Chapter 234: Two Birds One Stone

Ben’s POV

“I’m not signing,” I stated. “And Lainey is in no condition to sign anything.”

“I’m sure we can force her to hold a pen,” Phillipe smirked. He walked over to Lainey and grabbed her chin. “Isn't that right, dear sweet Madelaine?”

I pushed him hard. “GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF MY WIFE,” I bellowed.

“Calm down, Benjamin,” Phillipe laughed. “It’s not like I’m going to have my way with her now.”

“You’re never going to have your way with her,” I glared at him.

Phillipe shrugged.

“Now I completely understand where Jonah gets his psychotic tendencies from,” I scoffed. “You are both in serious need of help.”

Phillipe’s phone rang, and he took it out of his pocket. “Ah, look. It’s Jonah now,” Phillipe grinned. “He’s probably calling to see if the annulment documents are signed. I had left him a couple of messages saying I was going to get you and Madelaine to sign them.”

He answered the phone on speakerphone.

“Son,” Phillipe said, smiling. “Benjamin and Madelaine are here with me now. Madelaine will soon be yours, son.”

“Sir, this is Captain Willow,” the man said frantically. “There has been a horrible accident.”

“What are you talking about?” Phillipe responded angrily. “Put my son on the phone.”

“Mr. Marceaux, Jonah is dead,” Captain Willow explained. “He was drinking too much and climbed up on the back of the boat. He slipped and fell into the water. We tried to pull him from the water…”

“What do you mean you tried to pull him from the water?” Phillipe barked over the phone.

“He fell into shark-infested water, sir,” Captain Willow advised. “We managed to pull him back into the boat, but he must have hit something during the fall because the blood in the water attracted the sharks to attack. We tried to stop the bleeding, but his right leg was missing halfway up his thigh. I’m sorry, Mr. Marceaux. We couldn’t stop the bleeding.”

I grimaced at the picture of Jonah being attacked by sharks. I looked at Phillipe Marceaux; he had turned white, actually a weird shade of ashen grey.

“I WILL RUIN THE ENTIRE CREW FOR THEIR INCOMPETENCE!” Phillipe screamed. “MARK MY…”

Phillipe gripped his chest and dropped his phone, then sank to his knees and fell to the floor. Is he having a heart attack?

“Time for a nap, Phillipe?” I asked, crouching down to him. “It seems fate has decided today that two sexual predators need to be put in their places. Two birds with one stone, so to speak.” Thank God, Lainey was still out of it. She would have wanted to save Phillipe if she were lucid.

The man didn’t deserve to be saved. I looked into his past. At least 20 women had come forward with sexual assault allegations, some dating back to when he was a teen. All had been silenced with money or worse yet, mysteriously disappeared. That was just the women who were brave enough to speak up. God knows how many suffered in silence at his hands. Now, Phillipe could do the same. Suffer. By himself, in silence. Until someone came to find him, maybe they would find him in time to save him, but he would probably be physically and/or mentally impaired. I hoped that would be the case; I didn’t want him to have the relief of a quick death. If he did survive, I’m going to have to get Luca on the situation, make sure he’s incapable of coming at Lainey.

I stood up, picked up the annulment papers, and stuck them in the waistband of my pants, then lifted Lainey off the couch.

“Hey, you,” Lainey slurred, still feeling the effects of the chloroform.

“Hey, you back?” I chuckled.

“You’re a cutie,” Lainey purred.

“Thanks,” I grinned.

I walked right out the door of Phillipe’s room without a second glance.

I carried Lainey back to our room and laid her gently on our bed.

“I’ll be right back,” I advised.

Lainey grabbed my hand. “Damn it, you’re married,” she pouted, looking at my wedding ring.

I laughed, “Yes, I am. I’m married to the most beautiful woman in the universe.”

“Motherfucker, why are all the good ones taken?” Lainey sighed. “What’s her name?”

“Dr. Lainey Forest, well, now she’s Dr. Lainey Halesten,” I smirked.

“Hey. That’s me!” Lainey squealed, looking at her hand. “Whoa, I am married?”

Adorable, so fucking adorable. “I’ll be right back, Lainey,” I said, kissing her on the forehead.

“Ok, handsome man,” Lainey stated, curling into the pillow.

I reached for my phone and called Marcel, as I strode towards my briefcase. I dropped the annulment papers inside and locked it.

Marcel: Hey Ben, how’s the honeymoon?

Ben: It’s going really well, but I need you to do me a huge favor.

Marcel: Lay it on me, Boss.

Ben: Don’t call me that. I need your hacker guy to scrub the hotel's surveillance footage from the past 2 hours.

Marcel: I’ll get Lionel in London to handle it immediately.

Ben: You’re the best, Marcel.

Marcel: I know. That’s why you pay me a ridiculous salary to babysit you.

Ben: Lol. Hilarious.

Marcel: The comedy is free of charge. Later, Ben.

Ben: Later, Marcel.

I looked up chloroform after care on my phone, then headed to the bathroom. Quickly, I grabbed a cool, wet cloth, a glass of water, and some medication. The website said that many people recovering from the effects of chloroform report headaches.

I went to Lainey in the primary bedroom.

“Benjamin?” Lainey said, seeming more coherent. “What happened? I remember Phillipe using chloroform on me, but my memory is fuzzy after that.”

“Here, take these first,” I said, holding out the water and pills.

Lainey took the pills and sighed, “Phillipe didn’t get his way, did he?”

“No, I would never sign anything that would take you away from me,” I declared. “Although the fact that you were flirting with a married man while you were under was quite shocking.”

“What are you talking about?!?” Lainey said, shocked. “I would never… wait a minute. Was I flirting with you?” Lainey crossed her arms and looked at me inquisitively.

“Maybe,” I smirked, leaning in to kiss her gorgeous lips.