Page 130 of Lavish

Reaching into my clutch, I found the small lock pick. I worked the lock. One soft click.

Inside, the suite was surprisingly clean, all sleek and masculine. Leather chairs. A rack of uniforms pressed and waiting. A wall of gleaming trophies.

I crossed the room fast, already pulling the velvet box from my bag.

Somewhere obvious, but not sloppy.

I tucked the box on the shelf that looked to be his regular streetwear clothes.

Done.

Now Jenese was out of my life. I’d get the manuscript. I’d move on with my life. Rushing out of the room, I retraced my steps and turned the corner, and almost ran into somebody.

“I’m sorry?—”

I sucked in a breath, and I froze.

“Daddy?”

He stood there, shocked, but even worse—Audrey Whitmore was coming out of a room behind him.

CHAPTER 30

Serena

The sunset gavethe road ahead an orange glow, only lit up by my headlights and the occasional green-blue signs. I didn’t turn the music on. I didn’t need to drown anything out.

Daddy was with Audrey.

If I started assuming the worst, I’d just be Gigi. I didn’t even want tothinkthat of him. Mama was a handful, but we all knew Daddy loved her. He’ll never do anything wrong like that. To destroy us. To destroy our legacy.

My phone buzzed beside me on the passenger seat.

I jumped.Please… Don’t let it be Jenese.

Reaching for it, I gave it a quick glance. It was Miles.

Come meet me. Trust me.

There was a pin with his location, but I didn’t reply. Just clicked it. Let the GPS guide me.

The farther I drove, the heavier the silence became.

It was clear to me what I had to do. About Jenese. About my family. I couldn’t keep living the way I had before. It was impossible to return to that life, when now I had Miles with me.

I had to let the old Serena go. The girl who let herself be used by someone like Jenese.

The girl who believed survival meant domination. That the only way to be strong was to win. At any cost.

I had been angry—so fucking angry. At my family. At men like my father. At the world that made me feel like I was nothing unless I took everything.

I let Jenese feed that anger. Shape it into something shiny and dangerous. Something that looked like control but was really just fear dressed up. What I had was what I needed. Yes, I’d always want King Enterprises, but the more I sat with it, the more I didn’t want that. I just wanted what I thought would get me that approval.

The only approval I needed was from myself.

I had Miles. I had Laurene. Gigi. Noelle. Maybe even Erik.

I had myself.