore her to secrecy. Now, she's using that against me."

"Is that all?"

"No. Jack got arrested in London two years ago on illicit drug trafficking charges. He'd hosted a rowdy bash on one of our private jets which flew him and his friends to London. A fight broke out when they landed and the police were called. They'd found a large quantity of coke and crystal meth in the cabin and everyone got arrested."

"Oh, boy..."

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"I literally had to move mountains to get him out of detention and keep the story out of the papers. Bribing law enforcement officers isn't something that I'm proud of, but it was what I had to do to save my brother." "And it worked."

"One hundred percent. Jack Beaumont is a free man, isn't he?"

She smiled sadly. "What a mess..."

"Not as messy as what Lillian got involved with."

"Which is?"

He scratched his jaw uncomfortably. "Well, she's a closet lesbian."

"Oh, my world!" Emilia exclaimed. "I would never have guessed it. Was this before or after she married Samuel?"

"Both. When Mother found out that Lillian had a girlfriend in college, she was livid and ordered her to stop dating girls. Mother is old-fashioned. Father didn't mind much, but Mother wasn't having it. She set Lillian up on multiple dates with guys that she thought were worthy of her daughter."

"That would have pissed off Lillian."

"It did. She threatened to elope and Mother threatened to have her cut off from the family with no money. The thought of working to make money for herself and not having access to all the luxuries she'd grown up with, made her repent. When Mother played matchmaker and linked her with Samuel, she was more than happy to accept his marriage proposal when he asked."

"So, it wasn't exactly a love marriage?"

"Not really, but Samuel seemed to have loved her from the start." "Loved?"

"Yes, until last week when Kendra threatened to expose Lillian. It turns out that she'd been having sexual affairs with different women. She got sloppy and Kendra somehow found out about it. That was one of the secrets she threatened to expose."

"Wow... So, Samuel now knows?"

"Yes."

"Poor guy."

"He's not completely innocent either. Two years ago, he got slapped with a lawsuit by the family of a woman who died on his table after a botched surgery. An investigation revealed that he'd engaged in a practice that wasn't approved by the medical association."

"Oh, dear!"

"His license was going to be revoked and he was facing jail time if the matter went to trial and he was found guilty."

"Let me guess, you threw money at everybody and the case never saw the light of day."

"Pretty much. In my defense, I didn't want to do it. It was Mother and Lillian that begged me to save Samuel and not subject the family to public ridicule if the news got out." "Wonderful... This is a lot."

"I know. I'm sorry I never told you about any of these things before. I didn't think it was fair to burden you with my family's sordid secrets."

She nodded slowly. She wondered if she would have done half of everything he did to protect her own family.

Although she could see that he'd done a lot of illegal things to protect his family, she couldn't help but admire his selflessness.

"What about you? What does she have on you?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. I'm an open book. I've always lived my life on a straight and narrow path. It may sound boring, but it keeps me out of trouble."

"So, you and Mother are the only ones in the family without secrets?" "Well... Mother has hers."

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He grinned. "I know. My family is a full can of worms."

"Right. So, what did Mother do? Dance at a strip club?"

Kane laughed. "That would have been more exciting than the truth."

"What's the truth?"

He sobered up and sighed. "Well... she's bulimic. It's been going on for years and she's refused to get help. It's her way of remaining slender without going under the knife." "Oh," Emilia mused. She'd always assumed that Elsie's impressive figure was a result of good genes and a healthy diet.

The Beaumonts were indeed a weird bunch of privileged misfits. To the public, they were a perfect family with good morals and an abundance of wealth.

However, in reality, they were just a group of people who have made bad choices and escaped from the consequences because they can afford to buy their way out of punishment. "So, you see, Emilia. Those disgraceful secrets were the reasons I decided to give in to Kendra's blackmail and do the needful."

"I understand now but I hope you know that nothing stops her from going to the press with what she knows."

"About that... she showed up in my office last week and demanded to be paid for her silence."

"I knew it. I knew she would do that!"

"I saw it coming too and I prepared for her it too."

"Meaning?"

"I made her sign a gag order and then paid her off. I assure you, she won't bother us again."

"What makes you think that she will stick to her side of the agreement?"

"If she doesn't, I'll make her sorry. I've been lenient with her enough. If she tries to mess with me or my family again, I'll put her to rest finally."

"I hope you don't mean what I think you mean?"

He smiled slowly. "Well, let's hope it never gets to that. I will not be boxed into a corner by her again."

"Good."

"So, can we go home now?"

"Not so fast. I haven't forgiven you yet," she said and looked away.

"What can I do to earn your forgiveness?"

"Fix my reputation."

"Done." "How?"

"We'll have a sitdown interview with Martin Santino and set the records straight. We can do it at the mansion if you want. That would give a more believable angle to the interview." "You have it all figured out, haven't you?"

"Yes, Emilia. I've failed you twice already and I don't want there to be a third time. I promise you my undiluted loyalty and protection from now on. You're now my number one priority." Emilia heard the sincerity in his voice and she was completely sold. It was time to join forces with her husband and stop allowing the villain to keep winning.

"It's settled then," she said, rising to her feet. "Let's go home."