𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞〚𝚙𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 〛

Chapter 37: Doomed

The door slammed open with a bang, startling Delilah out of her sleep. She jumped up, eyes half closed and groggy from sleep. Her heart threatened to beat out of her chest.

"Goin' to the Bahamas without me, huh?" hissed a familiar voice, going straight for the bags thrown carelessly onto the sofa.

She rubbed at her eyes, finally recognising Rafe and plopping back down on her bed. "What's going on?"

"My father's taking Sarah to the Bahamas for a business trip," he snapped, rummaging through his bags. "He's pushing me aside completely! It's like I'm not part of the family anymore."

"It can't be that important," she tentatively offered, blinking the sleep out of her system. 

She hadn't slept properly in days, it was starting to be a problem. Her entire system was affected by it.

"Bullshit! Why the hell would they leave in the middle of summer?"

Why would they indeed? The sleep induced fog inside her mind slowly cleared. They were leaving in such a hurry, without giving Rafe any sort of explanation.

"What was the work Mr. Cameron had for you?" she asked with a frown.

"Manual labour at the Craine house," he threw over his shoulder, stuffing something in a small bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "There's no way I'm letting little miss perfect take my place as heir of the business."

Delilah hurriedly tugged on a pair of shorts, watching Rafe as he stormed out of the room. "Where are you going?"

"To the private airstrip," he yelled, already at the bottom of the stairs when she ran out of her room.

The private airstrip, of course there was a private airstrip. The perfect place to load a plane with gold. There was no time to warn the others, she was going to have to go check it out herself. Scribbling down a note for her uncle, she stuck it on his office door before slipping on her sneakers. 

By the time she jumped out of the house on one foot, properly placing the back of her heel with one hand, Rafe had already started up a truck and was backing out of the driveway. She flagged him down with a wave, causing him to stop and get out, his face tense.

"I'm coming with you," she huffed, pushing her short hair out of her eyes.

"The hell you are," he growled.

She raised an eyebrow, taking in the hostility in his stance. "And why not, pray tell?"

He took a step closer, looking down at her. "Because I don't want you there when I fight my father."

"That's precisely why I'm coming," she said. "So you don't lose control."

"Losing control," he said in a dangerously low voice. "Might be the only damn thing that can get my father to understand that I won't stand by and let Sarah take my place."

"Would that be such a bad thing?" she challenged, lifting her chin and camouflaging how much the proximity was bothering her. "You've never wanted to take over Cameron Enterprises."

"You don't understand," he said, moving closer and trapping her against the truck. "I need that future. I need that money."

"Why, Ray? Tell me, I can help," she pleaded, forcing down her rising panic.

"No!" he shouted, slamming his fist against the truck, just by her head.

She flinched, pressing herself against the truck's surface.

"No," he seethed. "I won't let you get involved. You hear me?"

"I don't need your permission," she snapped, using the outburst to control her fear.