by Alice Ward
“You can’t fucking quit. What are you going to do? Hook on the streets? In Montana? Fucking for pay here is a much better call.”
“I’m not a hooker, and you knew that when you sent me in there to Jack Marshall.”
I watched as their eyes met, clashed, and there was some kind of silent exchange. Brandy’s face blanched, then she took a deep breath and stuck out her chest, displaying her tits the best way she could. She was acting.
“He paid two million dollars for you.”
“No, he paid Jewel two million dollars, but even with my cut of the money, my dignity, pride and soul are worth far more than that.” Adara’s face flushed and strength and resilience blossomed to the surface.
“So, you went off to go fuck Roman Wellington for free. What do you think he’s going to do, keep you as his mistress? Take care of you? Marry you?” Brandy laughed, her eyes sliding to me. “Good luck there. He’s a liar, Mona. He’s swindled people into buying into his lies and has ruined thousands of lives. He’s a fake. You refused a decent guy like Jack and end up in bed with a snake. Ask him about Sabrina Ridgely. She happens to be one of Harmon’s friends. Ask him about how Roman Wellington proposed to her and set a wedding date only to leave her a week before their wedding day. You think you’re better than she is?”
Adara looked like she’d been slapped. When she looked at me, her eyes searching, I looked at her flatly, knowing she’d never see through my façade. No one ever did. It was better this way.
Brandy turned to me. “Mr. Wellington, your membership to the club has been revoked. I’ll have to ask you to leave the premises.”
“We’ll go as soon as we collect her things and the payment you owe her.” My voice was cold, and I knew by the fear that flashed in Brandy’s eyes that she was aware of just where she stood.
When Adara had her bag and a wad of cash, Brandy followed us to the car. I thought for a second she was going to throw another fit, or even jump in the car with us.
Just before Adara got back into the car, Brandy stepped up to her, hugged her quickly and said in a low voice, “Nothing here is real, sister.”
Adara sat silent and still in the car.
Finally, when I couldn’t stand it any longer, I asked her what that meant.
“I think she was telling me that she was being forced to try to get me to bend to Jewel’s will. Nothing here is real.”
I nodded. Sabrina hadn’t been real either. “Most of what people show you isn’t real.”
Except the woman beside me. Adara was the realest thing I’d ever known.
The detectives were set to meet with her later in the day, and she had what was rightfully hers. There was nothing left for me to do but hand her my car keys before I got on the plane to Brazil.
But now, standing in front of her, her blue-green eyes looking up at me so sorrowfully, I felt like a monster. I almost couldn’t bear to go and leave her thinking all the things she did of me.
But I had to. She deserved to be free.
And I needed to clear my name before I could ask her to be with me long term.
So I leaned in, took her face in my hands, pressed my lips to hers and breathed in jasmine and oranges. Memorized the way her soft lips felt against mine.
Then I set my butterfly free.
She’d let me release the butterfly from her cage like I’d asked for in my note. Only she was too big of a butterfly to just fly to me. The world needed her out there.
On the flight to Brazil, thankfully seated in a different section from Peter, I busied myself on the phone, trying to concentrate on my company’s issues. But I could never erase the image of her face when I’d picked up my bag to go.
And I still couldn’t forget it once I’d landed.
Or the next day.
Or the next.
We had texted numerous times, but I hadn’t actually heard her voice in days when I got another text…
Thank you for everything you’ve done. I’ll be moving out now. I’ll never forget you.
She was saying goodbye, and I couldn’t fly back and beg her to stay. Not yet. Maybe not ever, but especially not until we’d uncovered the lies taking place in this beautiful country.
Although I’d dreaded having Peter on this trip, he turned into my saving grace. It was my crazy brother-in-law who forced me out of my chair, forced me to uncover the truth.
Because of him, we found out that Jack also had ties to Brazil. One of his subsidiary companies was an exporter here. A company that exported not only coffee, but sugar and other nonspecific items. It was possible he paid some of his own people to support the scandal.
Back home, Harmon, another owner of Jewel, had submitted to pressure and talked to investigators, handing over Jack in the process. Jack had raised hell at first, claiming no responsibility for the club’s actions. He’d gone so far as to say that Adara had an active contract that she was obligated to fulfill.
Two days after Adara’s goodbye text, I began to feel hopeful. I wanted to celebrate with Adara, and the phone was in my hand before I remembered that she was gone.
But I didn’t want her to leave. Didn’t want her to face the world alone. I wanted us to fix this. I wanted to be by her side. I’d sell the damn ranch if that’s what it took.
As much as I wanted to be with Adara, the trip to Brazil was probably what I needed right now. Getting away from the intensity of work gave me the chance to see the world from a different perspective and maybe get some ideas about how to change it.
My meeting with Emilio, foreman of the coffee farm that supplied Krave Koffee, was informative. Apparently, because of a drought, coffee wasn’t growing as well as it had in the past. The farm was suffering financially.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” I asked when it became clear that he was holding back additional information.
“We thought we’d be able to keep up the yield, but it just got worse. We didn’t want to raise our rates to you, so we started selling some of our coffee to another, higher paying importer and added black pepper to our crops.”
I didn’t own all the farm’s production. I bought about three quarters of it, leaving the rest for them to sell locally. That way, the profits would go straight to the growers, but a big business had come in and offered them a great upfront amount as long as they could produce twice what they had.
“We tried to keep up with your production and honor our new contract, but he expected twice as much as we were able to produce. There was a loophole in his contract, he wanted twice the amount of product in a fraction of the time. He was very angry, but we compensated him with most of our black pepper crop.” The foreman explained as if he was trying to convince himself that what he’d done was good for his farm.
“You’re free to do whatever you want with the crops that aren’t promised to me, but I’m curious, what is the name of the other company you do business with?”
“Tenex Capitol Holdings. What we’d given them wasn’t enough, and they wanted us to return their payment, even though we gave him nearly all he’d contracted for and the black pepper. They sent a man out who forced some of the workers to make statements on camera,” he concluded, sweating and tense.
“Did your people mention our arrangement in any of these interviews?” I was burning up inside with anger toward Jack but didn’t want this hardworking man to think it was directed toward him.
“They weren’t supposed to, but some of them told me after they’d been filmed that the questions were misleading and a lot of them were about you and the contract we have with you.” His expression turned to worried, and he wiped sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket.
“By any chance, did this man mention a Jack Marshall?”
“Yes, that’s the head boss. But we only spoke to his associate. This was about a month ago.”
“Did this associate of Jack’s take any of the women out to dinner, or out of the village for any reason?” I was starting to see what was ha
ppening here, and my stomach was twisting in knots.
“A few of the ladies went to town with him, yes. He had some clients with him and he asked them to show them around town.” He didn’t seem concerned.
“Did any of the women say that these men had propositioned them for sex?” I didn’t want to hear the answer, but I had to ask.
“All I know is that they had dinner and went out for some dancing, and the men gave them a little money. A lot of the girls came back with money in their pockets for… I don’t know what.”
“I think I know. There was a scathing article written about my business with your company, and I think he bribed your people to get on camera. Can I speak with the people who went out with the business associates?” I was livid.
Jack must’ve been after me even before he accosted Adara at Jewel. I went around the farm with Emilio and spoke with everyone Jack’s lackey interviewed.
When we contracted with the farm, we gave them a fair price for the coffee and helped set up a school, a small medical clinic, and made sure that the roads in and out of the village were well maintained. Part of our costs to do business were to keep the facilities we’d created on the plantation maintained. So before I went back to the hotel, I personally checked to be sure all we had done was still satisfactory.
By the end of the day, I was exhausted, angry, and disappointed, but I’d uncovered the truth.
They’d promised Jack’s company the surplus, and he’d charged them a fine for not delivering the amount he wanted. They then tried to compensate with black pepper crops, which Jack took from them at a fraction of the cost, leaving the village in need of money. So he offered a way for them to pay him back — to make “statements” for his “shareholders meeting.”
As for the women, it looked like Jack and his men were used to exploiting women wherever they went — it seemed to be his favorite sideline business.
I started to wonder if Jewel was a place where he was hiding a lot of the profits he didn’t want listed in his revenue.
Now it all made sense, but how was I going to clear my name in such a complicated scheme?
I messaged Adam and told him to set up a meeting with the detective and to book me on the first flight home.
When I made this right, I’d find Adara. No matter what it took.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Adara
I hadn’t been able to believe my eyes when I’d opened the door a week ago to find my manager standing on the other side.
I’d immediately burst into tears when Neil Ferguson smiled. When he spoke my name, his eyes were shiny, and before I knew it, I’d stepped out the door and was in his arms.
Neil had always been like a father to me. He’d been with me nearly since the beginning of my career and had showed me all the ins and outs. He was a good man, never scolding when I’d misstepped but leading me in the direction that would be the best choice for my career.
After I’d ushered Neil and the detective into the living room. It was hard to look at the piano where I’d sang while Roman played. Neil’s hair, which was even more silver than the last time I’d seen him, glinted in the light coming through the windows.
I’d told them everything.
As I did, the heaviness that had weighed on me since I left all those women behind at Jewel began to lift. “Whether they knew it or not, most were being forced to stay there. Some may not have seen the way out for themselves and others had been so frightened they didn’t think they deserved better. Few of the Jewels truly enjoy their work.”
Neil had listened, nodding his understanding while waiting for me to wind down from our initial greeting. “We’ll bring light to what’s happening there. What if we started a foundation? One that could give these women and others like them a place to go to recover and begin a new life?”
The thought of having some power to help the women made me feel like my journey had meant something, like Nate’s death hadn’t been in vain.
“Neil, are you asking me to return to the stage and studio? Is that what this is?”
He smiled the Hollywood smile that had always wrapped me around his finger. “Damn, Adara, don’t you know that me, your record label, and more than one detective have been looking for you all this time? Your fans are clamoring to have you back.” He waggled his eyebrows. “And… the Grammy’s are clamoring for you too.”
My eyes widened. “They are?”
“Yes. You’ve been nominated for a special merit award. They want you back, Adara. They want your first performance to be on their stage.”
Tears burned my eyes and emotion clogged my throat. I wanted to be back. There was just one thing.
“My voice is different. I’m different. If I come back, I won’t be the same Adara I was before.” I’d sung since I was a child and knew I could influence people with my voice, make them see the world the way I saw it. I could make a difference.
“Your voice is tinged with sadness, but it’s one that people will respond to. That will make them identify with your lyrics even more so. Please, Adara, let me help you return, and help you use your music the meaningful way I know you want to.”
With tears of happiness, I agreed and we set down a plan.
The only thing missing from the plan was Roman. So, when the construction workers arrived the next day and began building a state-of-the-art studio, it made me miss him even more. But as one day moved into the next, I began to wonder if he wasn’t using his money to buy what he wanted, like I’d accused him.
That was when I decided to leave. I couldn’t stay there anymore.
When the Today Show called, wanting to interview me, I couldn’t — wouldn’t — say no. As much as I wanted Roman to be with me, I could do it on my own.
After I send him my last text and didn’t hear from him again, I’d known I made the right decision.
My heart didn’t even feel like it was in my chest when I packed the few things I’d retrieved from Jewel and closed the front door of his mansion for the last time. Martha hugged me and we both shed some tears, and Sissaleigh gave me a hard stare, like I was making a mistake, but we all knew there was nothing left for me to do here but move on.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Roman
I sat my suitcase down in the foyer of my ranch house and the sound echoed in the empty stillness. Adara was gone. I could feel it in my bones, in how my skin didn’t spark the way it did when she was in the house.
Martha helped me to settle in with few words. The mileage I’d gained with her was gone. She thought I was a total idiot. And she was right.
The next morning, Adara was on the Today Show, giving a full account of her trial for the nation and the world to hear. She talked about Nate and the accident and Jewel, then about appearing at the Grammy’s and singing again for the first time. To my surprise, she also talked about her plans for an upcoming tour next year. Before that, she planned to hold a concert next month in New York City.
She didn’t mention me by name, but she did say, “Not everyone has a white knight ride in and rescue them, but I did. He’s a very special man who showed me that I was beautiful, scars and all. I wouldn’t be here today if he hadn’t made me promise to let him love me.”
When I could see through the tears in my eyes again, Martha was standing next to the TV tapping her foot, her arms crossed over her chest.
I laughed. “Don’t worry, Martha, I already have tickets.”
She harrumphed. “Are you really going to wait that long?”
I stared at the television, at Adara’s beautiful face. “Yeah. She needs to fly first. I want to give her that.”
***
The concert was a sellout, and Madison Square Garden was filled with excitement when I arrived. The crowd was already chanting Adara’s name.
The only seating available here was in the thick of the crowd, so I hired extra security and sat in the back in the cheap seats. It was the first time I’d done something like this and it made me chuckle
that Adara had inspired me to the point that I would settle for anything cheap.
To see her again though, I’d do anything.
By the time the opening band was finished, I was shouting her name along with the crowd. It felt good to say it. I’d spent too much time in the beginning not even knowing her real name, and now too much time away from her.
When the lights went dark again, and the music started to hum, I thought my heart would explode. Then there she was, sashaying out to the front to the screaming crowd. She’d been in therapy I knew from the talk shows, and her gait was improving, and she was working with a dance coach. When I’d heard she was going to undergo surgery, I didn’t sleep at all that night.
The next thing I knew, I was buying concert tickets and seats on a plane. Now I was here, and I didn’t even know if she would want to see me.
But it would still be worth it, to see her sing. She belonged up there on the stage, with people loving her all around. She belted out her first song, and I felt the way a parent must feel the first time their kindergartener gets up on stage for the school play.
The song started as a quiet reflection, like the mirror’s glass she sang about, but grew with each line until the deep throaty tone and passion of her incredible voice crescendoed to a rousing chorus.
God, she was a superstar. This woman who once lived in my house, teasing me relentlessly, rocking my sheets, was a treasure. I wondered how anyone dared hide her away in a brothel. I knew no one ever would again.
She sang every note perfectly then she held the last note for more than twenty seconds, like she’d told me she could. It hung in the air, perfect and beautiful, like her, and time stood still. I didn’t think there was a dry eye. I knew I didn’t have one.
Just before the concert was over, my security and I got up from our seats and made our way to the backstage door, where I had no trouble getting in. Neil gave me a wink as he shook my hand.
For a moment, standing in her dressing room, I was so nervous that I had to sit down. And it’s a good thing I did, because I almost forgot what was in my back pocket. And it was the only gimmick I had.