Chapter 10

• Again, the phone rang, and Ernest cursed at the message bank. Due to her impending lawsuit against him, she was instructed by the evil step-monster not to speak with him. The fact that he didn't have to use any of his family's resources didn't matter to him. As soon as he took control of the hotel chain and turned it into one of the most exclusive and luxurious, he no longer had to answer to his family. That's not to say he hadn't done some of the things that had been attributed to him.
• Because he was fortunate enough to come from a loving and supportive family, unlike Amanda, He was consumed by anxiety. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard her refer to Elena as a "step-monster" and other disparaging terms. Something else was going on, and he needed to find out what exactly it was.
• Even though it was still early in the evening, he picked up his phone and called his brother-in-law Neil, explaining what he wanted, and then he dialed Wade's number to speak to him directly about the situation at hand. Although he knew they wouldn't, neither of them questioned his intentions or mental stability. Every one of them had grown up believing in the power of gut instincts, so they knew that if Ernest felt that something wasn't quite right in this family, they could take his word for it.