The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress

Dawn POV

The warehouse was abandoned, or at least it seemed like it. I pulled up, making my way swiftly into the building, ignoring the broken windows, the debris on the ground, and the unsettled feeling in my stomach. Where was Dexter? He should have been here by now or at least right behind me. I swallowed past the lump in my throat, stepping into the main area, my eyes scanning the open part of the building which was practically half demolished. Something did not feel right. I understood his insistence on being somewhere private, out of the way, but this? This was a building that was barely standing on its own. The briefcase felt heavy in my hand. My hand gripped it tightly, and sweat trickled down my arms. I knew then, instinctively that this had been a big mistake, but now it was too late to turn around and head back the way I had come.

"Dexter?" I hissed, standing uncertainly in the center and feeling foolish "Where the hell are you?"

The sound of a car cutting off its engine sounded and I whirled around, feeling both relieved and apprehensive. I needed to get this done before lan made his way here. If Dexter would take the money and leave, perhaps I could persuade lan to forgive me. It was difficult to see inside the car, with the windows tinted, but I saw Dexter step out, along with a woman, both making their way slowly towards me. I could see the faintest outline of what looked like more men in the back. I felt sick. This had been a trap. As I went to step back, Dexter's voice rang out across the wind.

"Stop" he warned, a crooked grin on his face.

A terrible sense of foreboding filled my soul.

The woman next to him wore large sunglasses and had a large handbag on her shoulder. She was beautiful, her long hair cascading down her shoulders. She was older, more mature and there was something familiar about her. It wasn't her posture or her gaze so much as the way she looked at me, as though she knew exactly who I was, although we had never met before. I would have remembered meeting a woman like this. She was the type to remain in your memory. She came across as both confident and haughty. She smiled lazily at me, as the two of them stood side by side, watching me. Dexter's smile was triumphant as he turned to his companion with a look of satisfaction on his face.

"I told you she would be stupid enough to come here alone" he drawled "She's always been the type to sacrifice herself for somebody else. She did exactly what I thought she would do."

Was I really that predictable?

I winced. The woman's laughter peeled out. She took her sunglasses off and casually placed them into her bag. Her eyes had dark circles beneath them and her face was haggard, but she was still beautiful by anyone's standards. "She has," she said agreeably, peering at me closely "but if I know lan, he's not far behind her. He's not the type to let a woman walk into danger alone" she sneered.

"Who cares," Dexter said shrugging while the woman eyed him askance "We have the money and you have what you wanted," he said to the woman as I listened confused. "Give me the briefcase Dawn, right now" he demanded, thrusting his hand out and staring at me defiantly.

I tightened my grip, feeling hesitant. Dexter chuckled "You're not thinking or reneging on our deal are you Dawn?" he asked, "Do you have any idea what I'll do to you if you don't give me that briefcase?" he threatened.

"You're really going to go through with this? You never want to see Faith again?" I asked in desperation, hoping to make him have some sort of hesitation.

He smirked "I never wanted that brat in the first place, you were the one who insisted on having her instead of having the abortion as I ordered you to. You only have yourself to blame if it's become too much for you to take care of her."

I wanted so badly to strike out at him. Instead, I wordlessly handed over the briefcase, watching as he greedily opened it on the ground to confirm it was full of money, kneeling over it and letting out a large exhalation, his eyes beginning to sparkle. "It's all there," he said gleefully, looking up at the woman who tightened her lips "All of it. I'm rich" he crowed, shutting the lid and locking it carefully again, the smile never leaving his lips.

"You're a real bastard, you know that," I said shakily "I hope karma bites you in the a*s."

The woman slowly looked at Dexter with an inscrutable expression on her face. A flicker of fear washed over me. I didn't like the way she was watching him. Dexter was too busy smoothing his hands over the briefcase to notice as her expression slowly changed. I watched in what felt like slow motion as she reached into her handbag and withdrew a small handgun. I flinched, expecting the bullet to hit me, but instead, she turned the gun on Dexter, shooting him right in the back of the head, his body flopping next to the briefcase as I let out a bloodcurdling scream. My whole body shook violently as I stared at the pool of blood around his body, my eyes fearfully meeting the woman who gave me a cold smile. The gun remained in her hand, never wavering. "Why?" I screamed, "If he was your friend..."

"He was no friend of mine, he was merely a means to an end" the woman spat out, examining her nails as I stood there, unable to move, "A way of getting to lan and you," she said nonchalantly.

Killing Dexter hadn't affected her at all. She ignored the body as though it wasn't even there, her eyes on me.

"I don't even know who you are" I whispered, my eyes still darting down to Dexter's body, still in a state of disbelief and shock.

She had been so cold when she shot him, as though it hadn't fazed her in the slightest. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, as I suspected I was next. I should never have gone here on my own. I had thought I was doing lan a favor, saving him from one of Dexter's stupid tricks and instead I might have led him into this woman's one instead. "Don't tell me that lan never told you about me? Karen Deluca" she purred and I felt my heart skip a beat.

Karen Deluca. Mother of Charlotte Deluca, the crazy-ass socialite that lan and Knox had helped gather evidence against in order to prosecute when she had attempted to kill their sister Flair. I knew of the story. Everybody did. It had been in all the newspapers and magazines. I knew about lan and Knox's involvement and I had known she was at large. But I never suspected she would have been behind Dexter coming back into my life. The way she engineered things, was almost genius in nature. I could feel myself beginning to look around in desperation but Karen began to laugh, pointing the gun at

me.

"You're coming with me. I want lan" she admitted, glancing at me coyly through her lashes "but on my terms. This place" she wrinkled her nose, delicately bending to pick up the briefcase off the ground and hold it with her other hand "is not the right one. He needs to know who he's dealing with and feel the same amount of pain I felt when I lost my only child." "Don't do this" I began to plead, even as the door to the car opened and another man stepped out, a forbidding look on his face, his body so large that he easily towered over Karen and myself as he began to slowly make his way towards us.

"Sorry, but you're the one thing that lan cares about right now," Karen said pleasantly and then lowered her eyes "Well two things but I didn't think that poor little Faith should have to lose her life because of him."

I stiffened. She noticed. Her lips curved up into a smile "You see" she said, raising a brow "I'm not a complete monster. I could have killed your daughter instead of you. At least this way, Faith will still get to live, even if it's without her mother."

Maybe I could delay until lan got here, I thought numbly, but Karen read my mind, indicating to the man who stepped even closer.

"Paul, would you mind?" she asked him, batting her eyelashes and smiling "I don't want to ruin my nails anymore than they already are."

Her tone was sickly sweet as she addressed her man. I turned and began to run, but he was quicker on his feet, swooping me up in his arms as I struggled and flailed, yelling at the top of my lungs.

"She's too loud" Karen snapped and I felt his hand cover my mouth, my eyes widening as he turned to face his boss, my hands uselessly pushing at him in an attempt to escape the tight grasp he had on me.

It was pointless. His strength was remarkable and nothing I did made a difference.

He brought me over to Karen. She gave a sigh. "By the time lan makes it here, you'll be gone but don't worry, it won't be for long," she told me cryptically "I'll leave a message telling him where to go. It's a shame, you seem like a nice person" she added, while I stared at her incredulously "but I used to be nice once and all it got me was misery and pain. Let that be a lesson to you" she said coldly. "It's better to be on top of the food chain than the victim in this world."

I struggled some more. The man began to drag me towards the waiting car. I couldn't let them take me. I couldn't let lan come out here. Who knew what they had planned for him? I could feel myself panicking even further. Karen began to get into the car, sliding the briefcase across the seats, traces of blood still on it from Dexter's body. I cringed. Other men were sitting there, wicked grins on their faces. I pushed against the car and Karen sighed, c*****g her head, her eyes meeting Paul's who was grunting in annoyance. "I think she needs to go to sleep," she said idly, making a motion with her hand.

What? Paul made another growling noise and then I felt his hand on the top of my head, before he pulled away from the car slightly and then with a strong shove, whacked my head against the top of the car, causing me to still, my head flopping backward as my vision dimmed. I felt him put me inside the large SUV, hands roughly grabbing me and pulling me inside, and I saw Karen's eyes glinting as she looked down at me, before darkness surrounded me and I heard the sound of the door shutting and the engine starting.