Chapter 33

*Ryder*

"You can't!"

"How do you know what I was thinking?" The one named Tyler looked at me with a smirk on his face but didn't answer. How the hell did he know that I was tempted to go to Elena as soon as we landed?

I'm unsure what to make of these two men that Saunders had sent to the mountains to get me.

They weren't the most talkative bunch, and I got the feeling that there was a whole lot more going on than what they'd told me so far. They hadn't shared much, and all Saunders would say is that I would know in due time, but they did say that I was helping them in a big way, whatever that meant.

I'm not sure how, but I get the feeling that it's huge, and it has something to do with the church and Mary. They were about to use me to get inside. There was an underlying feeling of something dark and sinister about their hushed tones and how they seemed on high alert even when we were thirty thousand feet in the air.

I know military men when I see them, and these two are most definitely part of some special force or some other military faction that no one ever hears about. They were precise in their approach when they told me how things were going to be when we got back to L.A.

I wasn't allowed to ask questions or have an opinion one way or the other, something I'm not too good at putting up with when sober, but since they'd made it clear that it was for Elena's benefit, I didn't put up much of a fight.

They'd made me go over everything about five times until I got my story straight, and apparently, that was all I had to do, and they'd do the rest; their words. Other than that, they have been very tight-lipped, only giving one-word answers when they deigned to reply to a question.

I knew enough, though, to be grateful that I could honestly answer no that I hadn't signed anything in blood when Saunders asked because whatever was behind that contract is what had brought these guys here, and they looked ready to fuck some shit up.

Saunders's studio had a car waiting for us with two more with security, and I guess there's no better way to tell the world that I was now one of his people. In this town, that's better than the keys to the city.

I only knew of him before, but seeing how the man does things, I'm convinced no one knows the half of it. I'm aware that it was his one doing all this, and it was just his name being used, which in all actuality doesn't make much of a difference because if there's one thing everyone knows, it's that Saunders loves his son more than his own life and has always stood by his kid no matter what.

That family is an enigma of sorts. Old Hollywood scions who don't seem to have much of an interest in anything Hollywood other than putting out top-level movies and going hard for their stars. Until now, that was about all I knew about them, that and the fact that they were the richest family in this town and one of the few who held onto a humane reputation.

I'm still not sure if I should be thankful that his nieces hacked my shit or not, but so far, things seem to be working in my favor. I get the feeling, though, that one wrong move on my part and these two that he'd saddled me with would take me out without even blinking. At least I felt with them around; no one would dare harm me if it came to that. And the way they've been acting, I suspect that they think someone would indeed try to take me out.

I did ask about Elena's safety, though they have yet to tell me about her part in all this, but all they would say is that she was being taken care of and not to worry. My only job, where she was concerned, was to stay away from her until further notice. As if!

Even if I can't go to her just yet, I'd already made up my mind to contact her soon, or at least after I'd dropped the song with the message for her disillusioned ass. I'm still a little bit salty that she'd had the nerve to try to get rid of me with a song, totally overlooking the fact that it was I who'd done the unthinkable and married someone else.

The fact that I had my reasons, reasons I'd wiped out of my mind until now, is my justification, and once she hears what I have to say, she'd understand. At least that's my hope and what I keep telling myself to make the days without her less painful.

I was hustled into the car like a visiting dignitary, with my two new best friends flanking me on either side. This isn't how I'd imagined things going when I came back here.

I'd gone to the mountains to get my shit together so I could come back to her a better version of myself, but things had gone south with Saunders's surprise visit.

But the hardest part was having to wait just a little bit longer before I could get back to Elena, to the better part of my heart that has been lying dormant for the past five years.

***

*Mary*

"What deal? Why am I only now hearing about this? And where the hell has he been all this time?"

"I told you. He was with the Saunders group. You know how Chadwick Saunders is. It's just like him to nab him just like that with his holier-than-thou bullshit."

It's true Chad Saunders is just the type to pull a stunt like this, but there was something else bothering me about this whole ordeal. Not the fact that he'd practically kidnapped Ryder right out from under our nose, but the mere fact of who he is.

I've been trying for years to get in good with the Saunders family, if not their studio and holdings, but there's never been a chance, and from the way things sound, I'm not about to get that chance now either. If it was just that that was bothering me, it would be an easy thing to get over.

There's more than enough money to go around in this town, and I've made plenty over the years. I'll probably go down in history as one of the most efficient businesswomen to ever walk the streets of L.A., though most people only know what I want them to and see what I want them to see. So money was not my concern; it was something else that kept niggling at the back of my mind.

I don't like not having my finger on the pulse of everything that goes on around me, and though I don't know much about the inner workings of Chad Saunders and his son, I know enough to know that he doesn't play in the same pool that I swim in, this could prove to be a problem.

It's true that he's known for his eccentricities, and it wouldn't be the first time he'd seen something in someone that no one else has and taken that person under his wing, but that's the very thing that has me worried now.

Scott, the idiot, is only seeing dollar signs; he's never been able to see past his nose. But I haven't made it this long and come this far by being stupid. No matter what anyone else thinks or says about me, no one can deny that I've pulled off something that not even the Barrymores, Fondas, or any of the old Hollywood families have done, and I did it without ever taking an acting class, neither me nor any of my daughters as a matter of fact.

I know that that's why I'm hated, though no one dares say it to my face or show their dislike or displeasure in my presence. But all they can do is eat my dust and kiss my ass as they bow down to my prowess. Now someone or something is trying to tear down everything that I've built, and the last thing I need is the likes of Saunders and his people sticking their noses in where it doesn't belong.

"Since when is Ryder an actor? And how did he come to Saunders' attention? These are the things I need to know." Do I really need to spell it out for him? He knows as well as I do why we can't have Ryder Sumner being under the influence of anyone else.

"You're worrying too much. Look, Ryder is on his way home now. Do you think if he remembered anything, if he knew anything, that he'd be going back to the house? Trust me, he's fine; besides, he won't stay sober for long. I'm heading over there right now. I'll talk to Janie; she's a good girl, and she'll know what to do."

Another idiot that I'm having second thoughts about. She was the perfect patsy for my plans, or so it seemed at the time. When her dad approached me years ago with his idea, it seemed plausible, at least for the short term.

At the time, Ryder wouldn't have been a good fit for my family; there were too many eyes on him and us back then, though I would've pushed for it had Nicole not gotten herself caught in the act doing something that the masses would've spurned her for, something that would've tarnished our reputation beyond repair. I could've salvaged the situation at some point had it not been Ryder who'd caught her in the act.

At least we were able to get away with starting the rumor that it was a female friend she'd been caught with, and Ryder had been so high at the time that we'd convinced him that he hadn't seen what he thought he had. Just to be on the safe side, we'd set up a little foursome right on the heels of that fiasco that he'd more than enjoyed while still attached to that simpering ninny Elena, and that was enough to keep his mouth shut.

Now everything was spiraling out of control, and the worst part is, I had no idea who the enemy was. I've searched high and low and even visited a few people I suspected could be behind this, though where they'd get the nerve, I wouldn't know, but nothing has panned out so far.

Now Chad Saunders and that sanctimonious son of his was in the picture and not of my doing, and if there's one family, I know I can't beat it's them. I have nothing on them that I could hold over their heads, nothing with which to blackmail them and hold them in my pocket, which is my trade. And they have way more money than my family and I ever would.

To go up against them would be a losing battle. So I can only hope that this fool is right, and it's just a coincidence that Saunders showed up in the midst of all this chaos. "I hope you're right. Keep me informed of everything to do with this, and I'll need to see the contract before he signs it."

I hung up before the headache that was brewing could get any worse. I checked my phone to see if Janie had done what I'd asked and was pissed off to see that she hadn't. I was about to call her and give her a piece of my mind when the phone rang in my hand.

I didn't check the number, as I haven't had to in many years. Only those I want to be in touch with have my numbers, so there was no harm—or so I thought.

"You thought it was okay to dispose of her as if she was nothing because she has faith? Now you're going to learn that that thing you serve will always lose. Buckle up; you're going down." Before I could get a word in edgewise, the person hung up, and the phone pinged with an incoming message.

‘We know what you've done. No matter what you do now, we will expose you to the world. It all depends on your next move where. Elena Gianni is concerned about how much we expose. And tell your ex that changing his identity won't spare him from what's coming. Your sins against children will not go on punished.' I felt my blood run cold in my veins. "How….?" They knew this person knew, but how? Who had betrayed me?

Next, a picture came through that put even more fear in me than the words had. I threw the phone across the room, and it smashed against the wall, but I knew that that would in no way prevent the inevitable.

What is happening? How was this person getting all of this information? I've had my tech team search time and time again, but no one could find a breach, and yet there must be one somewhere because this MengeLiNi person knew way too much. Enough to destroy all of us in a way that we'd never be able to survive.