Dear Ex-wife Marry Me novel (Maja) novel Chapter 1406

"Dylan, Dad said if our little sister is still kickin', the whole Sanders family stockpile's gonna be hers. Everything else might fall our way, but that's it."

Over the years, Dylan had been the one running the Sanders Corporation, and the stock had been climbing like a rocket. His rep in the North American business circles was pretty much neck and neck with Ian's over in Greenfield.

He'd poured blood, sweat, and tears into the company. What would happen if he wound up with zilch in the end?

Luckily, Dylan's head was on straight about this.

He just grunted a "Hmm."

Beck went on with the instructions, "Starting now, no one but me and my crew gets to visit Dad. Dylan, could you give Mom a heads-up?"

Dylan nodded again, giving another "Hmm."

After planting his guys at the hospital, Beck drove out to the no-man's-land of North America.

It was a bit of a haul from downtown – a three-hour drive.

Only when he donned his mask and stepped inside did he grasp just how dark and bloodthirsty this place was.

He'd been here once before, hearing tales of families battling for control. On his rite of passage as a grown man, he'd sneaked in and discovered an underground fight club that was a whole other world from what was above.

It was a magnet for thugs and ruffians, a cesspool of vice. But weirdly, make a big enough mess here, and you'd vanish from here the next day.

The fight club ran the joint. Any shootout, and they'd be the first to clean house.

Beyond that, the club stayed out of it. Personal beefs were exactly that – personal.

So, the well-bred rarely ventured here. Step inside, and you were marked as shady. Whatever happened, it was on you – no one else.

Inside, Beck spotted her immediately – the dame in the red slip dress.

Nydia held a fan, the kind from olden days, but clearly not for cooling off. She leaned against a wall, coy smile playing behind the fan, watching as gamblers lost their shirts.

She knew Beck. Her eyebrows lifted when their eyes met.

He walked past the crowd to stand by her side.

"Where's Ian?"

Nydia gave him the once-over, then spun on her heel.

"Follow me."

The view was stunning, especially with a dash of blue sky above, light cascading down in a shimmering trail.

As Beck was getting lost in the scene, Ian breezed in.

"Got something for me?"

Beck didn't waste time with pleasantries, taking a seat.

"My dad sent you to dig up dirt on the lost Sanders daughter, right? Got anything? And what's the deal with Phelps?"

Ian suddenly remembered warning Augus about Phelps, but back then, there was no hard evidence.

And Augus, having had Phelps as his personal doc once, trusted the guy a ton.

"My father's hoping the paternity test Phelps cooked up is bogus. He's out cold now, but he's clinging to the hope his daughter's alive."

When Beck finished, he glanced at Maja.

Maja, elbow on the table, chin in hand, kept tapping away at her laptop.