Longing For The Beach Billionaire Daddy
Chapter 65

*Michael*

Unknown caller reads across my phone screen, and my heart stops. I reluctantly pull myself off the couch and away from Shelby. She stared up at me, worry lines appearing on her forehead.

“I have to take this,” I mumbled as I retreated toward the kitchen.

“Hello? Who is this?” I answered the phone call, doing my best to keep my voice down so Shelby wouldn’t hear.

A scratchy voice sounded on the other end of the line, and static assaulted my ear. I quickly pulled the phone away until the static settled. I had to listen closely to make out what the voice was saying through the static.

“You are going to… get what is coming to you….and she will too.”

At the last word, the call dropped abruptly. Goosebumps rose on the back of my neck, and I scanned the windows but couldn’t make out anything in the blackness. I stood frozen in the kitchen, unsure of what to do next.

Could Blaine possibly have found out we were staying here? Was there something I missed? Had I been sloppy and led him right to us? Just as I made up my mind to go get Bruce, he walked into the kitchen.

“Sir, we need to talk. Something has happened,” Bruce said.

“What do you mean something has happened? I was just going to come to get you, but I was worried about interrupting your Christmas Eve with your wife,” I said, still reeling from the phone call.

“Not here. Somewhere more private,” Bruce said, looking out to the living room where Shelby was still watching the movie. I hoped she would not notice if I left.

“My grandfather’s office is just down the hall. We can talk there,” I said, taking the lead down the hallway.

I walked straight into the room where my grandfather kept his book collection on ornate shelves behind the big oak desk that occupied the center of the room. I had not touched this place after he passed, hoping to preserve his memory in the space. Even now, I did not take a seat in his office chair. Instead, I opted for pacing in front of the large desk.

Bruce walked around the room to ensure we were alone and that the door was properly closed before he told me what had happened.

“There was a break-in at your penthouse in New York. We are not sure how the perpetrator got in. All we know is that the alarms were disabled, and that the place was completely ransacked. The security team is still taking stock of all of the damaged and missing items. The one we know for sure to be missing is your laptop.”

The gravity of the situation settled in as I realized whoever robbed my penthouse now had access to all of the files on my computer. There were months worth of pictures of Shelby and me on that laptop. I had taken so many pictures of us together on our short weekend trips in between Shelby’s classes. I wanted to keep a memento of all of the time we spent together, which was now in the hands of Blaine.

I immediately knew that Blaine had to be behind the break-in and the phone call I received. Blaine likely waited until after the break-in to make the call seem even more threatening. The pictures on my laptop were nowhere near as incriminating as the photos of us naked in the cove.

However, in every one of the stolen photos, you could see Shelby’s face, smiling happily next to my own. Now, Blaine could go to the media and make sure that Shelby’s name and pictures were plastered all over the Internet. She would never be able to live her life the way she wanted to now.

Bruce’s phone ringing broke the intense silence, and he turned around to take a call from one of the members of the security team. I watched his face fall further into frustration as he received more news, no doubt about the break-in. As soon as he hung up the phone, he sighed deeply. I had never seen him so bothered.

“What is the news?” I asked, impatient to hear more.

“I have bad news and even worse news,” Bruce said, meeting my eyes.

“I’ll take the bad news first, then….” I answered.

“They weren’t sure at first because your office was so badly damaged in the break-in. There were papers scattered everywhere, and everything on your bookshelves was dumped onto the floor and broken. The team just made it to your desktops, which were smashed with what we can only guess was a baseball bat, but the bad news is that I have just received confirmation that your hard drives were stolen.”

I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. My mind was racing as I tried my best to recall what they could get off of my hard drives. Expense reports, employee yearly reviews, and my old travel logs were the only things that came to mind.

“There are a bunch of company files on there, but nothing that would be too devastating if it was hacked or leaked. Anything that is confidential is kept in locked files at Express Air.”

“I am not sure that he is going after your company anymore. What about your emails, sir?”

“Those are all password protected. Again even if it is hacked, I don’t think there is anything there that could be too devastating,” I offered.

Bruce picked up the pacing where I had stopped. It was clear he was trying to think of anything that Blaine could use against me.

“You mentioned there was even worse news. Let me hear it,” I said, letting out a long breath.

Bruce nodded, clearly wishing he didn’t have so much bad news for one day.

“Right, there is even worse news, sir. We believe that this was an inside job. If that is the case, it will be even easier for them to hack into your personal accounts through the hard drives.”

That news was even worse than the break-in or what was stolen. It was like a blow to the stomach to replace out I was betrayed by someone I had trusted with my safety and protection. One of my own security team members must have teamed up with Blaine.

“Why do you think that this was an inside job, Bruce?” I asked, my stomach spinning.

“The alarms were disabled before the break-in happened. I have access to the security systems log, showing when and how each alarm was turned off or on. Our security team has a special pin that has to be entered to disable the alarm remotely. That pin was used tonight.”

“What would Blaine be able to offer to sway one of my men to turn on me? He has nothing to his name; that is why he has been blackmailing me for years,” I said, talking out loud to try and understand my own thoughts.

“I don’t understand either. I suspect that someone with a personal tie to Blaine may be behind this. I will be looking into our most recent hires first. I promise you, sir, I will replace who betrayed you, and they will be persecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I will not let them get away with this.”

I turned and saw the look on Bruce’s face as he spoke his last sentence. He must have been taking this break in as a personal affront. I had no doubt that Bruce would stop at nothing to replace the person responsible for this.

“I have every faith in you, Bruce,” I said, but I knew it didn’t take the sting away of being betrayed by one of your own.

“Thank you, sir,” Bruce said flatly.

“I was just about to come to replace you before you came in. I got a call from another unknown number, I knew it was going to be Blaine on the other end, so I answered it. It was a raspy voice and what was said was hard to make out. It was clearly a threat thought to both me and… and to Shelby. Can you trace that call?”

“Of course, sir. I also have to ask, is there anything in your emails or files that will lead Blaine to you here?”

“s**t,” I mumbled under my breath.

“I will take that as a yes,” Bruce said.

“I purchased the ski passes before we left. I have an email confirmation sitting in my inbox.”

“Then I think it is safe to say that it won’t be long before Blaine makes an appearance here. If possible, we need to get you and Miss Hatton out of here tonight. I can call and set up a flight; just let me know where you want to go.”

“I honestly don’t know where to go. Shelby has classes after winter break, and there is no chance she will miss the start of next term,” I said, running my mind over all the possible solutions.

“I can send a security guard to watch her at her apartment and as she goes to classes, but I don’t know if that will be enough until I replace out the traitor on our own team, sir. Anything I put in place can be undone until we weed out the person responsible.”

I started pacing back and forth in the office. Fear crept into the back of my mind at the thought of Blaine going after Shelby at Cambridge when I would be so far away from her.

“He is getting bolder…. Extortion is one thing, but breaking and entering is another. He is no longer just trying to get money from me, is he, Bruce?” I asked.

“No, sir. It seems like this time; he is out for b***d. He is clearly willing to do anything to get at you. I am afraid he will use anyone close to you as well. Shelby is in real danger.”

“I know she is, but that doesn’t make this decision any easier,” I responded.

A soft knock sounded at the door, and I heard Shelby’s voice on the other side.

“Michael, is everything okay? You took off so fast, and you have been gone for a while. I was starting to get worried, and the best part of the movie is almost on.”

I opened the door to replace my beautiful girlfriend standing on the other side. Her red hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail, and there was true worry in her eyes. I wanted to take her in my arms and tell her everything would be alright.

But everything wasn’t alright, so instead, I said:

“We need to talk.”