Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 135517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
“She uses negative press against herself to get back at your girl, who, as you know, is worth ten of her. It’s all to prove to you and your fans that she’s good because of your twisted ideas about faith. So, each time the fans attack her, she can run to you and say look, see, the whole world hates me. It’s to make it seem as if she’s the one being crucified but believe me; she’s as dark as the rest of them. Do not turn your back on her.”
“You’re telling me that it’s worse than what my mom and Reggie already told me?”
“Yes. It started with her dad wanting to be one of the rich and famous, but he was a flop in the Wood, so he had to find another way.”
“He saw his daughter’s fascination and obsession with you, and he used it.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. Do you know how long ago it was when I first met them? She was still a child.”
“Never underestimate the power of greed. You add a little bit of crazy into the mix, and you’re pretty much fucked, as you have learned. He played the long game. They played the long game, but they had some help.”
He went on to tell me how Mary got involved, and then Matt, my spiritual advisor, and even Scott, my trusted manager, and my blood ran cold at the things he shared.
“I have to get back. Elena might be in danger if I stay away too long, and they think that I’m with her.” Why didn’t I think of that before? Because I didn’t know just how evil these people were.
I jumped up from the chair, ready to head back tonight. Willing to do whatever it took to protect her from these people that I had inadvertently brought into her life. I felt even worse now than I did at any other time over the last five years because this shit was worse than even I could’ve ever imagined. All the memories that I’d recovered paled in comparison to what he’d just divulged in the last few hours.
“Wait wait wait. He held up his hand to stop me.
“You can’t just rush back there right now. You have to have a plan. Sit down. I’ll tell you what you’re going to do.”
Chapter 29
*Ryder*
“My dad is going to contact you soon. He’s going to make it appear that you two are working on a movie together. He’s gonna make it appear that that’s where you’ve been for the past couple of months. The story’s going to be that he wanted to clean you up before offering you the project.”
“I still don’t see how that’s going to work. Your family only works with the best. I’ve never acted a day in my life. Besides, my reputation doesn’t mesh with the clean-cut actors and actresses he usually works with.”
“Don’t worry about it. My dad already has a press release ready to go out about the project you’d be working on. As to your reputation in the past, everyone knows my dad’s image, and that this is something he would do, so it shouldn’t be a hard sell.”
“As to why you disappeared, that too is something he would do. He would clean you up first before he ever puts you in front of one of his cameras. So that’s the story you’re going to go with. You don’t have to do anything; just wait until after you get the heads up and head back to L.A. They’ll buy the story, trust me.”
“But what about Elena? I can’t leave her to these monsters. Knowing what they’ve been doing to her while I was too high to know is eating me up inside. This is all my fault. They’re hurting her because of me.” Because I didn’t love Janie, she and the rest of them have been making Elena suffer.
The more I showed my hatred for my situation, the more they attacked her in the press. Knowing that Mary and her brood had been behind it only pissed me off further. And knowing what part that witch had played in all of this, not to mention my so-called father-in-law, makes me want to end them all.
“If you go to her now, they will for sure kill her, so you’re gonna have to play this game for a little while longer. You didn’t sign a prenup, and your post-nup is pretty much void or invalid, so you’re going to get her to sign a paper giving up her rights to anything that belongs to you.”
“How am I going to do that? She’ll never go for it.” This was one of the things I’d been struggling with because I didn’t want to give her a dime, not even enough to get a cup of that fancy coffee she liked so much. If I thought I disliked Janie before, learning what I now have has made me despise every molecule of her demonic ass.