Enticed by Ecstasy (Wicked Treasures) by Donna Grant Read Free Book Online

world.   She would’ve given him anything he asked for,” Abigail said softly.   “She learned too late that he hadn’t married her for love.   He married her for her money.”
    Channing slowly sat up.   “Didn’t your mother know this before she married him?”
    “No.   He was convincing, from what she said.   She became pregnant quickly after their marriage.   She said that time was the happiest of her life.   But when I was born, and I wasn’t the male heir he wanted, my father blamed her.   He immersed himself in his work.   Or at least that’s what I was told.   I never knew fathers actually spent time with their families until I went to the park and saw them playing with their children.”
    Channing ran a hand down his face.   He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the outcome of this story.
    “When I asked my father why he never stayed home or spoke with me, he said he didn’t have time for a mere female.”
    “How old were you?”
    “Seven.   It was shortly afterward that I began to take notice of what my father did, of the arguments between him and my mother where she begged him not to leave for the night.   But he always did.”
    “He had an affair.”   Channing knew this for a fact, but he wanted to know if she did.
    “He had many apparently.   Mum knew of all of them.   He would flaunt them to society, bringing his mistresses to parties instead of his wife.   Mum was devastated.   He was her reason for living, and he took that away from her.”
    “But she had you.”
    Abigail shrugged.   “She loved me, I know that, but there is a difference in loving your child and loving a man.   The kind of love my mum had for my father was destructive.”
    Channing shook his head.   “No.   It was only destructive because your father chose not to return that love.   The kind of love your mother had is special.   And rare.”
    She blew out a breath and sat up.   “I had no friends.   No one was allowed to come to the house, nor was I allowed to go anywhere.   The only friend I ever had was a kitten I found when I was eight.   I snuck him in my room and kept him there.”
    “So, because your father had an affair, you want him to think you’ve been kidnapped?”
    She laughed, the sound mirthless and hollow, so different from the woman he had come to know in their short time together.   “My mother withered and died a slow, painful death.   Not once did my father check on her.   Once she was confined to her bed, he would spend weeks and months with his women.   He wasn’t even home when Mum died.”
    “I’m sorry,” Channing said softly, hating the hurt she had been given.
    “When he heard of her death, he took his mistress and left the country.   He wasn’t there for the reading of the will, but then he didn’t need to be. He wasn’t in it, though he still doesn’t know that.”
    Channing sat up straighter at her words.   It was then he recalled she had said he married her mother for the money.   So it wasn’t Huntington who had the money, it had been Abigail’s mother.
    Abigail grinned.   “Now you understand.   My father thinks he has all of Mum’s money, but he forgot a clause in their marriage agreement that states if he has an affair and my mother can prove it, all her money goes to me.”
    “You father has no idea?”
    “None.   I’ve been formulating my plan for years.   After my mother’s death, I began to research where I wanted to go.   It wasn’t until my cat died that I had no reason not to put my plan into motion.   That’s when I sent the letter to you, or Mr. Rye, actually.”
    Channing rose from the bed and walked to the opened double doors.   “It’s not Huntington’s money.”   He said it more to himself than to her.
    “No,” she said from behind him.
    He hadn’t heard her rise from the bed.   His mind was in a whirlwind of how he could extract his revenge now.   “So, you staged your kidnapping why?”
    “To