Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
When he walks out, Sienna glances down at her flat stomach. “I can’t believe there’s a baby in there.” I snort at how adorable she is. “Only your sperm would be so potent that even birth control can’t stop them.” She mock glares, and I bark out a laugh.
“You know you love my super sperm,” I joke, waggling my eyes.
“This baby is going to be loved,” Sienna says after a moment of silence.
“Damn right,” I agree, already thinking of everything my wife is going to need during the next nine months. Then, after the baby comes...Fuck, there’s so much to do and buy. “Let’s get you home and into bed. Are you hungry? Thirsty? We should probably order more pillows so you’re comfortable. And we need to find an OB-GYN. How are you feeling? I know the doctor said—”
“Micah,” Sienna says with a laugh. “Breathe.”
I don’t know why she’s laughing. I was being serious. “You better use the ride home to mentally prepare yourself, Hellcat,” I warn her. She might be Miss Independent, but she’s now pregnant with my baby, and that changes everything.
“For what?” she asks, obviously confused.
“The next nine months. You’re carrying our baby. And it’s my job to make sure you’re taken care of and comfortable. You thought I was crazy when we first met...You haven’t seen anything yet.”
“Are you sure?” Ellie asks, her nose scrunched up in confusion.
“Yes, ma’am. Mr. Gutierrez put a rush on the paternity test and had me come over as soon as the results confirmed that you are his biological child. He asked me to amend his will to where if something should happen to him, you and his wife would split everything fifty-fifty. But because they both passed away, the entire estate goes to you as his only living relative. Since you aren’t eighteen yet, I’ll remain the executor of the estate until your eighteenth birthday.”
It's been a week since Eleazar and his wife were pronounced dead—burned in an electrical fire at his warehouse. A couple of days afterward, Norman Eisenburg requested a meeting with Ellie. He’s the Gutierrez family’s attorney, and when he told me that he needed to meet with Ellie for the reading of the will, I damn near choked on my coffee.
“I don’t want it,” she says softly, her voice cracking with emotion. She’s been like this ever since we rescued her and Sienna from the warehouse. Quiet, withdrawn. I told Sienna I thought her sister needed to see someone. She killed a person, and that’s not an easy thing to live with, but Ellie refused, saying she just needs time.
Mr. Eisenburg looks at her like she’s crazy, but before he can get a word in, I put my hand on Ellie’s shoulder. “Right now, your emotions are all over the place. Before you make any rash decisions, why don’t you sit on it for a little while? Regardless of how you feel about Eleazar Gutierrez, you are his blood, which means everything he left to you is rightfully yours.”
“It’s blood money,” she mutters. “He was a criminal. Everyone who worked for him were disgusting criminals.”
“Miss, if I may say something,” the gentleman says gently. “The estate and assets are estimated at two hundred million dollars. If you don’t want to partake in the family business”—he raises his brows to make it clear he’s referring to the illegal aspects of it all—“you can simply sell off and walk away from the parts you don’t want. But the rest of the money and investments are all clean.”
Ellie swallows thickly. “Two hundred million?”
Mr. Eisenburg nods slowly.
“So, could I sell everything and keep the money?”
“Absolutely, you can,” I tell her. “Mr. Eisenburg has to approve it all, but I don’t think that will be a problem. And I can help you every step of the way.”
She lets out a sigh. “Okay, then that’s what I want to do. But anything of his that came from dirty money, I want to donate.”
“You got it.”
“Umm, Mr. Eisenburg, how soon can I purchase something? Like something kind of expensive?”
He quirks a brow. “It will depend on the amount, of course, but the papers will be processed with the courts later today, and by the end of the week, you will have access to everything.”
When we’re back in my car and heading home, Ellie says, “Can you stop somewhere for me, please?”
“Sure, where?”
“Lola’s Dance Studio.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
SIENNA
“You what?” I exclaim from bed. The doctor recommended a few days of bed rest, but Micah insisted I stay put for a week. Surprisingly, I didn’t argue. I think between the traumatic events with Eleazar and learning I’m pregnant, then fearing I’d lost the baby, I needed some time to rest.
For the first few days, Ellie stayed home as well, but then she returned to school, saying she didn’t want to fall behind.