Chapter 7
I took off my shirt, showing off the scars all over my body.
They were the marks I earned from ten years behind bars.
I stepped under the camera, locked eyes with it, and flashed a wicked grin.
Then, I reached out and pried the alarm right off the wall.
A crisp snap rang out.
The screen went black.
A few seconds later, the door was kicked open.
Page stormed in with two bodyguards, her face twisted in anger.
"Harding, what the hell are you doing?" she yelled.
I was sitting on the edge of the bed, shirtless, fiddling with the broken camera in my hand.
I said, "I'm not used to people watching me while I sleep.
"Page, do you have a thing for peeking?"
Page's face flushed as she took in my scars, then her expression soured.
"It's for your safety!" she snapped.
"Really?" I said.
I stood up and walked toward her, barefoot.
The bodyguards tried to block me, but I gave them a glare that made them step aside.
It was the kind of stare only a killer could have.
They'd seen some real monsters in there, but none of them ever had eyes like mine.
"If it's not safe here, let's go somewhere else," I said.
I leaned in, whispering right into Page's ear.
"How about the room where your dad offed himself?" I whispered.
Page's face went ghostly pale.
Page's voice trembled. "What are you talking about?
"Didn't the official story say he died in a drunk driving accident?"
I lowered my voice, each word sharp as ice.
I said, "But that's not what I heard.
"He wrote his will the day before the accident.
"And in that will, he said if anything happened to him, you'd be the one behind it."
*****
Page started shaking uncontrollably.
She stared at me, her eyes filled with shock and terror.
She stammered, "You are lying.
"My dad would never write something like that!"
I flashed a sly grin, tossing the broken camera to the floor. "Don't believe me?
"Go ask your lawyer.
"Or maybe check with whoever keeps sending you those anonymous emails."
Page was stunned.
"How do you know about the emails?" Page demanded, her voice trembling.
Of course, I knew about it.
During my final year inside, I found ways to reach out to some people from the outside world.
One of them was the Stevens family's butler.
He got kicked out of the Stevens family after stumbling onto Page's secret.
Before he died, he had someone pass a message to me.
He said, "Page is a lunatic.
"She'd even go after her own father to get her hands on the family fortune."
I was bluffing with all that earlier.
I didn't expect that my bluff nailed it.
Page's reaction showed she'd definitely gotten threats like that before.
"Get out!" Page suddenly yelled at the bodyguards.
The two bodyguards shot each other a look, then slipped out of the room.
They closed the door behind them.
Now it was the two of us left in the room.
Page slumped into a chair, looking completely drained.
"Who the hell are you?" she demanded.
"I'm Harding Clark," I replied.
I threw on my old, battered jacket.
"Just some unlucky bastard whose whole life got ruined by the Stevens family," I said.
"Harding, let's talk," Page said.
She looked up, her eyes filled with an icy calm I'd never seen before.
That unnerving calm made me uneasy.
"What do you want to talk about?" I asked.
"That 30 billion dollars," she said.
She stared at me, her voice filled with a ruthless, almost crazed resolve.
She said, "If you cooperate with me, once I take full control of the Stevens Group, I'll give you 3 billion dollars.
"Then we'll get divorced.
"You can take that money, go wherever you want, and live however you want."
"3 billion dollars," I muttered.
I kept whispering it to myself, almost in disbelief.
I said, "Damn, that's a lot.
"Enough to buy dozens of lives, right?"
Page didn't answer, kept her eyes locked on me.
"What if I refuse?" I asked.
She replied, "Then you won't get a single dollar.
"And I'll have you thrown right back into that dark cell.
"You know the Stevens family is capable of that."
I looked at her and couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
She thought money could buy everything, including someone's soul and freedom.
"Deal," I said.
I held out my hand.
Page hesitated for a moment, then flashed a sneer of contempt.
"As expected, everyone has a price," she said coldly.
She didn't take my hand. Instead, she stood up.
She said, "Tomorrow morning at eight, Eddie will get you some new clothes.
"In the afternoon, we're meeting with the trust fund representatives.
"Don't forget your place, Harding.
"From now on, you're my husband, and the future owner of the Stevens Group."