When Love Becomes a Cage (Melanie) novel Chapter 135

“Half a billion dollars?”

My jaw dropped. Was Lisa some kind of angel? Half a billion?

Eliana reached over, pushing my jaw back up with a smirk.

“The Crawfords have quite the appetite, so it's no surprise they haven't found a suitable match for a merger.”

“And let's be real, her cozying up to Clyde, it’s pretty obvious what she's after. The Mrs. Patterson title is worth way more than a few hundred million, right?”

“So, you better take care of yourself, secure your golden goose, and don't forget to give me that discount on the restaurant redesign, okay?”

She then pulled out two bottles of vitamins from her purse, “Warren asked me to give these to you.”

Holding the bottles, I felt a mix of gratitude and concern.

I hadn’t known Eliana and her brother from the Chandler family for long, but they had been nothing but kind to me.

“Alright, enough with the mushy stuff. Remember to go for your check-ups every week. You need to stay alive if you're going to keep digging. I’ve heard from my dad, there was something fishy about what happened to your family’s business. But it was out of his field, so he didn’t have much detail. Having dealt with the Patterson Group, you’d know that the cash flow doesn’t just stop overnight. There must have been some warning signs. Your dad... I’ve met him. He seemed sharp enough to notice if something was wrong. I bet there was a mole.”

I nodded silently. Indeed, it had to be Gale. But why would Galen do such a thing?

He had been in charge of the Crawfords’ accounts, so he’d be the first one to face questions if anything went wrong.

Thinking about how he had moved his family abroad, I grew worried. Could he have known trouble was coming and secured a way out for his kids, just like my mom did?

“Eliana, thank you. I owe you...”

“Pay me back by living a long and healthy life,” she quipped, then kicked me under the table before pulling out a file.

“I know you’re busy, but my family’s planning to build a new headquarters in Ironvale. Youmust design it.”

“I’ll also dig around for info on the Crawfords for you. Ironvale is their stronghold, after all!”