Chapter 86 SHADY DOCUMENT
(Eli's POV)
I’m still standing there, still staring at the file in my hands.
My head feels… foggy.
Like something just shifted under my feet and I didn’t see it coming.
The words blur a little.
Paul Winslow.
My grandpa.
Property transfer.
To Julian.
“Why…?” I whisper to myself.
The door suddenly opens and I flinch.
Ms. Carter walks in, smiling, holding a tray of food like nothing in the world is wrong.
“Good morning again,” she says brightly. “Or should I say… wonderful morning? You had a good night.” She wink, teasingly.
I blink.
Then quickly close the file and drop it back on the desk like it burned me.
I turn to her and force a smile.
“Hi.”
She walks closer, setting the tray down on the table.
“Mr. Thorne said you haven’t eaten,” she says. “So I brought you something light, according to his very specific order.”
I glance at the food, then back at her, then at the door… then back at her again.
“Can we eat outside?” I suddenly ask.
She pauses.
“What do you mean eat outside?”
“Like… outside outside,” I say quickly. “A restaurant. Somewhere normal. Not fancy. Just somewhere I can sit and eat and feel… normal.”
She blinks at me. “Maybe after work hours.”
“I want to go now.”
Her smile fades a little.
“I don’t know if that is a good idea,” she says carefully. “Mr. Thorne wouldn’t forgive that.”
“Julian won’t be back for an hour,” I say quickly. “Please, Ms. Carter.”
She hesitates for a moment, then sighs.
“Fine,” she says. “We can go. But my job is in your hands. Make sure your husband doesn’t fire me.”
I let out a small breath.
“He won’t.”
I don’t even know if that’s true.
But I need to leave, I need air, I need space to think.
She grabs her purse.
I follow her out, walking slowly and carefully, ignoring the slight ache in my body.
We reach the parking lot, and she unlocks her car.
“Get in,” she says.
I do.
The moment the car starts moving, I lean back against the seat.
And my thoughts rush in immediately.
What is going on?
Why does Julian have a file with my grandpa’s name on it?
Why is there a property transfer?
What property?
My grandpa doesn’t own anything. He never did. He's poor and has nothing to his name, that's the reason why I ended up married to Julian over a trap debt.
So what was that I saw?
My chest tightens.
Is that why Julian visited him?
Was it just… for that?
Did he lie to my granpa?
Trick him?
Or did my grandpa agree?
Why would he agree?
I press my fingers against my temple.
“This is too much…” I mutter under my breath.
“Hmm?” Ms. Carter glances at me briefly.
“Nothing,” I say quickly.
The drive isn’t long before we stop in front of a small restaurant.
It looks simple and normal. Exactly what I wanted.
We go inside and sit down.
A menu is handed to us.
I stare at it long enough to realize I don’t know what to pick.
What do I even like?
Before all of this… before Julian. What did I eat? What did I enjoy? I can’t remember what I liked to eat before Julian took control of my diet.
That realization hits harder than it should.
I swallow.
“What are you getting?” I ask.
Ms. Carter smiles.
“I’ll have something simple,” she says, pointing at an item. “You?”
I close the menu.
“I’ll have the same.”
She raises a brow. “Copying me?”
“I trust your taste,” I say.
That earns me a small laugh from her.
We place our order.
And sit.
Silence settles for a moment.
Then she looks at me. “Are you okay?”
I nod immediately. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
She doesn’t look convinced.
“You don’t seem to be,” she says gently. “What is bothering you?”
I hesitate, then shrug.
“Nothing really… just…”
I sigh.
“I don’t know. My life isn’t exactly perfect. And I don’t know what I want.”
She leans back slightly.
“Try to figure out what you want then,” she says. “I bet Mr. Thorne would give you anything.”
I nod slowly. “Hm. He would.”
That’s the problem. Wouldn’t he?
He gives. But he also takes, controls, and decides. He gives you a hat and demands your head in return.
Should I confront him?
Ask him about the file?
Ask him about his deal with my grandpa?
Is this part of his revenge plan?
The thought makes my stomach twist.
Our food arrives.
We start eating.
Ms. Carter talks… about work, about random office gossip, about how stressful the company is, and about how I'm so lucky to be married to Julian.
I listen. Half-listen. I nod at the right times, smile when needed, but my mind keeps going back to that file.
When we’re done eating, she reaches for the bill.
“My treat,” she says.
I blink.
“You don’t have to—”
“I want to,” she cuts in. “Next time will be somewhere more expensive so you can treat me with some of that billionaire money.”
I laugh softly. “I’m not a billionaire.”
She smirks.
“You’re married to one. His money is your money. Spend some of it.”
I shake my head, still smiling.
His money is your money.
Is it?
I never even thought about it like that.
Why?
Why have I been living like… I don’t belong to anything here?
We step outside, and the sun hits my skin.
I stop for a second to take a deep breath.
I can’t remember the last time I stood under the sun like this.
“Feels nice, right?” Ms. Carter says.
“Yeah,” I reply softly.
We walk to the car. She gets into the driver’s seat, and I walk around to the other side.
I reach for the door handle—
And suddenly—
A hand grabs me from behind.
Hard.
“What—?!”
Before I can react, I’m shoved forward, straight into someone else.
A cloth presses over my mouth.
My eyes widen.
I try to breathe, but the wrong smell coming from the cloth suffocated me.
I struggle immediately.
My hands push against them.
My body fights.
“Mm—!”
“Stay still,” a voice mutters.
Ms. Carter’s door slams open.
“Hey! What are you doing?!”
I try to look at her—
But the cloth presses tighter.
“Don’t move,” another voice says.
They pulled a gun at her. “Hands up,” the man says.
I see her hands slowly go up.
“Please—” she starts.
“Shut up.”
My chest tightens.
Air feels… too heavy, too slow.
“No—” I try to speak, but it comes out muffled.
My body weakens fast.
A black van pulls up, the door slides open, and they drag me. My feet barely touching the ground.
“Let me—!” I try again, but my strength is already slipping away from me.
They shove me inside and the door slams shut.
Everything spins, my vision blurs, and my breathing slows.
The last thing I hear is:
“Boss, we have him.”
And then…
Darkness.