Page 68 of Little Dark Deeds

“Did they have any kids?”

“Nope.When I was searching online, I came across his Instagram profile.From the looks of it, Landon traded her in.”

“For a younger model?”Simone asked.

“For an older one.He tagged this new woman in a bunch of photos, so then I started looking into her, because ...well, I just find the entire family so intriguing.The new lady in his life is Vivienne Carrington, and she’s in her late fifties.”

If Landon’s family had enormous wealth, I wondered why he cared so much about coming out on the losing end of the divorce case.Then again, I didn’t know the amount they’d settled on.

“Do we know how much Rylie got in the divorce?”I asked.

“What she asked for: three million dollars.”

Simone and I exchanged glances.

“From a billionaire?”I asked.“That’s it?”

“Yep.”

“Three million is a drop in the bucket for his family.Why so little?”

“I don’t know.She asked for three million and to have her attorney fees paid.”

It didn’t make sense.

Why would Landon go to the trouble of threatening Tiffany over what seemed like such a small sum in comparison to his overall worth?

And why did he tell Tiffany his life was ruined?

Hunter lifted a finger.“Oh, I almost forgot.Rylie did ask for one other thing in the settlement.She wanted custody of their dog, Duchess, and she got it.”

The dog.

Now there was something.

If Landon had a strong attachment, he may have been infuriated by the court’s decision to give custody to Rylie.

As I pondered that thought, my phone rang.

I didn’t recognize the number.

“Excuse me a moment,” I said.

I answered the call as I walked toward my office.Before I even had the chance to get a word out, a high-pitched voice began shouting into the phone.

“Slow down,” I said.“Who is this?”

“Janice.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Queenie.You need to come.You need to come now.”

“Why?What’s happened?”

I heard what sounded like wailing, followed by, “She’s ...she’sdead.”

I stood there in shock, hearing her words but being unable to take them in.