Betrayed by her husband

Chapter4

LOUISA'S POV

Logan Vonce looked at me with his eyes searching my face to see if I was drunk. The silence between us was really uncomfortable like a fog that you could cut with a knife. Behind him two big bodyguards moved to get between us. Logan held up his hand and they stopped right away.

"Louisa Yale " Logan said in his voice, which was smooth but also kind of scary. "You are the wife of Manuel Yale. You sit on the board of Yale Enterprises." He gave me a smile but it was not a happy smile. "Or should I say, you are drinking tequila to forget your problems?"

"I am not drunk Mr. Vonce " I said, looking him in the eye even though my head was hurting. "I want to make a deal with you. I want to give you something that will hurt my husband."

Logan tilted his head slightly, studying me like an intriguing financial portfolio. He gestured toward the velvet-draped staircase leading up to the private VIP lounge above the main floor. "Ten minutes, Mrs. Yale. Don't waste my time."

I followed him up the stairs away from the music and into a quiet room with a great view of the city. Logan sat down in a leather chair drinking bourbon from a glass. He told me to sit down.

"Talk," he commanded.

I did not say anything or apologize. "My husband is trying to take money from our family trust, the Starlight Fund, to pay for his debts and give money to his mistress. You have been trying to get a contract from him for two years. He is using our money to try and beat you."

Logan raised an eyebrow, taking a slow sip of his drink. "And why would his dutiful wife hand me the weapon to execute him?"

"Because thirty days from now, I am divorcing him," I said, my voice turning to liquid steel.

He took everything from me, my money, my dignity and he lied to me about something important." I leaned forward with my hands on the table. "You want to hurt him in business. I want to hurt him in every way. If we work together I can give you the information you need to beat him."

Logan sat in silence for a long moment, the amber liquid swirling in his glass. His gaze was intense, measuring my anger, my pain, and my resolve.

"I don't make deals with desperate people," Logan said quietly, setting his glass down. "Desperate people make mistakes."

"I am not desperate," I snapped softly, my eyes narrowing. "I am vengeful. There’s a distinct difference. A desperate person begs. I am offering an execution strategy."

A slow, genuine curve touched the corner of Logan’s mouth. "Thirty days?"

Yes, thirty days, " I said. "I will stay in my husband's house, get the papers we need and pretend to be a wife. You will attack him from the outside."

Logan stood up towering over me. He held out his hand strongly. "My lawyers will write a contract by tomorrow. If you lie to me or try to cheat me I will hurt you too."

"Deal " I said, shaking his hand. His hand was warm and firm, not like my husband's lies.

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This morning I had a bad headache but I was still angry and I wanted to move forward. I went back to my house before dawn trying not to see my husband, slipping into the guest bedroom to avoid Manuel.

Around 8:00 AM, my phone buzzed. It was an unknown number.

“My driver is outside. Bring yourself to the Vonce Estate to formalize our arrangement. L.V.”

I changed into a sharp, tailored black suit, applied enough makeup to conceal the bruising from my fall, and walked out to the waiting black SUV.

Twenty minutes later I was at the Vonce Estate, a beautiful house with a lot of security. I was taken to the garden, where Logan was sitting with a tablet.

"You're prompt," Logan noted without looking up. "The contracts are on the table."

Before I could reach for the folder, a small voice echoed from the garden path.

"Daddy! Look what I drew!"

The little girl was seven years old with curly hair and a big smile. She was wearing a dress and looked really happy.

Logan's face changed; he looked softer and happier. He put down his tablet. Hugged the little girl. "Let me see, Emma."

My heart was beating fast and I felt like I was going to cry. I froze and I could not move.

The little girl turned her head, her bright, strikingly blue eyes locking onto mine. She had soft, fair skin, a tiny dimple on her left cheek, and features that felt agonizingly, intimately familiar. She looked like a mirror image of my own childhood photos, the very features the hospital nurse had described to me two days ago.

Emma looked at me with her blue eyes. She got down from Logan's lap. Come to me. She put out her hand and pulled my jacket.

"Mommy?" Emma said quietly looking up at me with a lot of love. "Are you my mommy?”

I felt like I had been punched in the gut. I dropped to my knees on the stone patio and tears started pouring out of my eyes as I looked at the girl standing in front of me.

My hands were shaking really badly as I looked at her. When I saw her up close I realized that she did not just look like me she looked like me. It was like looking at a ghost.

"Emma sweetie, no " Logan said quickly, his voice getting a little angry. He stood up from his chair. "We talked about this. You do not call people you do not know Mommy."

"But she is my Mommy, " Emma said, her hands holding onto mine. She looked up at me with her blue eyes and I could see that she was about to cry. "Daddy told me that my real Mommy had to go when I was a baby but you smell like flowers just like the blankets Daddy kept for me. Are you my Mommy?"

I started crying harder and my tears fell onto the back of her little hand. I had been told that my daughter died seven years ago. Now I was not so sure.

Logan got between us and his big body blocked my view of Emma. He looked at me with eyes. "Louisa what is going on?" he asked, his voice low and mean. "Is this some kind of trick? Did you find out about my family before you met me last night?"

"No, Logan I swear I did not know " I said, trying to get up from my knees. My legs felt weak. I almost fell onto the glass table. "I did not know about Emma I promise."

"Daddy do not be mean to her " Emma cried, holding onto Logans neck. She looked at me over his shoulder.

Logan told the nanny to take Emma inside. When she was gone the patio was really quiet. Logan turned to me, his face cold and angry.

He was a lot taller than me. He looked scary.

His eyes were cold. I could feel how angry he was.

He was a billionaire. I knew he would do anything to protect Emma.

"You have to tell me why my daughter thinks you are her Mommy, " Logan said, his voice low and angry. "If I find out you are using her to trick me I will make sure you regret it."

I took a breath and looked into his cold eyes.

"Seven years ago my husband took my baby from the hospital when I was asleep " I said, my voice shaking. "He told me that she died. I know my blood, Logan.. That little girl is mine.”