Christine Kersey [Kersey - The Missing Billionaire

O n the hunt for the perfect couch for her design client, Chloe leaned closer to the screen of her laptop, resting her forearms on her desk as she scrolled through the website of a furniture store. Completely focused on her search, when her cell phone rang, she startled. The caller ID said it was Hannah, her best friend. Ready for a break, Chloe smiled as she picked up her phone and swiped to answer. Hey there.

Are you watching the news?

Tilting her head as if Hannah could see her, she said, Of course not. Im working.

Turn on the news.

The request was strangeHannah knew Chloe didnt have time to watch TV at work. Still, there must be a reason. Holding back a sigh, Chloe asked, Which channel?

All of them. Any of them. Hannah almost seemed out of breath.

What in the world could be so important that all the news channels would be covering it? And what would have Hannah so agitated? Okay. Hang on.

Curious to find out what was going on, Chloe pulled up the website of her favorite news channel where they were broadcasting live. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open, then she turned up the volume.

calling it a miracle, the news anchor was saying. The heir to Hewitt Consolidated, billionaire Nathan Hewitt, who has been missing and presumed dead for over a year, has been found.

Chloes ears began to buzz and her vision went to pinpoints.

Chloe? Hannah said. Are you there?

Her phone slipped out of her hand and landed softly on the carpeted floor.

Finding it hard to catch her breath, Chloe squeezed her eyes closed and focused on the air going in and out of her lungs.

Breathe, Chloe. Breathe. In and out. In and out.

When she had gathered herself, she opened her eyes, her gaze skittering back to the news broadcast.

The words the news anchor was saying about Nathanmarooned on a deserted island after his yacht had sunk, rescued by men on a fishing boatbarely slid into Chloes brain. All the while she stared at the screen as it showed Nathan. Not the stock photo the news stations had shown when he and his yacht had gone missing one year earlier. No. This was a live shot of the man who was responsible for the death of Chloes sister. And he looked fine. Okay, maybe he was a little thinner. But still, he was alive. Unlike Lisa.

Fury, powerful and swift, slammed through Chloe, replacing the shock shed felt moments before. At the same time, she was stunned that Nathan had been found. And if she was honest with herself, she was a tiny bit relieved as well.

Growing up, she and her younger sister Lisa had been best friends with Nathan, hanging out all the time. But one year earlier, when Chloe and Nathan were twenty-three and Lisa was twenty-two, Nathan had decided to take an extended trip on his familys yacht. A cruise to celebrate his college graduation. And hed asked Lisa to go with him. Only Lisa. Chloe had crushed on Nathan for years, so when hed chosen her sistera girl who was all about having a good time rather than having any kind of relationshipChloe had been jealous. And hurt. Why hadnt he invited her? Then again, it made sense. Nathan and Lisa were two peas in a pod. So alike that it only made sense that hed chosen her.

But then the yacht had vanished. Several weeks later, after an extensive search, the yachtand Lisas bodyhad been found. The body of the yachts captain had been found as well. Both deaths were due to drowning, and when Nathans body hadnt been found, everyone had assumed hed drowned as well.

Now though, seeing Nathan walking off of a plane, perfectly intact while her sisters remains were buried in the cold ground, Chloe wanted to storm over to the Hewitt mansion and confront Nathan. But the thought of facing him also sent her heart into a painful gallop and she knew she wasnt ready to see the man whose face she had never been able to get out of her mind.

* * *

This was nothing like Nathan had imagined. Hed thought he would be ecstatic to come home, but as he walked inside his parents house accompanied by his hovering mother and stoic father, all he felt was guilt. And when he saw their staffchef, housekeeper, driver, gardenerall lined up to greet him, he just felt awkward.

Welcome home, Nathan, his mother said as tears filled her eyes. I never thought Id have the opportunity to say those words again.

Focusing on his parents, Nathan pushed a smile onto his lips. I never thought Id hear those words. He drew his mother into a warm embrace. Its good to be home. The lie tasted bitter on his tongue.

We left your room just as it was, his mother said after he released her.

Nodding, he kept the smile plastered on his face.

I just couldnt his mother began, then she pressed her lips together and shook her head. Well, it doesnt matter now. All that matters is that youre home. Safe and sound.

Which was more than could be said of Lisa. But that wasnt something he could think about just then.

Nathan glanced toward the staircase that led up to his wing of the mansion before facing his parents. Im going to head up, if thats all right.

Whatever youd like, his mother said.

With a final nod toward his parentsparents hed missed very muchhe began walking toward the staircase.

Dinner will be served at seven, his mother called after him.

The thought of someone cooking for him, waiting on him It was something hed gone without for the last year and it was something he didnt think he deserved. Right.

When he entered his bedroom, it was as if time had stopped. Hed been living away from home while going to college, so this room reflected his high school years. The room was spacioustoo spacious. Without consciously making the decision, he walked over to his closet and stepped inside.

This is better.

The closet was bigger than the cave hed been living in on the island, but the cave hadnt had rows and rows of clothes on hangers. Still, his closet felt familiar.

With a heavy sigh, he sank to the floor and stretched out his legs, then he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall.