My 'Cruel' Breakup, His Lifelong Regret

Chapter 5

He hung up. A text popped up from Irene.

Irene: Robb, my parents loved you! They're already asking when we're getting married.

He was about to reply when another message came through.

Irene: They said my side of the family's pretty small for the wedding, though. Dad said he had another daughter before he married Mom, but they lost contact years ago.

Irene: You don't mind, do you? If you want a bigger wedding, I can try to track her down.

Robb: Don't bother. Our wedding is our business. No one else matters.

Irene: Fair. Dad said she moved overseas with her boyfriend anyway. Probably better not to disturb her.

Robb's eyes lingered on the word "boyfriend." His lip curled with scorn.

The next morning, Robb had barely sat down at his desk when the intercom buzzed.

"Mr. Bramwell. There's a woman downstairs says her name is Teresa Godwin. She's asking for you."

Robb tapped his finger on the desk, cold and amused.

She just kept coming, didn't she? All this drama, all for the money.

She'd say anything to get that twenty million.

"Tell her I'm not available."

What he didn't expect was for Teresa to wait outside the building all day, until he left work.

The second she saw him, she ran over.

"Robb, when is the rest of the money coming through?"

Robb's voice was like frost.

"When Sienna comes here and thanks me in person.

"Until then? Don't expect a dime. Don't think you can run off and live it up on my dime."

Teresa stared at him, disbelieving.

"You think she'd spend this money on herself?"

Her voice cracked. Her eyes glistened with angry tears.

"Robb. Sienna is dead!

"She left explicit instructions that every cent from that painting goes to the Westown Children's Charity Fund. She signed the papers.

"Thirty kids are waiting on that money for their surgeries.

"If you're not gonna pay, then release the painting so I can find a buyer who will."

Robb's tone was flat and icy.

"Nice try. Guilt-tripping me? Really?

"I'll say it one last time. No Sienna, no money."

He turned on his heel and strode toward the waiting Rolls-Royce. "Drive."

The car pulled away slowly. Robb watched Teresa standing there alone, small and defeated, in the rearview mirror.

A strange, heavy tightness settled in his chest.

When he snapped out of it, he realized he'd already pulled up a search page for the Westown Children's Charity Fund on his phone.

He stared at the list of donors on the screen and thought he must be losing his mind.

He closed his eyes and swiped through the list.

And then he froze.

Way down at the bottom, a name was right there.

Donor: Silencia

Robb frowned. So she really had donated?

He thought of Teresa, over and over, saying Sienna was dead.

His jaw tightened. He spoke to his assistant.

"Find out everything you can about Sienna's whereabouts. And her medical records. All of it."

"Understood, Mr. Bramwell."

The car pulled up to the villa. Robb ran straight into Irene, rushing out the door.

He took in her harried face and frowned. "What's wrong? Where's the fire?"

Irene looked pale, furious. "Some of my paintings at the gallery—someone stole my charity donation numbers.

"I posted publicly that all proceeds go to the children's fund. Now some other artist is going around saying it's her work and donations.

"My fans are furious. They think I lied about the whole thing. I have to go fix this."

Robb's jaw tightened. He pulled out his phone.

"Do you know who it is? I'll send legal with you."

Irene looked down and said the name slowly, bitter and sharp. "Silencia."

Robb's eyes went dark, cold and dangerous. That same night, Bramwell Group's legal team fired off a formal cease-and-desist straight to Silencia's studio: the artist known as Silencia would provide full evidence and a public retraction regarding the falsified charity donation claims, or the group would move immediately on legal action for defamation and fraud.