Sweet Obsession (Nights Series #4)(8)
That Ash’s own wishes hadn’t been taken into account by the family court judge was something that still enraged him to this day.
Ash had disliked his aunt and uncle from the moment they moved into his family home. Even though he had only been a teenager at the time, he’d sensed they were not interested in his welfare and had their eyes on the substantial trust fund his parents had set up for him in the eventuality of their deaths and which now held all the frozen assets of the Colby Corporation. A trust fund he would only get access to when he turned twenty-five and which would be managed by Luke and Rutherford Industries until that time.
Ash had almost been relieved when his aunt and uncle sent him off to boarding school, his only sorrow being the fact that he would see Luke even less from that time on. That Catherine and Peter had been squandering the generous allowance Luke had allocated to them for Ash’s maintenance was something Ash never reported to the Rutherford heir.
Ash had stuck his head down and concentrated on his studies, the friends he made at his new school keeping him sane while the despair of being separated from Luke ate at his heart and soul. Only one thing had kept Ash from completely losing it during that time.
The hope that he and Luke would be together again, in the future.
Ash’s dream stayed strong and true until that fateful day five years ago. The day he turned seventeen. The day his aunt summoned him back home, telling him she had a surprise in store for him for his birthday.
The day he saw Luke have sex with his aunt and uncle.
Chapter 7
Luke’s heart twisted as he watched the blood drain from Ash’s face.
God, I hate this!
Rage flooded Luke at the thought of Catherine and Peter Bernardino. The same rage that had burned through him for the last week and that had ignited all those years ago, when he’d discovered Ash’s aunt and uncle had been planning to get rid of the young Colby heir so as to lay claim to his trust fund.
Luke had been suspicious of Catherine from the moment he’d laid eyes on her. It was evident that Catherine had worn the pants in the couple’s relationship and Peter mostly tagged along, doing as he was told. But it wasn’t until the private investigators Luke had hired to look into their past uncovered their gambling history and the exorbitant debt they owed a Las Vegas loan shark that Luke’s suspicion turned to dread.
Even though Luke had hated being separated from Ash, he’d been relieved when the couple had sent the kid off to a boarding school a couple of hundred miles away. Luke had kept on issuing the monthly upkeep for Ash’s care, knowing full well the Bernardinos were spending most of it on themselves, and had a PI firm keep a close tab on the couple at all times to gather evidence against them.
It was the only reason they’d uncovered the Bernardinos’ scheme.
When the PI firm reported that Catherine and Peter had started visiting a legal accounting firm with a dubious reputation, Luke realized the couple were looking at ways to ensure they could get their hands on Ash’s trust fund. With no other living relative left in the world, the only way the assets of the Colby Corporation would revert to Ash’s remaining next of kin was if something happened to the teenager. It was a state of affairs that had shocked Luke when the Rutherford Industries’ lawyers confirmed this fact to him. Although Luke had immediately started the legal proceedings to change the terms of Ash’s trust fund, he had known it would be a long and protracted affair and his fear for what could happen to Ash in the interim had grown.
So Luke had approached Catherine and Peter with an offer they couldn’t refuse, one his lawyers had vehemently warned him against. They’d eventually given in to his wishes and drawn up the contract Luke had presented to Ash’s aunt and uncle.
“I know what you’re up to,” Luke had said coldly when he’d confronted the couple in the Colby family home. He’d thrown the papers and photographs the PI firm had taken of them leaving the legal accounting firm in their faces.
Peter had panicked when he’d seen the pictures. Luke had barely looked at him, his gaze focused on Catherine’s cruel blue stare.
“So what?” she said icily after a short silence. “You haven’t got proof that we’ve done anything wrong.”
“Read the rest of those papers,” Luke said between gritted teeth.
Catherine’s eyes widened when she looked over the contract Luke’s lawyers had put together. She paled when she saw the final sum of money mentioned.
“You’re buying us off?” she said hoarsely.
“Yes,” Luke snapped. “I want you out of here and out of Ash’s life for good.”
Catherine and Peter pored over the paperwork while Luke waited, mouth dry and heart thundering inside his chest.
“The Colby Trust Fund is worth more than this,” Catherine finally said with a condescending smile. “We’d be fools to accept this paltry sum.”
Luke swallowed his fury at her words. This bitch!
“It’s all you two are ever going to get, so you’d better take it and run,” Luke bit out. “My lawyers are working on changing the terms of the trust fund right now. By next week, you guys won’t get a single cent if Ash dies,” he added, the lie effortlessly leaving his lips.
Hate filled Catherine’s eyes at that point.
“Babe, let’s just take this and—” Peter mumbled.