Madam X by Niobia Bryant

Author:Niobia Bryant [Bryant, Niobia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2023-01-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Saturday, April 10

Lo. Dr. Loren Marc Palmer. My greatest love. It’s so hard to say goodbye, but it’s time . . .

Desdemona paused in writing in her journal, still trying to gather her thoughts on willfully releasing her love for him. Not just accepting that he was done with the relationship but choosing that she wouldn’t want it back even if he changed his mind.

“ ‘I don’t deserve to be ignored or shunned. Like a pariah,’ ” she added to the page in her neat script. “ ‘Not by Lo.’ ”

She released a breath and looked about the room as the morning sun radiated against the walls. Her gaze fell on the prepaid phone atop her bedside table. She set her pen in the groove of the journal to reach for it.

“Hmm,” Desdemona grunted.

Nearly a hundred missed calls overnight.

It was very much giving off desperation.

She had slept like a baby during it all, with the phone on vibrate. With sleep and time came clarity. She was confident it was not the police. All her consorts were wealthy men. One hundred thousand dollars was nothing to them. Did that make the blackmailer a courtesan instead? The police? Or a person facing financial ruin?

The answer to those questions would help thin the herd of suspects.

And give her more control. Her arrest would cut off their hope for an influx of cash.

Bzzzzzz. Bzzzzzz. Bzzzzzz.

With a shake of her head, Desdemona looked down at the phone vibrating in her hand. She checked the time. It was just seven in the morning.

Back at it bright and early.

Was this about revenge or money?

She raised the crisp cotton sheet to cover her bare breasts, as if they could be seen while she was on the phone. The prepaid flip phone was definitely not video call–ready. “FaceTime? More like OldTime,” she quipped before she answered the call and placed it on Speaker.

“Don’t fuck with me, bitch!” the voice roared. “I will destroy you and fucking enjoy it. Now the price has doubled. Pay me or I will send—”

“I don’t have it,” she lied.

“You have one week to get me two hundred thousand dollars, Mademoiselle.”

“That is a lot, Detective,” she said.

“Cut the police bullshit!”

“You know my accounts have been seized,” she lied. “Why are you doing this?”

The line went quiet.

Silence could be just as telling as spoken words.

Money is the main goal.

“Then sell that pretty ass of yours because I want my money.”

Just as irrational as Zena.

Desdemona followed her gut and ended the call.

Bzzzzzz. Bzzzzzz. Bzzzzzz.

It was a gamble and she was taking it. It was time to flush out the rat. And the next time they talked, she would do the calling.

She put the phone on Silent and tossed it on the bed before slinging back the covers to leave her comfortable bed. She crossed the room to complete her morning rituals before selecting one of her dozens of silk or lace robes to pull on as she headed out of the suite. When she reached the guest bedroom, she paused in the doorway.

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