Longing For The Beach Billionaire Daddy
Chapter 95

*Michael*

I found myself back in front of the same seedy bodega way too soon for my liking. However, this time I didn’t have to wait long for the same man to ‘accidentally’ bump into me again. With the envelope under my arm, I made my way to the secret spot where I would replace the duffle bag waiting for me to fill it to bursting with cash.

I shoved the envelope of cash into the bag and threw it up the fire escape to the light of the burning cigarette hanging out of the shadow-covered man’s mouth. I took off down the alleyway, knowing another figure was following me.

Bruce wouldn’t let me come on my own again; after he found out about the last time, he insisted on following me.

This time I waited until I was back in the safety of my car before I opened the package. I hopped in the driver’s seat and spilled the contents of the envelope into my lap.

I picked up the front note on top of the papers just as Bruce climbed into the passenger’s seat. Without a word, I passed Bruce the stack of papers, while I read the note.

*I have tracked down the IP address the original photo was uploaded from. Lucky for you, this time I was able to track down a physical address too. Looks like you’re going to need to take a trip to Jersey. –Delany*

I set the note on the dashboard and turned to Bruce who was scanning through the pages, with a determined look on his face.

“Delany mentioned in the note there should be a physical address included in that paperwork,” I said.

“There is. It was right here,” Bruce said, shuffling through the pages and handing me one. “It’s in a pretty rough part of town.”

“So you know where it is?” I asked.

“I know the general area,” Bruce answered.

“Good, because we’re going there now,” I said, throwing the car into drive.

“Why now? Sir, I will send the security team over to check the place out. We don’t know what we’re going to replace there. If we corner Blaine, things could get ugly,” Bruce said, finally looking up from the papers.

“I’m not taking the chance that he might replace out we know where he is and have him take off before we can get our team over there,” I said, pulling onto the freeway.

“Fine, but you have to promise that you’ll follow my lead,” Bruce said, still looking concerned.

“I promise.”

Bruce was right when he said the apartment was in a rough area. The black sports car we were driving stuck out among all the run-down cars. We parked the car a block over and made our way on foot, in case Blaine was watching for us.

The elevator was out of order so we had to jog six flights of stairs before reaching the apartment we were looking for. There was a strange stain on the door that looked suspiciously like b***d, and the door itself stood cracked open.

Bruce put his hand on his holster that was concealed under his jacket before easing the unlocked door open. It was easy to see that there was no one in the apartment as soon as we looked inside.

It was a tiny studio apartment, with no furnishings except for a bare mattress on the floor. Bruce went to check the bathroom was clear before calling for me to follow him.

It was clear that someone had been living here from the clothes strewn across the floor and takeout containers left sitting on the narrow kitchen counter.

“It looks like we missed him,” Bruce said, kicking a pair of discarded jeans with his foot.

“Do you think he knew we were coming, or do you think we missed him by chance?” I asked.

“I think we missed him by chance, but I can guarantee that he has people watching out for someone coming to look for him. He’ll know we were here before we make it back to New York,” Bruce answered.

“Well, let’s have a quick look around, see if we can replace any evidence, and then let’s get out of here,” I said.

We busied ourselves going through cupboards and anywhere we could think of that Blaine might be hiding evidence, or even better, my hard drives. After a quick search, the only thing of use we found was a fake ID, but it was clearly Blaine in the picture.

“Well, this proves one thing,” Bruce said. “It really is Blaine behind all the blackmailing.”

We left the apartment, and I couldn’t help but feel slightly defeated. I don’t know what I expected to replace, but I felt as though the apartment was a huge dead end. If he took the money, why was he living in such a shitty place? What was he doing with all of it? Hopefully, nothing–yet–so I could get it back.

“I’ll send one of my guys over here to keep an eye out for Blaine, but I’m positive he won’t come back here again. He probably has dozens of apartments like these around the city. It won’t be easy to track him down, but in the end, we will get him,” Bruce said, trying to lift my spirits.

When we got back to the car, I asked him to drive. I needed the time on the drive back to think over everything. I didn’t know how I was going to save Shelby from the fake story Blaine had come up with about her.

As I told her about the threat and the details of the fake interview with Todd, she was in tears, frantic about how this could ruin her chances of becoming a lawyer. If the story went public, Harvard could kick her out of the school and the program.

This attempt to track the IP address from where the picture of me with the random woman at the bar was sent was my last-ditch attempt to save her from that story being leaked. I couldn’t help but feel as though I’d failed her.

“Do you want me to take you back to the townhouse, sir?” Bruce asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

“No, let’s head back to the penthouse. I haven’t been back there in weeks. I should probably start packing up my belongings so we can get the place listed. Since Shelby had to go back to Cambridge for the weekend, I might as well start now,” I said.

My eyes felt heavy as I rode the elevator up to my penthouse; I was ready to fall into bed and pretend that the day had gone better. However, as soon as the elevator opened, all my plans flew out the window.

I’d been back just a few times after the break-in, and even though there was considerable damage done, everything had been fixed. This time, however, the destruction was unmatched.

Like before, my belongings were scattered in every direction, but Blaine had gone to new lengths, breaking the floor-to-ceiling windows leading onto the balcony. My flat screen TV was pulled from the wall and broken beyond repair.

Every dish had been pulled from the cupboards and thrown haphazardly around the room. There was so much glass on the floor, it was impossible to tell what’d been broken. I pulled out my phone and dialed Bruce’s number.

“I hope you didn’t make it far. I need you to come back to the penthouse. There’s been another break-in,” I said as soon as Bruce answered.

“I’m turning around,” he said before hanging up.

Not knowing what to do, I carefully walked to the balcony, crushing glass underfoot the entire way over. I pulled on the metal frame of one of the doors, sending a tinkling of glass to the floor. Shaking my head in disbelief, I leaned on the railing and looked out over the city.

I stayed out there even when Bruce arrived, not wanting to stand in the middle of my wrecked living room. Bruce and my security team did their best to take account of everything in the penthouse, so we could determine what’d been stolen. The glass gave away Bruce’s approach long before he made it to me.

“I got a hold of the front desk downstairs; they said someone went up in the late afternoon to clean your apartment. So I checked with your regular housekeeper, and she confirmed that she was scheduled to come earlier today. However, your assistant called and canceled at the last minute,” Bruce said.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Reggie’s number; within a few rings, his happy-go-lucky voice was on the other end.

“Hello, Mr. Astor,” he said.

“Reggie? I’m sorry to be calling you so late in the day. I just needed to check with you on something,” I said.

“Of course, sir; what is it?”

“Did you cancel my housekeeper today?” I asked.

“No, sir, it’s actually my day off. I’m in Martha’s Vineyard visiting family. Did something happen?” Reggie said, his voice changing from happy to concerned.

“Someone canceled my housekeeper so they could pose as them and break into my penthouse again. It was absolutely trashed,” I explained.

“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry, sir. Are you okay? Is there anything I can do?” Reggie asked.

“No, but thank you. I’m just glad that you’re out of the city, safe. Enjoy your time off,” I said and ended the call before Reggie could offer to come back early.

Bruce shook his head, having overheard the entire conversation.

“Well, as far as we could tell, nothing has been taken. There was really nothing left to take after the first break-in. We made sure anything of real value was locked away somewhere safer. I just don’t understand the motive to break in again. It seems like something more is going on, than just doing this to get under your skin,” Bruce said.

“I think so, too,” I admitted as the cool wind whipped at my face.

“We did check the security cameras. They haven’t been tampered with, but some of them have been moved slightly.”

“Thank you, Bruce. Let me know if you replace anything else,” I said, and Bruce left me alone on the balcony.

As soon as he was out of earshot, I pulled out my phone and dialed.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Giani. This is Michael Astor. I need your help.”