Alpha Billionaire’s Bride, Part Three (BWWM Romance Serial) by Mia Caldwell Page A

lie to you.”
    “Liar.”
    “Okay, fine. I did mean to lie to you. But I only did it to
buy myself some time so I could figure this thing out and get all the answers.”
    Jada rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, sister.”
    “Hear me out. The whole story, not just the part where I
screwed up. Okay?”
    “Apparently I can’t stop you, so go ahead and get it over
with.”
    “Do you hate me?”
    “I don’t know yet.”
    Marina smiled tautly. “You’re kidding. And you’re angry. I
get that. Let me explain.”
    Jada’s skin felt stretched tight like a balloon with too
much air in it. She supposed she could never actually hate her sister, but at
that moment, Jada wasn’t very fond of her.
    “It all started last Thursday morning,” Marina began.
    “What? Thursday? This has been going on—”
    “Please listen.” Marina’s tone was filled with a supercilious
patience that grated on Jada’s nerves. “Thursday, before noon, I got a call
from Sylvia. You remember Syl. She works at the courthouse.”
    Jada nodded.
    “She asked me for a favor. She wanted me to leak a tip to
CGTV for her, and said she’d do it herself, but she didn’t know how. I work for
the newspaper so she thought I’d have contacts, or more experience. The idea
was that I would tell CGTV there was some shocking information that affected
the supermodel Sasha in the Springers Glen courthouse records department.”
    “Information about Sasha? Not about Ian or me?” Jada asked.
    “No. Of course not about you.”
    “So ... I don’t understand. Where do I come into this?”
    “You don’t. Not yet, anyway.”
    Jada couldn’t work out what Marina was telling her. “I
assumed you made this whole thing up about me and Ian and got the press
involved and ... everything. Are you saying you didn’t?”
    “Of course not. What are you talking about?”
    Jada’s hands relaxed and she realized she’d been digging her
fingers into the cushioned armrests. “I guess I thought you were behind it all,
that you had some stupid idea that you thought would be funny or whatever, and
... well, you know.”
    “Damn, Jada! That’s pretty harsh.”
    “I’m sorry. I mean, you said it was your fault.”
    “I did?”
    “I thought so. Didn’t you? Besides, I’d considered you a
suspect already and—”
    “What? I was a suspect? Who are you? Sherlock Holmes?”
    “I was thinking more like Woodward and Bernstein.”
    Marina snorted. “Puh-leeze. I can’t believe you thought I’d
do something like that. It would be awful. No one who cared about you could
deliberately do something like that.”
    “That’s what Ian said.”
    “You told Ian you suspected me?”
    “Don’t look so outraged. We were going over suspects
together and I mentioned that we needed to be careful not to overlook the
people closest to us. You were an example. That’s all.”
    Marina leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms. “Well
then, Ms. Investigative Journalist. What was my motive?”
    “You didn’t have one. I dismissed you as a suspect because
you had means and opportunity but no motive.”
    “It never occurred to me that you suspected me. My whole
understanding of you, me, our relationship as sisters has been shattered. Blown
apart by your—”
    “Wait a minute! You’re the guilty one. Don’t try to turn
this on me. Get back to your overdue confession.”
    Marina blew out a breath. “Fine. But we have to revisit your
traitor-hood at some point.”
    “Traitor-hood isn’t a word.”
    “Whatever. Where was I?”
    “Sylvia called you Thursday morning.”
    “Oh, right. Syl wanted me to leak a story to CGTV about info
in the records department that involved Sasha.”
    “What was it?”
    “I asked Syl, but she wouldn’t say. She made me promise only
to leak the tip and then step aside because shit was going to hit the fan.”
    “Shit was hitting the fan?”
    “Not yet. But it would be.”
    “I hate that expression. It’s so gross.”
    “Stay with me