"Little Lincoln has grown into a very beautiful woman," the old man said coldly to his assistant, who was several years older than him. Unlike his Master, this man was short, frail, with cunning eyes and a slight bald spot. The business suit suited him madly, emphasizing his coldness and some detachment.
"She has begun to act. As far as I know, your stepdaughter Daphne is interested in working with her, My Lord," he reported.
-Daphne, Daphne... She doesn't get smarter with age. Are the wounds on her body not enough? Does she really want to end up on a spit? But Elena... It would be interesting to play a business game with her. A very extraordinary girl. Do you know that at 15 she ran away from the Grays and lived with family friend Jason Taylor for several months? That at 17 she tries BDSM again, but of her own free will? And that she is one of the best dominatrixes in New York. Her performances at the Mystic club brought her excellent money. Now she is a businesswoman without a personal life. Marty, I have been looking for her for so long to take revenge on her for my life, - the Dark Lord looked at Elena's photo with a lustful, hungry gleam in his intelligent brown eyes.
- Sire, it is not her fault that you are guilty. Yes, her grandfather and parents may be guilty, but She... She is only 28, - Marty was horrified by the cruelty of his master.
- You know me, I'm taking revenge on the entire Lincoln family, and she must die the same way all her loved ones died. Oh, how her uncle turned up just in time, who killed her parents for me, what a wonderful gift in her person I received from him for Christmas 1994. It's a pity that the Grays saved her and let this piece of crap survive. Keep an eye on her, Martin. Report to me about her every step. And book me an invitation to the Grays' ball, - the Ogre licked his lips. - I want to remind her what it's like to be my sub.
Thursday for Elena began with a call from Mia.
- Auntie, fucking hell, 6:40, have some conscience, - the girl brought the phone to her ear.
- Otherwise, you won't be home. So, after lunch we're going shopping and you dare not miss it. And then to the spa. El, you need to relax too. And you like shopping. Elliot will be our porter. I'll also grab Phoebe and the three of us will have a blast - Mia was already charging us with positive energy in the morning.
- Oh my God, Mi... Okay, I'll go shopping with you, but then we'll go to the Mystic and have a glass of wine, - Elena knew that Mia liked Jack, but she was a little afraid of the domineering owner of the club and did not know how to approach Hyde.
- Great! I'll get drunk and take Jack's phone number, you're amazing, El, - Mia hung up.
Elena got up and, inspired by the conversation with her aunt, went to the shower.
Everything was calm at work. Edward and Elena held a Skype conference with Daphne. Kruger turned out to be a serious, sophisticated aristocrat. Who prepared for the meeting charts, diagrams and other material that gave an idea of ?her company. Elena explained the essence of her business to the elegant Englishwoman almost on her fingers, but Daphne was not angry.
"It's my fault, Miss Lincoln. I got my English pedantry and perfectionism from my mother. I thought you wanted to work, but it turned out to be just a viewing," Daphne smiled at the camera.
"Daph, we are more embarrassed than you are," Nixon assured the brunette.
After Skype, Elena had a snack of rolls that Leila had packed for her and headed to meet Mia and Phoebe.
The girls met at the exit of Lincoln House. Phoebe, an elegant black-haired girl who looked like a deer, hugged her sister.
"How wonderful that Phoebe found time to visit us before Paris Fashion Week," Mia dragged the girls to the most expensive stores in New York so that they could look at outfits for the upcoming ball.
Elena had her eye on a hot pink velvet dress with a low-cut neckline. Phoebe had chosen a dainty yellow one-shoulder tunic. Mia had chosen a dark blue 1920s-style dress.
The girls, happy with their purchases, reached the cafe and, having ordered coffee and courasons, began to chat. Suddenly, Mia's cell phone rang.
"Yes, Anna. What do you mean I'm where? What do you mean Tammy's sick? Wait, you should have called in the morning. Anna, I understand. Oh, Wintour, you'll have to." Gray hung up. "As a journalist for Harper's BAZAAR, I need to be present at the opening of the new restaurant, Nobu."
Elena's POV
I choke on my coffee. Such coincidences don't happen. Mia has been commissioned to write about the new Nobu restaurant. And De Niro will probably be there. Well, if I can't talk to him, at least I'll see him and make a preliminary assessment.
"You and me," Phoebe and I say almost in unison, and, looking at each other, we laugh.
Phoebe was adopted by the Grays just like me. But there's nothing dramatic in her past. It's just that her parents, who died in a car accident, were friends of the Grays, and Ana couldn't ignore this tragedy. Besides, Anastasia can't give birth. As I was told, during some battle, she was hit by a spell that made her sterile. She tried everything she could to cure herself, but it was all in vain. And she gave all her love to the three of us: me, Phoebe, and Theodore, or Teddy, as everyone at home called him.
Having quickly finished our lunch and paid, we head to Nobu. As expected, it is located in an expensive and fancy skyscraper, at the entrance to which onlookers and journalists are already crowding. Mia quickly takes out her Harper's BAZAAR badge and literally forces her way into the front rows. We follow her and here we are standing in a place with an excellent view of everything that is happening.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Robert De Niro," I am distracted from my thoughts by the voice of an elderly bald Japanese man who is standing on a high podium and immediately steps aside, giving way to an elderly, lean man in a strict black three-piece suit.
And then my eyes widen in horror. It is He... the Dark Lord... the One who deprived me of my childhood.
I can't breathe. I feel fear again, exactly the same as in childhood, when I was his captive. God, why him? I look at him in horror. All thoughts disappeared. Only fear, sticky fear and the pain in the scars surround me. Tears roll down my face.
"Elena, are you okay?" Phoebe takes my hand. I shake my head and bury my face in her shoulder.
I'm shaking, I've never been so scared since the Grays saved me. My sister leads me out of the crowd and calls Taylor, the Grays' personal driver. He arrives in 10 minutes and together with Phoebe he puts me in his BMW X5 and heads to my adoptive parents' mansion.
I don't loosen my grip on Phoebe's shoulders and give in to the tears. All the nightmares of my childhood come to life and cloud my eyes...