Billionaire's Perfect Revenge [18+]

EPILOGUE [PART I]

*ONE MONTH LATER*

There's a knock on the door and the first thing I do is look up at the time.

It's five past midnight. That can only mean two things.

One: The person outside is in a grave emergency.

Two: Someone is here to rob us, but has the decency to announce his presence so we could prepare for the worst.

But when I step out of my room and look through the peephole, breath hitches in my throat for an entirely different reason.

Maddox stands outside with a sweeping backdrop of snow.

I don't think twice before unlocking the door and pulling it open. A flurry of chilly nights whips me in the face, shooting a blunt shiver down my spine.

"What are you doing here?" There had to be a good reason for him to show up at this godawful hour of the night. "Is Louis, okay?"

It's only been a month since we all learned of Nadine's brutal death. News that took everyone by surprise and the whole media by storm. Even after a month had passed, we could find people on the streets, in shops and malls murmuring about it, debating how money can't buy everything after all.

But that's the picture for the outsiders. Merely the tip of the iceberg. No one knows the Richmonds had been devastated ever since. That the two brothers who stayed together despite all the silly conflicts were now estranged. That Louis Richmond had lost her faith and now lives the life of an agnostic. That Maddox Richmond had made no public appearances since the funeral. Not even when the senior Richmond sued him for the radical drop of the stocks after the news, accusing him of defrauding innocent investors, challenging his ability to hold the chair of the CEO after the entire disaster.

Not many people know about these things. But I do. I don't know why, but I do.

"Mom is fine!" He shakes his head in a nod, hands shoved tightly into the pockets of his overcoat. White smoke drifts out of his mouth as he speaks. "May I? It's pretty cold outside."

Despite the cold, heat rushes up my neck. "Yes! Of course, I'm so sorry." I stepped aside and gave him enough berth to walk in.

Once inside, he takes out his gloved hands and rubs them before turning to face me. "You must think I'm crazy for showing up like this."

I should think that, shouldn't I? But I don't. When I said Maddox had made no public appearances, I meant it. No one had seen him since the funeral. Including me. No one knew what he had been up to.

If I'm being honest with myself, I would have been abnormally worried. Perhaps that's why seeing him here, fine as a fiddle, I'm relieved beyond imagination.

"Well, what can I say? You always had been a little crazy." I joke to lighten up the awkward air between us. "Let me help you with that."

He hands me his overcoat and I take care of it while he walks further into the room, looking around. It dawns on me pretty quickly that this might be the first time he's ever been here. Last time he came with Nathan, Zachary and Kevin but stayed outside himself. He told me he didn't want to make me uncomfortable and even though he was being as honest as he could ever be, I knew there was more to his reluctance.