Chapter 96
Chapter 96
It had been a couple of days now since Penelope met Luca at the Thorne Dynamics building for the first time, met up with him and gave him money to clean himself up and get his act together.
She’d handed him twenty thousand dollars with very specific instructions: shower, shave, buy decent clothes, stop drinking, and get his life in order enough to be useful to her.
At first, he’d resisted. Made excuses about how he couldn’t just change overnight, how the drinking helped him cope with his problems, how he was fine the way he was. But eventually, the lure of more money and the promise of revenge against his daughter had convinced him to agree.
They were supposed to meet today. Luca had insisted that if they were going to search Elara’s old apartment for evidence to prove the marriage was a sham, then Penelope would need to come with him. He claimed Elara might have hidden documents or contracts that would be easier to find with two people looking.
Penelope had agreed, but only on the condition that he cleaned himself up first and made his way to her house so they could go together.
She’d given him her address and told him to show up no earlier than nine in the morning. She was not a woman who appreciated being disturbed before she’d had her coffee and finished her morning routine.
So when her phone rang at six in the morning, she was less than pleased.
Penelope had been awake anyway, sitting at her desk in her home office with her laptop open, reviewing some of the company’s reports and looking for any weakness in Marcus’s control of the company. The shrill ringtone cut through the quiet of her penthouse.
She grabbed the phone and saw Luca’s name on the screen. What could he possibly want at this hour?
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me. I’m at the address you gave me.”
Penelope blinked. “It’s six in the morning.”
“I know. I got up early, got myself ready, figured I’d just come over now instead of waiting around doing nothing.”
She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. The man was enthusiastic, she’d give him that. “Fine. Stay there. I’ll come down and bring you up.”
Penelope closed her laptop, stood up, and made her way to the elevator. She was already dressed in a cream Chanel suit, her hair and makeup done perfectly despite the early hour. She never let anyone see her looking anything less than immaculate.
The elevator took her down to the ground floor where Luca was waiting in the lobby. When the doors opened and she stepped out, she actually stopped in her tracks for a moment.
He had really cleaned up.
Gone was the homeless-looking drunk she’d met outside the Thorne Dynamics building. In his place
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Chapter 96
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stood a man who actually looked presentable. His beard was trimmed neatly, his hair cut and styled, his clothes clean and well-fitted. He was wearing dark slacks and a button-down shirt under a blazer, no tie but respectable enough. He’d even ditched the sunglasses he’d been wearing before, revealing clear eyes that weren’t bloodshot for once.
The man wasn’t bad-looking when he wasn’t drowning in alcohol and self-pity.
“You look great,” Penelope said, genuinely impressed.
“Thank you. I cleaned up nice,” Luca replied with a hint of pride in his voice.
They stepped into the elevator together, and Penelope pressed the button for the top floor. Luca’s eyes widened slightly as they started ascending.
“So this is where Elara stays?” he asked, looking around the expensive elevator with its polished mirrors and gold accents.
“Well, yes,” Penelope answered. “This is where she stays now.”
“Damn.” Luca shook his head in disbelief. “That’s why she never came back to that slum we were living in. She’s in luxury here. She’s literally living in money.”
“Well, you can too if you follow everything I ask you to do,” Penelope added, her voice smooth and persuasive.
Luca was younger than Penelope, she’d noticed. He was probably in his mid-forties, while she was in her late fifties. But he looked fit under those clothes. The kind of man who’d done physical labor at some point
in his life.
“The man looks fit,” she muttered under her breath, not quite meaning to say it out loud.
The elevator continued its ascent. Penelope was about to press the button for the top floor when she heard it. Loud voices coming from somewhere below them.
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She frowned and pressed the button for the second floor instead. Marcus’s floor.
“Let’s stop here for a moment,” she said to Luca, a smirk spreading across her face. “So you can see where your daughter really stays.”
The elevator slowed and came to a stop. The doors opened onto Marcus’s private hallway, and the voices were clearer now. Angry voices. Women’s voices, specifically.
“Stay here,” Penelope instructed Luca, holding up a hand. “Let me check what’s going on first.”
She stepped out of the elevator and walked toward Marcus’s door. It was slightly ajar, and she could hear everything happening inside. A woman’s voice, sharp and defensive. Elara’s voice, furious and territorial. They were really going at it.
Penelope smiled. This was better than she could have hoped for.
She pushed the door open wider and stepped inside, hands on her hips, taking in the scene. A woman on the couch, Elara in a silk robe looking like she’d just rolled out of bed, both of them mid-argument.
“What are you doing here?” Elara asked, turning to look at her with confusion.
15:03 Mon, May 11
Chapter 96
“Erhm, I’m in my house,” Penelope replied smoothly.
The confusion on Elara’s face was delicious. Penelope brushed past her without waiting for a response and walked further into the penthouse.
Marcus appeared then, coming down the stairs in nothing but pajama pants, his expression shifting from irritation to pure anger when he saw her.
“What the hell are you doing in my house?” he demanded.
But Penelope ignored him. Her attention had already shifted to Aurora, her face lighting up with genuine pleasure.
“Oh, hi darling!” She walked straight past Marcus like he wasn’t even there. “It’s been what? Three years? Four years?”
“Three years,” Aurora said excitedly, her whole demeanor changing.
“Oh my God, my princess! Where have you been? I’ve missed you so much!”
Penelope embraced Aurora warmly. She’d always liked the girl. Aurora understood how the world worked.
Marcus repeated his question, louder this time, clearly trying to regain control of the situation. “I said, what the hell are you doing here?”
Penelope pulled back from Aurora and turned to face her stepson with practiced innocence. “Well, I was just passing by. I was using the elevator when I heard noise coming from this floor.” She gestured dismissively toward Elara. “I decided to check it out. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?”
“Wait, I didn’t realize Penelope stayed here,” Elara said quietly, clearly confused.
Perfect. The girl didn’t even know the basic layout of the building she was living in. Further proof this marriage was a joke.
Penelope answered before Marcus could. “Yes, the entire family lives here. It’s a big estate, darling. Marcus has this floor, I’m on the top floor.” She pointed upward. “We’re all one big happy family.”
“Anyway,” Marcus cut in sharply, “thank you for checking in. You can see we’re doing great. You can take your leave now.”
Penelope smiled, letting her eyes travel over Elara from head to toe. The silk robe, the messy hair, the bare feet. She looked so cheap. Common.
“Well, yes, I can see that,” Penelope said, facing Aurora. “Hi, darling. We should catch up some other time. Top floor. You’re welcome anytime.”
She turned to leave, satisfied with the chaos she’d managed to stir up just by showing her face. This was going better than planned.
But as she reached the doorway and stepped back into the hallway, she glanced toward the elevator.
And her stomach dropped.
Luca had stepped out. He was standing there in full view, no longer hidden inside the elevator where she’d
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