Remorseless (Fractured Farrells: A Damaged Billionaire Series Book 3) (24 page)

(A sneak peek at book 4 in the Fractured Farrells Series)

Copyright 2016 Mallory Crowe

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PROLOGUE

T
here was something utterly surreal about being invited to a wedding you knew was going to end in divorce
, thought Ashley. It was even worse when the bride was your mother and you were the maid of honor.

For the most part everyone attending the wedding of the decade seemed hopeful. There were women crying and the groom, Walter Farrell, beamed at Nadia with pride. And he should be prideful. Nadia was twenty years younger than him and looked fantastic. Ashley knew just how fantastic her mother looked since she would drag Ashley on all her runs and group exercise classes.

Ashley and her mother looked like they could be sisters, since Nadine had gotten pregnant when he was seventeen. They both had the blonde hair and blue eyes so common from the small country of Estonia where Nadine was from.

Nadine's blond curls were pulled into an intricate updo and accented with little diamonds and mother of pearl flowers. Her dress was deceptively simple, with a strapless top that pushed her chest up and out and a delicate lace that carefully outlined the thin lines of her body and to the floor. The only obvious adornment on the dress was a thin belt that sat right above Nadine's hips. It was the perfect dress that didn't show too much but showed Walter Farrell exactly how lucky he was.

Ashley's own dress was a similar strapless shape with a wider, about an inch thick, band of satin around the waist. The bust was covered in a carefully shaped chiffon folds while the bottom of the dress allowed the chiffon to flow naturally to the floor. The color was horrible for Ashley's fair skin, but it fit in with the pink and green theme of the wedding and that was the important part.

Nadine dabbed tears away from her eyes and Ashley struggled to maintain her happy persona. If her mother was happy, she was happy, she kept telling herself. Except Nadine didn't realize that she'd truly found her perfect mate. It was only a matter of time until they both lost interest in each other.

As the priest continued with the vows, Ashley glanced at the packed pews of the Church of the Heavenly Rest. The wedding guests seemed just as taken with the beauty of the ceremony as the happy couple. In fact, the only ones who seemed to be as pessimistic as Ashley was Walter's own sons, who stood as the first three groomsmen.

Because of the whirlwind romance between Walter and Nadine, Ashley was still struggling to get their names. Robert, the oldest, stood as the best man. Behind him, from oldest to youngest Alex and Nathan.

Robert stood parallel to her, looking proud and stoic while Nathan looked like he was about to fall asleep. But the second youngest was the one who kept grabbing her attention. He was the brother with the worst poker face. The one who seemed like he was already counting the days until he could be rid of his father's fourth wife.

Alex's eyes met hers and she turned her gaze from the Farrell brother. It was hard to think of them as family since her new step brothers were all older than her. The youngest, Nathan, was twenty-one. Since Ashley was still fifteen, that age difference was enough to verify that Ashley would never be one of the Farrell bunch.

And if that wasn't enough, the way Alex glared at her from across the aisle was enough to make Ashley want to catch the next boat to take her across the Atlantic and back to her mother's homeland of Estonia.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," said the priest. Everyone stood and started to clap and shout their joy and Alex took a break from his angry stare to fake a smile.

Ashley handed her mother back the bouquet filled with greenery and a few pink accents, and Walter and her walked hand in hand down the seemingly endless aisle through the church. Robert stepped forward to take her arm and Ashley let him lead the way down the aisle. She played the happy daughter as she walked down the aisle, smiling at her family members she'd never met before here from another country.

Once her and Robert were clear of the crowd, he removed his arm from hers and Ashley rushed to get the rice set up. Nadine had given her very specific instructions on how to hand out the individually wrapped packets of rice, and they'd packed enough for one packet for each of the five hundred guests.

Ashley gripped the first of the boxes filled with rice and tried to lift. She'd been the one to help pack the container, but as she stood up, she could feel the bottom of the cardboard start to slip.
No, no, no, no...
There was a very strict timeline and if she didn't get these out front right now, everything would be thrown off and her mother's wedding would be ruined and-

The box slipped and Ashley looked around the dark closet desperately trying to find somewhere to set it down before the hundreds of rice packets fell to the ground and she'd have to find some other way to- The box slid more and Ashley squeezed her eyes shut and waited for disaster to strike. Except nothing happened. She cracked open one eye and saw Alex standing across from her, his hands now holding the bottom of the box and keeping the rice from spilling everywhere.

Ashley let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Thank God you showed up. This was almost a disaster."

Alex took on more of the weight. "Luckily I'm here to make sure that all the birds can get a stomach full of rice that will kill them. But, hey, it will give Walter the wedding of your mother's dreams so it's all worth it."

Whew. Lot of bitterness from someone who was so rich and pretty. Considering the first class education, plane tickets, and housing Alex had enjoyed his entire life, she didn't know what he was so angry about.

It was Ashley who had a right to be angry. It was her life that was going to be upended once Walter Farrell decided to move onto the next young hot thing that was willing to do anything to make him happy.

But she supposed guys like Alex Farrell were evidence of Ashley's biggest fear. Some guys would never be happy.

If there was one thing Ashley liked, it was proving people like this wrong."That's a myth you know."

"What?"

"That birds die from eating rice. It's not a thing. I'd expect someone as well educated as you  not believe everything you hear."

Alex's mouth dropped open and she was willing to bet that she was the first person to talk back to him in a long, long time. She took advantage of his speechlessness  and pushed the box more fully into his hands. "Take this out front and make sure the bottom doesn't fall out."

Once it appeared like the box was steady in his hands, Ashley reached for the second box and stood, but instead of rushing to the front of the church like she wanted him to, Alex was still standing there, staring at her with a rage she didn't even know existed within him. Ashley took a step back and waited for him to move from the door.

"You really think this wedding is going to last?" he asked finally.

Well, no, but she wasn't about to admit it. "Who are we to stand in the way of true love?"

"Was it true love at the bachelorette party? Seemed like your mother was the textbook definition of lust that night, wasn't she?"

Ashley felt the ground shift beneath her. Please don't let it be true. Don't let her mother throw everything away before the wedding even started. "I wasn't at-"

"As soon as the honeymoon is over, he's going to find out exactly who you people are. And then you'll be on the street corner like you belong."

CHAPTER ONE

Nine years later

Ashley's hands had stopped shaking. She didn't know when or where during her late night drive, but at some point, her body had calmed down even though her mind had been racing. It was a continuous loop as she drove across the state.

But there was a certain measure of calmness that came from knowing where she was going. It wasn't a conscious choice. But she'd left the city and somewhere along the line, she'd started to follow signs to Connecticut and then she'd gotten off at the exit she remembered so well. It was like muscle memory that led her to a place she had no reason to be drawn to.

It had been years since she'd seen any of the Farrells, but she'd kept tabs on all of them. She'd done a mental happy dance when Walter died and had sat back and waited for the sons to fall into financial ruin as the empire crumbled.

Except that it had been two years since Walter's death and give or take a few scandals, Farrell Enterprises was stronger than ever. Even crazier, Robert Farrell appeared to be in a steady relationship, which was a sure sign that hell was freezing over. But if Robert could settle down, that meant anything was possible and right now she needed a miracle.

Ashley stopped the car outside the gate to the Farrell's Connecticut home as the wipers whished back and forth to keep the pouring rain from the glass. A dark and rainy night. Figured she wouldn't grow a backbone during a clear sky.

Rumor had it that he was here. Now she just needed to get the balls up to knock on the door. Well, not knock on the door. To do that, she needed to get into the gate.

Ashley put her Porsche into park and got out of the car. The downpour immediately soaked her from the roots of her hair and all the way through the designer ankle boots that apparently weren't water proof.

She hit the button for the intercom and crossed her fingers that someone would answer. Not figuratively. Ashley actually intertwined her middle and pointer finger. Just a flicker of good luck. That's all she needed.

"Who is it?" asked a surly voice.

Ashley knew she'd need to work some crazy magic to get admitted entrance this late at night. "This is Ashley Kõiv. I'm here to see Alex Farrell. I'm his sister."

There was a silence, and Ashley tried to look around so she could face the camera long enough for whoever was behind the gate to do an internet search on her. Thanks to the speed of the internet, it was only a long thirty seconds before the gate started to creak open. She was in. One step down, thousands more to go.

She ran back to her car before anyone changed their mind and drove up the long driveway towards the mansion.

So many memories came back to her and second thoughts hit her like a brick. Alex wouldn't want to see her. When she'd left this house, it had been in shame and disgrace. Not that his family or hers was any stranger to scandal, but it was still a blow. A blow she'd thought she recovered from until right now.

At this second, the old pain melded with the present hurt floating around from Geoff and Ashley gripped the steering wheel tighter. It was now or never. Now or never. Now or never. Apparently repeating the phrase in her mind didn't give her any more courage to step out of the car.

She turned off the car and moved one foot in front of the other. When she was younger, she'd thought this home must be what it felt like to live in a castle. The mansion had impeccable landscaping that was hard to fully appreciate in the dark night. The cream colored siding and light gray roof gave the mansion a warm feel and even through the pouring rain, Ashley could hear the crashing waves coming from the ocean on the other side of the house.

But the beautiful facade was a lie. at least it had been for that one summer she'd lived there. A pretty exterior to hide all the turmoil inside.

She didn't have a chance to knock on the door before an older man opened it for her. She didn't recognize him, but that wasn't surprising. Walter had gone through staff faster than she'd ever imagined possible. He was never happy with his service and would berate the rotating stream of butlers and maids incessantly and they'd usually be gone within three weeks.

Maybe if he'd been nicer to them, they'd stick around long enough to actually get good at their jobs.

"Hello," she said as she waited to be invited inside. By now the rain had soaked her hair completely so she might as well have just stepped out of the shower fully dressed, but the man she assumed was the newest butler didn't appear to have any pity for her.

Finally he moved aside for her. Since it was three thirty in the morning, she doubted he'd been awake, but he had thrown on clothes at some point. Black slacks and a black sweater with a white collar poking up from underneath. His brown hair was just beginning to thin and Ashley was betting he was somewhere in his early forties.

"Mr. Farrell is being alerted to your presence," said the man. "You can wait in the sitting room." He held a hand out to lead her to the room to the right of the entrance. Hardly any lights were on, so it was hard to see how much of the house had changed, but the dramatic entryway was still impressive. The mansion was two stories tall, but the entry was open to both levels. There was a winding staircase that led upstairs with white rails and a wooden banister that matched the hardwood floors perfectly.

The butler led her into the sitting room which kept with the beachy white and wood theme with beautiful wooden bookshelves and a collection of white and cream colored lounge chairs.

Even though it was called the sitting room, Ashley knew her soaked body wasn't allowed anywhere near the upholstery.

"Mr. Farrell will be with you shortly," said the butler before he disappeared probably hoping the crazy woman would leave promptly so he could go back to bed.

Ashley let out a soft sigh of relief as she took a turn around the room. She hadn't spent much time in here that summer. It was a meaningless room. No television and no nice view. Simply a place to put guests when you didn't know what else to do with them.

Next to the bookshelf was a portrait of the Farrell family. It looked like Walter and his third wife. The one before Nadine. Nathan was still just a kid Robert was on the cusp of adulthood. Even then, in what was supposed to be the awkward teenage years, the boys looked good. They looked aristocratic. Like anyone who met them was supposed to assume they had money based off looks alone.

She never heard him. There were no audio or visual cues to let her know that Alex was standing in the doorway. Yet somehow Ashley knew. It was though some sixth sense was utterly attuned to him, letting her know he was near.