Ruin The Billionaire

Lilly’s POV

I stayed home the first two days after my suspension. I could have stayed for longer if not for the loan I needed to repay. Although it was possible to buy a new TV and computer at some point, I didn’t want to let go of the ones Miles had taken. He had even gone with my hard drive which was really inconveniencing but motivated me to look for the money.

Leah offered me what she had, only a quarter of what I needed. The money I paid was a lot considering how serious the crime was.

Hailey had kidnapped her daughter from her ex-boyfriend’s place, after stabbing his current girlfriend who had refused to let go of the girl. Hailey was in the wrong because she and the father had shared custody. She was supposed to be with the child during the weekdays.

That Saturday, the father had picked up the child a usual. They were together but he ended up being called for an emergency meeting at the school he taught at. He left the child with Carly who actually had no problem with de and always treated her well. A nosy neighbour had called Hailey, and I don’t know what possessed her but she drove there like a mad man and demanded she take back her child since the father was not around.

Carly tried to convince her that he would be back in thirty minutes but she didn’t listen. Hailey grabbed a knife and rammed it into the other woman’s shoulder. Leaving her on the floor, she ran off with the child. Neighbours called emergency services. Thankfully the wound wasn’t so bad. Otherwise, Hailey might have killed her.

Hailey managed to survive long jail term because of a cutthroat lawyer who was a friend of our father. Rudy Arnold was a despicable man that would go low and use all underhanded tactics to defend his clients. He had also tried to touch me when I was a child but I never told anyone. Instead, I tried to avoid him as much as possible. Thankfully, he didn’t do more. Hailey was also saved by her pregnancy, and got only community service for a month and a fine. Unfortunately, she lost the baby.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

When I called Hailey about my property being taken away, she just said she had no money, which meant she wasn’t interested in doing anything to rescue me from a situation her stupid actions had landed me in.

The tennis court came into view. Tired of locking myself up, I was ready to unleash some of that pain and hurt into a game. My heart sank when I recognised the people who were using the tennis court. My own cousins. I couldn’t have chosen a worse day.

I was about to turn back when Cherry shouted.

“Lilith.”

I groaned. I had told everyone in my family that I wanted to be called Lilly but some of them chose to continue using my full name just to annoy me. With drooped shoulders, I went through the gate and entered the court.

My four cousins; Cherry, Tilly, Elizabeth and Lois watched me with amused looks as I approached them.

“Hi guys.”

“You know Lilly, you could have just told me if you wanted to join the business,” Tilly said, wrapping an arm around me. She was an escort and unashamed about it. She even advertised her work online. “I can hook you up with the richest clients and you won’t have to go to dingy whorehouses in the ghetto. They must be disgusting.”

I sighed. Not again. Everyone just believe that reporter, even those who knew better. I was not really escort material. “I didn’t go there by choice. Was practically kidnapped because someone wants to frame me.”

“Come on, Lilly.” Cherry said. “You don’t need to lie to us. We are your cousins. Who would want to frame you? I know you became semi famous after that expose on Jake but really, you’re not that big of a deal.”

“Jake Rylland. And yes, I don’t understand why he is after me even though I didn’t write lies about him. I could have exposed his darker secrets but I did not.”

Elisabeth laughed. “Come on. You really expect us to believe that Jake Rylland is after you. Like, you’re so insignificant to him. I mean there’s bigger fish to fry.”

“Believe or not, I’m telling the truth.”

“So how did he frame you?” Tilly asked, flipping her bright red hair which had got so much darker than the last time I’d seen her.

“He hired some guy to seduce me and I fell for it.”

All the girls laughed.

“I’m serious. Can we just play? I don’t want to talk about this. The reason I left the house was because I didn’t want to think about it. This is not helping.”

“We haven’t talked in months,” Tilly said. “Don’t be a wet blanket.”

“I’m stressed out,” I confessed.

“Because of something that small,” Elizabeth scoffed. “Try being me for a day. You might kill yourself.”

“No, it’s Hailey. She has refused to pay back the money I used for a bail. Now the loan shark has given me a week to pay up or he sells my stuff.”

“Only you would do such a thing, get a loan for your selfish sister. What were you thinking?”

“I guess I wasn’t. Now it has come back to bite me and she is unwilling to help.”

“She has refused to pay up?”

I nodded.

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I came out to think. Maybe I’ll get another loan to pay off this one. Now that I’ve suspended that may be a very bad idea in case I don’t get reinstated within a month.”

“Hailey is one of the meanest people around. She’s living well, having a good job and dating some big moneyed guy. I hear he’s married. She lives in a luxury apartment but she can’t help her struggling sister. I thought it was only cousins she didn’t like.”

“Well, she’s always been like that.”

“You have to do something.”

“Like what.”

“Come with me,” Tilly said, liking her arm with mine. “I’ll give you a good plan but I don’t want any witnesses. If it back fires, you will have no proof that I was the one who suggested it.”

Tilly and I walked about fifty meters away before stopping.

“Here’s what you can do…”

I listened to the plan. It was risky but interesting. It was not going to be too difficult to pull off if I played my cards right.

“Thank you,” I told my pretty cousin. “That’s a great idea. In fact, I’ll leave now. Will let you know how it goes.”

“Okay,” Tilly said, patting my back. “Good luck. I know you’re going to need it.”

“Okay, what’s this secret plan?” Elizabeth asked when we returned to where they were seated. They had sat down when we moved away.

“You’ll know about it when we get results.”

None of them were great fans of Hailey since she had done at least one bad thing to each family member so I was pretty sure that they would not warn her. I said goodbye to my cousins and jumped into a cab to take me back home. I was glad that I had met up with them.

After changing my clothes, I went back to the cab. I had told the driver to wait for me. Giving him my sister’s address, I leaned back and stared at the road. If things went well, Hailey was going to get what she deserved. I knew she would be mad but by then, I would be far away from her. Hailey had never been physically violent towards me but knowing her, I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to stab me.

Soon the luxurious building came into view. My cousins were right. To live like this and not help your sister pay up your dues was extreme selfishness. I had tried my entire life to understand Hailey but she had driven me to the edge. I was going to do what was good for me.

I rang the bell.

“Who’s there?” Amy, her five year old daughter asked.

“Aunt Lilly,” I said and the door was opened almost immediately. The girl wrapped her arms around me.

“I missed you so much, auntie.”

“I missed you too.”

“You,” I heard a voice and looked up.

“Hi Hailey.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to visit,” I said, letting Amy go. She ran to the couch. “I’m hiding from the loan sharks. You better let me stay.”

“You can’t stay.”

“Why not?”

“This is my house and I get to decide who stays or doesn’t. Besides Rob will be flying back this evening so I don’t really need relatives around.”

“Okay. I’ll leave in the evening. When Leah returns from work, I’ll go to her place.”

“Okay then.”

“Thank you, sister. I love you.”

She rolled her eyes.

Now more than ever I thought she deserved what I was about to do.