Chapter 1

Jayde

“It’s not what I thought it would be like.” Amara cries through the phone.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“I mean Maximous… the things he does to me, they’re not normal. You remember how mom and dad doted on each other.”

“Yeah,” I say, remembering how our parents were before they died.

“He’s not like that. Well, he was in the beginning, but something has changed.” She sobs. “I’m scared he’s going to take things too far.”

“Take what things too far?” I ask a bit of anger leaking through.

“He just got home. I have to go. Love you, sis.”

“Wait…” She hung up before I could finish.

I try calling her back, but she doesn’t answer.

Amara is my only family. She raised me after our parents died. That was the last time I cried. People tend to think I’m cold because the only emotion that manages to slip through my control is anger. But I do feel. And I worry about my sister. I’ve never met the man, her boss, she’s dating. I’ve just seen pictures of him in the gossip magazines. My sister is a movie star and I’m an executive at Google working on my master’s degree at Stanford University. Between work and school, I don’t really have much of a social life and I don’t visit Amara as often as I would like.

One week later.

I am sitting at my desk going over the latest reports when my office phone rings. I answer it.

“Miss Roberts, Cedar-Sinai is on the line for you.” My assistant, Jody, says.

“Thanks, put it through.”

“This is Jayde Roberts. How may I help you?”

“Miss Roberts, I’m Doctor Jacob Worrell at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. I’m afraid I have some bad news. Miss Roberts, Amara Roberts has you listed as her emergency contact. I’m sorry to tell you this, but your sister has been admitted to the hospital. She’s in bad shape.”

“What happened? Is she going to be alright?”

“We’re not sure what happened exactly. She came in with several broken bones and contusions. She’s also catatonic.”

“Thank you for calling, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I hang up and google directions to Cedar-Sinai.

It’s about a five and a half hour drive. I let my assistant know I will be out for a while. Then I head down the hall to let Phillip Schindler know I have a family emergency and will be in Los Angeles for a while. I will continue to work remotely while I’m out. He tells me to stay safe as I head out.

As I get in my car, I realize I need to let my thesis advisor know I will be out of town. I open my email and send off a quick one to her. Then I start my car and head home to pack a bag.

I get home and pack my bag. I make sure I have enough clothes for a week. I’m not sure how long I’m going to be in Los Angeles, but I need at least a week’s worth of clothes. I pack my phone charger, my laptop and my toiletries. After checking to make sure I have everything, I head out.

Driving down the highway, a million scenarios play in my head. How did my sister end up in the hospital? Did Maximous hurt her? It’s his fault my sister is in the hospital. I don’t care if he is her boss, I will make him pay for this.

About halfway there, I take the exit for Lost hills. I stop at Love’s Travel Stop for gas and a quick bite to eat. Then I head back out.

The whole trip takes me about six hours, but I finally get to Cedar-Sinai. I park and go in. I stop at the front desk to ask what room my sister is in. The lady there is on the phone so I wait.

“How may I help you,” she asks.

“I need the room number for my sister, Amara Roberts. She was admitted earlier today.” I tell her.

“May I see your ID.”

“Sure,” I reach in my purse for my wallet and take out my license. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” She makes a copy of it and then hands it and the sticker with a copy of it to me. “Amara Roberts is in the ICU, take the elevator up and the nurses there will help you.”

“Thanks.”

I take the elevator up to the ICU. When I get there, I see the nurses station as I step off the elevator. I go up to it and ask about my sister. One of the nurses leads me to her room. As I enter the room, I see my sister is staring at the ceiling, a blank expression on her face.

She has casts on both of her legs, one arm, and what I can see of her torso is covered in bandages. I stop and stare at her for a minute, stunned by all the injuries. I go to her and hold her hand. She doesn’t look at me. I gently squeeze her fingers. No response. I ask the nurse if I can speak to her doctor.

A few minutes later, The doctor comes in.

“Miss Roberts,” he asks.

“Yes, I’m Jayde Roberts, Amara’s sister.”

“Sorry to meet you under these circumstances.”

“What happened to her?”

“It appears she tried to kill herself. She jumped off her third floor balcony.”

“What? Why? I just spoke to her last week. She was upset but I didn’t think she was suicidal.”

Dr. Worrell tells me more about her injuries and how long she will need to be in the hospital. He says if she doesn’t come out of her catatonic state by then, she will be admitted to the psych ward. He says that since she is now stable, they will be moving her to a private room. Then he leaves.

As I wait for them to move her to her new room, a woman walks in with flowers. She sets them down near the window and then turns to me.

“Hi, you must be Amara’s sister. I’m Penelope Sutter, her assistant.”

“Yeah, I’m her sister, Jayde.”

“Nice to meet you, sorry about Amara. But you might want to leave before Max gets here. He’s kind of a tyrant.” And then Penelope leaves.

A short while later, a man in a really nice black coat comes in. He is very handsome. Reminds me a little bit of a young Brad Pitt.

“You look a lot like your sister,” he says. “I’m Maximous King.” My heart nearly stops as I realize he is the reason my sister is like this.

“I’m Jayde.” I say curtly and then head outside for a smoke. Maximous follows me out.

Once outside, I pull a cigarette from my purse and light it.I walk toward the parking lot where I parked my car. He is still following me.

“What do you want,” I ask as I near my car.

“You. I want you to replace your sister in the movie. And if you don’t, well let’s just say Amara might be in bad shape now, but it can always get worse.”

I flicked my cigarette at his leather shoes and headed back into the hospital.