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Chapter 37 Hiding Her Ex–husband
“No,” he said solemnly.
He wanted no one but her!
His domineering and possessive attitude made Maia stiffen. He was no longer cold to her, and this
made her uneasy.
She could never understand what he wanted. For a moment, she wondered if she had made the right
choice to return to Prismara.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
A familiar voice came from the other side of the door. “Maia? Are you home? Errol and I have finished
the investigation. Maia? Maia?”
It was Aunt Tess and Errol!
As the doorbell rang repeatedly, Maia grew flustered and pushed Cedric off her.
She pointed toward the window. “Leave!”
Cedric smirked. “This is the 12th floor. Are you trying to get me killed?”
Maia quickly walked into the nearby master bedroom and opened the closet door.
She gestured toward it. “Get in!”
Cedric gave her a look. “Are you serious?”
Her phone started to ring.
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“Cedric, there’s no time to argue. Are you getting in or not?”
“Fine.”
Just as Maia let out a sigh of relief, he said, “I want something in return.”
Before Maia could ask what it was, he kissed her lips.
“Asshole!”
What possessed Cedric to suddenly become so bold?
Seeing her exasperated look, Cedric, who was almost 2 meters tall, smiled and stepped into the closet.
This was the first time he had done something like this, yet he was willing to put up
with this for her.
Maia quickly shut the closet door and hurried to the entrance to let Tess and Errol in.
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“What took you so long?” Tess asked, noticing that Mala seemed out of breath.
“I was just doing yoga,” Mala lied as she glanced toward the master bedroom.
Tess and Errol suspected nothing and dropped the matter.
Errol put a stack of documents on the coffee table and gestured, “I miss you, Mala.”
After hugging him, Maia looked him over. “You’ve grown taller over the past year.”
“I’m not a child anymore, okay?”
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“I guess I should treat you like an adult now, huh? So…” Maia narrowed her eyes. “What’s going on
with you and Celia Trivett?”
Erroll blushed. “We’re just working together. She’s the brand ambassador for Pinot Nuage, after all.”
Maia made an okay sign. “It’s okay to date her, you know.”
Errol continued to blush.
Tess said, “Stop teasing your brother, Maia. Anyway, you did a great job confronting Homer and Yvette.
I’m with you all the way! We mustn’t be too kind to people like them.”
Tess gave Maia a thumbs–up.
Errol did so, too with a toothy grin.
“So, what have you found out about the financial records?”
Maia looked at the stack of accounting books on the coffee table. Since her uncle took over Starlight
Entertainment, it had fallen out of the top three in the industry. This was despite the company
appearing to be doing great on paper.
When Maia reviewed the quarterly financial statements, she noticed the turnover was very low and told
Tess and Errol to get someone trustworthy to audit the accounts.
Tess handed Maia a thick stack of papers. They contained a detailed breakdown of the accounts.
“After your mom died, the finance manager was forced to resign. His successor was a close. ally of
your uncle. There have been financial irregularities since then, and in just one year, more than 10
million have been embezzled. If this continues, Starlight is headed for disaster.”
None of this surprised Maia, who had always considered Phil a jerk. When her mother was still alive,
he was held in check. But after she had passed away, there was no doubt that he would try to take
money from the company to support his and his son’s gambling habits.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“Are the auditors trustworthy?” Maia asked cautiously. After all, she didn’t want word about
this to leak and cause a scandal.
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+15 BONUS Tess nodded. “Don’t worry, they are retired accountants who stay in smaller towns. No
one will find out about this.”
Maia nodded and stared at the stacks of accounting books. She was determined to get back all the
money they took!
Suddenly, a thud came from the bedroom.
Alarmed, Maia glanced toward the master bedroom out of the corner of her eye. Worrying that her
actions might draw their attention, she quickly looked away and acted like nothing had happened.
“What was that?” Tess and Errol looked toward the closed door to the bedroom.
Errol gestured, “Did you hear it?”
“Something must have fallen,” Maia answered, acting calm.
Tess and Errol checked the time, and Tess said, “We should get going. Take care, okay?”
“I will, Aunt Tess.”
“Keep in touch, Maia,” Errol gestured with a smile.
“Sure,” Maia nodded.
Just as she saw them off in the foyer, another thud was heard.
Tess and Errol exchanged looks, and they dashed toward the master bedroom.
“Aunt Tess! Errol!” Flustered, Maia hurried after them, wanting to stop them from opening
the master bedroom door.
However, it was too late.
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