Love Like This - Page 44/92

Moving back to the bed, she covered herself up and cried even more.

#### After three days he went to the Laundromat confident she would give him a positive response. He'd brought a load of clothes to throw everyone off, but when he saw a different girl up at the window with Cleo, he left. Had she exchanged shifts with someone to avoid him?

When a week passed and she didn't show up for work, he staked out the house. His lawyer informed him, Lynne's lawyer wanted to meet for negotiations at the end of the second week. That time came very slow and he was at his wits end. As far as he knew from questioning the nurses that went in and out of the house that no one had seen Nicole.

Entering Bynum and Bernstein law office, followed by Renaldo Bellini, his lawyer out of Chicago, he wanted to grab Lynne by her neck and demand she tell him where Nicole was, but when he saw Lynne she looked aloof and stressed herself. Obviously Mr. Bynum her lawyer had informed her, whatever assets of hers would be used to pay the proceedings and she knew there was nothing she could do. The sooner she got the proceedings over with, the less money she would have to pay and she had demanded the proceedings over with as soon as possible.

When the tremors of the divorce came up and the court appointed negotiator asked Lynne do she have any objections to not taking anything from Ethan, Lynne looked at Ethan long and hard, then shook her head.

"I don't want anything."

"What a surprise," he sneered.

She narrowed her eyes knowing he was aiming for a verbal fight. "I won't give you what you want Ethan. The sooner you're out the picture the sooner I can get on with my life. I've got prospects and you are just in my way."

"Was your daughter in your way too? Is that why you got rid of her."

Lynne stood up and started to leave. He jumped up and moved around to block her path. "Get out of my way, Ethan. What I do with my child is none of your business?"

"It is when she disappears in thin air. Did you kill her Lynne? Was she that much in your way to get your hands on your mother's money?"

Lynne slapped him with rage running through every fiber of her being, but that didn't daunt his cold expression nor did it stop his hand from going around her neck and holding her tightly. Renaldo jumped from his seat and moved to stop Ethan.