Chapter 48 I Can't Sleep Because of You
"Talk." Ambrose yanked at his collar button irritably, sinking back against the leather seat.
"Brielle's claiming Scarlett's kid isn't a Ross."
Ambrose's fingers stilled. His jaw tightened. "What else did she say?"
"Some pretty vile stuff. Saying Scarlett and Wesley never... you know." Ruben cleared his throat uncomfortably.
Even with Ruben's careful phrasing, Ambrose could imagine exactly how nasty it had gotten.
"Lock her up for a few days. Shut her up. If she breathes one more word about this outside, she's done in Silverlight City."
"Got it."
Ambrose ended the call and glanced at Scarlett. She'd plastered herself against the car window, like he might bite. Head down, refusing to meet his eyes, radiating that wounded animal vibe that made him press his fingers to his temple.
When he leaned over to retrieve the glass that had fallen to the floor, she flinched. His brows drew together. Okay, so maybe he'd come on a bit strong. Scared her.
He picked up the glass anyway, set it back in its holder. The second it clicked into place, her voice cut through the silence.
"Pull over somewhere. I'm getting out."
Ambrose turned to face her. "What, you think I'm gonna eat you alive?"
She bit her lip, then squared her shoulders like she'd made up her mind. "Mr. Boleyn, about that night—we were both at fault. You can't just pin everything on me."
She'd tried using Brielle's accusations to make him back off. Apparently, that had backfired spectacularly.
And he was still hung up on that night? What was he, some kind of obsessive weirdo?
"Intentional or not, what happened happened." The corner of his mouth curved up dangerously.
"Then what do you want from me?" Scarlett met his stare head-on.
For the first time in his life, Ambrose Boleyn drew a blank. What could he do when she looked at him like that—like he was some predator circling? He'd never been speechless before. The unfamiliar sensation made irritation prickle under his skin.
"I want to sleep through the night without you keeping me up. Think you can manage that?"
Scarlett frowned, processing his words. Then his earlier comment about sleepless nights clicked into place. Heat flooded her cheeks.
Mortification strangled any reply.
"You've been messing with my sleep schedule, and I'm not allowed to mention it?" That cocky smirk said he had zero intention of letting her off the hook.
She stayed frozen in place. "If you're having trouble sleeping, there are plenty of remedies out there."
"How do you know any of those would work?"
Her face burned hotter than a sunburn. Mortified and flustered, she couldn't string together a coherent response.
She clamped her mouth shut. He didn't break the silence either. The car interior felt vacuum-sealed as they glided forward. Since she couldn't exactly force the driver to stop, she settled into tense quiet.
The car rolled to a stop in front of Lakeside Garden. Scarlett reached for the door handle.
Locked.
She shot him a look.
"For the record, I don't believe a word Brielle said. Don't beat yourself up over it. Everyone's got a past."
She studied him for a long moment. "I know."
"You sure about that?"
"Positive."
Satisfied with her sincerity, Ambrose unlocked the door. The second the lock clicked, she yanked the handle and practically launched herself out of the car, bolting without a backward glance.
He exhaled through his nose. Hopeless.
Only after she'd disappeared from view did he signal the driver to leave. Once they'd pulled away from Lakeside Garden, he dialed Chase.
"What's the status on the preschool situation?"
"We've got dirt. Serious stuff. Teacher abuse cases that got buried—multiple kids forced to transfer schools to keep it quiet."
"Contact those families. Get them to come forward. Then leak everything online."
"On it right now."
"After that's handled, dig into Scarlett's marriage to Wesley—before and after the wedding. And look into Yara's background. If she's really not a Ross, find out who the father is."
By the end, his voice had gone cold enough to kill.
Chase had never heard that tone from Ambrose before. The man was out for blood.
"Understood."
Ambrose ended the call and sank back against the seat, staring out at the sunlight with that unreadable expression he wore when plotting something.
---
Scarlett practically fled into the apartment. Both kids lit up when they spotted her.
"Mommy, you're back!" Yara called out.
Scarlett managed a smile and crossed over to ruffle Yara's hair, then Hayden's. The little boy beamed up at her.
Looking at Hayden brought back everything that had just happened in the car. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably.
What was she supposed to do now?
Working for him, helping with Hayden, dealing with his... intentions. The whole situation was a mess.
His comment about sleepless nights replayed in her head. Heat crept up her neck all over again.
"Mommy, how come your face is all red?" Trust Yara's eagle eyes to catch everything. Scarlett touched her burning cheeks.
"I just came in from outside. It's hot out there." She released Hayden's hand.
"You two play nicely while Mommy freshens up, okay?"
She hurried to her bedroom and pressed her back against the door. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Images of kissing Ambrose kept flashing through her mind like a movie she couldn't turn off. Unable to calm down, she escaped into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face.
She'd barely dried off when her phone buzzed.
"Ms. Mellon, it's Axel. The preschool's digging in their heels—refusing to apologize or admit any fault from the school or staff."
Her lawyer, Axel Baker, sounded frustrated on the other end.
"Then we sue." No hesitation. Clean and decisive.
"I requested access to their security footage, but they refused. They're clearly hiding something. In court, we can get a judge to subpoena those recordings."
"Even without the footage, we have witnesses who heard exactly what that teacher said to the children. They can't deny that."
Truth was, dragging the kids to court was her absolute last resort.
They wrapped up the details and ended the call.
With her nerves settled, Scarlett made lunch for the kids. After their afternoon rest, she dove into work.
The preliminary design for the art gallery project was done, but it needed revisions. The deadline was closing in fast.
She was heading to her study to focus when Axel called again, this time practically vibrating with excitement.
"Ms. Mellon, Rainbow Kindergarten just got exposed online! Multiple parents whose kids were forced out are posting videos—all accusing the school of covering up teacher abuse."
Shock rippled through her. So Yara hadn't been the only one. Other children had suffered too, and the school had buried it.
Absolutely despicable.
Places like that deserved to be exposed so no more kids would be mistreated.