From Ashes of Scandal to His Embrace (Laurinda) novel Chapter 47

“Laurinda was the only one who got into it with Adelaide that day. After they split up, she never saw Adelaide again.”

Baal stared at the screen, his eyes softening as he watched the familiar girl. He interrupted before the man could say more.

“There’s no way Laurinda had anything to do with this. Didn’t you notice? She was just messing with Adelaide. Even when they argued, Laurinda looked like she couldn’t care less. Adelaide was the only one taking it seriously, thinking she was actually holding her ground. She’s clueless.”

He finished, still watching Laurinda’s expression on the screen, and muttered, “She’s looking more and more like her mother.”

His assistant glanced over, a little puzzled. Laurinda wasn’t even a real member of the Austin family, so how could she look like Winnie? He figured maybe Baal was just stressed after everything that happened to Adelaide.

“Did you get Graham?”

“Not yet. He bought a plane ticket to Northland last night. Our people followed, but they haven’t found him.”

“Keep searching. I want him found, no matter what. He tried to mess with the Baker family, so we’ll handle him ourselves. Don’t let the authorities get involved. As for Aiken, just make sure it looks like he’s responsible. Don’t let out anything else about what he’s done. For now, we need to keep things quiet for Adelaide’s sake. When things settle down, then we can release the rest.”

He wasn’t about to give Aiken any room to turn things around.

“How’s Adelaide doing?”

“She’s not in a good place. Do you want to see her?”

Baal lit a cigarette, his jaw tight. When he first heard about what happened, all he wanted was revenge. But he was head of the Baker family, and with everyone watching, he couldn’t just act out. He had to handle this by the book and fight for Adelaide with the law on his side.

“I’ll go see her soon. Is the internet still out of control? Can’t we get it under wraps?”

Laurinda looked up and smiled. “If I’d still been with the Austins, Aiken wouldn’t have dared to pull any of this. He wouldn’t have been brave enough to go after someone from the Baker family.”

Earlier, she’d been too groggy to figure out why Aiken would target Adelaide. Now, awake and thinking clearly, she finally understood who Aiken had really wanted to get his hands on.

The realization turned her stomach. She regretted ever going easy on him. She should have made sure he’d never have the chance to hurt anyone again.

The butler didn’t really get what she meant, but he was a pro. Whatever Miss Laurinda said, he just went along with it.

He didn’t ask questions, just set the bowl of strawberries in front of her, smiling.

Laurinda noticed the big, perfect strawberries. She picked one up, took a bite, and smiled at the taste. She glanced at the butler. “Are these from our own garden?”