Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 74: The King Emergency

I looked at the messages in order. The first few were all King. Then I received a message from Min and several from Ben. This was alarming. None of these men made it a habit of blowing up my phone.

I called King. No answer, so I called Min. He picked up on the first ring.

"What’s going on?"

"You should come here now," Min said.

"Where is here?"

"King’s office."

"Why?"

"King’s not in good shape. He won’t go to the hospital, plus there’s something you should see."

"Don’t keep me in suspense."

"Just do it, Teela. You’re King’s wife. He’s your responsibility not mine."

"Not for long," I muttered.

For the first time ever, Min snapped at me, "Fuck it, Teela, stop being a little bitch and get your ass over here to King’s office. If not for King, do it for me. You owe me at least that much, right?"

Min hung up.

I stared at my phone as if he had slapped me.

Fine. Min was right. I did owe him, but I couldn’t deny I was curious what had Min acting so testily.

I didn’t want to go alone, but everyone here was exhausted, including me. However, King wasn’t their problem. He was mine, at least for now, so I washed up and changed clothes before looking for my spare keyfob. The first one was still at the condo.

I was in the kitchen downing another cup of coffee, with the hope I wouldn’t fall asleep at the wheel, when Jake came in, barefoot and barechested. If I had been more awake, I might have appreciated the broad shoulders and flat abs. I definitely would have appreciated the happy trail from his navel to the top of his shorts.

On an average day, I appreciated many of Jake’s finer attributes. I took a mental picture to mull over later and to add to my Jake appreciation folder.

I handed Jake a cup of coffee before pouring what remained of mine down the sink and washing the cup.

"How did you sleep?" I asked.

"Like the dead. It’s been a long few days."

"How’s Davon?"

"I sent him off with Father DiMarco to the market. He needs some fresh air and freedom."

"I’m surprised he would leave your side."

"Father DiMarco is like Santa. No one can resist him."

I grinned. "Great comparison. Hey. I’m headed out for a little while. I’ll be back in case anyone misses me."

"Where are you headed? Do you need company?"

"Something is going on with King. Min called me and insisted I show."

"That doesn’t sound like Min. Must be important do you want company?"

"Shouldn’t you be here when Davon returns?"

"He’ll be fine for a little while. I’ll text the father and have Davon call me when he gets home."

"I really don’t want to go alone, but I also don’t want to take you away from your son."

"Teela, I wouldn’t have offered if I felt it would harm Davon. He’s resilient. He’ll be fine as long as I keep my promises to him."

I nodded. "Okay, I’ll wait for you to cover up all that," I motioned to his body, "manliness. No point in scaring the locals."

Jake grinned. "I’ll be right back."

Jake drove. I power-napped, sort of. And then the text messages started.

Ben: How close are you?

Teela: Fifteen.

Ben: Hurry.

Teela: What’s happening?

Ben: King’s losing his shit. Min’s got him contained for now.

Teela: Contained? WTF?

Okay, so now I was concerned. Before, I was curious, but this sounded serious.

"Any chance you can hurry?"

Jake darted around a car and ran a yellow light. "What’s happening?"

"Not sure. Ben said Min has King contained. And earlier, he said something about King refusing to go to the hospital."

Jake stepped on the gas and inched between two sedans. He tailgated an SUV until the driver decided to get out of the way, clearing the street to the next light. He continued his aggressive driving techniques all the way to the Heavenly Building’s garage. He pulled into the closest space to the elevator and slammed the gear into park.

"Let’s move," Jake said.

He didn’t have to tell me twice. If Min, Ben, and Jake were all on high alert, so was I.

We took the elevator to the executive floor. Jake waved off anyone who tried to join us while I counted off the floors while bouncing on my heels.

Too much coffee. Too little sleep. Too little intel on what was coming. Jake’s nice chest. No. King’s well-being. Lettie’s downfall. Too much coffee.

And then we were there.

I was surprised at the lack of office workers. The further I went without running into anyone, the more panic that bubbled through me. I was practically running by the time I reached King’s closed office door.

I took a breath to calm myself before I opened the door.

King’s office was trashed. Furniture was turned over. Alcohol bottle shards littered the floor and surfaces. The liquor still dampened the walls. The odor was overwhelming. Then I saw the blood smeared along the floor and staining upholstery.

Ben came out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him, but not before I saw Min in silhouette kneeling on the floor.

Ben shushed me. "King’s resting."

I nodded. "Why am I here?"

"King needs you and this." Ben walked over to the desk that was covered with papers. More paper was ripped and scattered across the floor, and yet more paper overflowed from the shredder next to the desk.

My jaw tightened by degrees, and my lips tingled from how hard I pressed them together. I was reading the room, and if what I surmised had happened really happened, that asshole King was destroying evidence.

I shook my head. Fortunately, recreating shredded docs was a time-consuming undertaking but not an impossible task. Lay out the strips, take a picture or scan, and I had a program I wrote in middle school that would sort the pieces and repopulate in the correct sequence. Otherwise, I might be tempted to kill the bastard.

Jake and I followed Ben to the desk. It didn’t take long to realize what we were seeing. The ledgers, invoices, receipts, bank statements. The diary, what was left of it, that detailed Lettie’s justification for her actions in her own handwriting, were all invaluable—the last pieces needed to destroy everything Lettie had built. And best of all, the old bat would go to jail. She’d never hurt another child again.

"Ben, do you know what this is?"

Ben nodded. "You should take it before King wakes up."

Jake said, "I’ll take care of it, Teela. You deal with King."

"I’ll flip you for it."

"Do you even have a coin?" Jake asked.

"No."

Jake put a hand on my arm. "You know you wouldn’t leave without making sure he’s okay even if I asked you to."

As if merely mentioning his name was enough to wake the bear, a roar erupted from the bathroom, accompanied by enough banging and thunks to wake the dead.

Ben darted to the bathroom door, but before he could open it, the door crashed open and King spilled out with Min trying to stop him.

King resembled a madman with teeth gnashed, eyes red, a streak of blood across his prominent jaw. Slashes scarred his arms and his bare chest. He had a bandage around one wrist. The bandage was stained with more blood.

Gone was the put together CEO I had married. This man scared me. What was in the destroyed documents that pushed him to this? Or had I pushed him to this by sharing too much too soon?

As soon as King spotted me, he froze.

"What are you doing here?" King asked.

"I could ask you the same thing. The last I heard, you were taking Ben home not coming to the office to, um redecorate."

"I cut you off. It shouldn’t matter to you." King waved me away. "Go back to your church friends. Go destroy someone else’s family. I don’t want you here."

The bloody bandage was soaked to the point a rivulet of blood dripped down King’s pinky to fall to the floor.

"How about you let me take you to the hospital first. I’m your next of kin. The staff will want me there to sign paperwork for you. Then I’ll go. You’ll never see me again."

King stumbled way from Min as Min tried to support him. He bumped his injury into the leg of an upturned chair and groaned, clutching his wrist to him.

"Why should I? My life is over anyway. You’ve made sure of that."

"You didn’t do anything, King. I have proof. You and Ben are innocent parties in this."

"We’ll protect you. Won’t we, Jake?"

Jake said, "King, go to the hospital. Sober up. If you want to kill yourself after you’re sober, I’ll help you myself."

I gave him a dirty look. That was so not cool.

"It hurts more sober. All of it."

King slumped onto the floor with Min at his back supporting him.

I inched forward, not sure how King would react to my proximity in his unstable state.

When I reached out to brush hair from his face, King’s hand clamped down my wrist and—