that both his wife and son were locked away. He thought I wanted to make amends and reclaim my position as his heir, but I was never going to forget how easily he disowned me or failed to protect me from his miserable wife.
I told him in no uncertain terms that all I wanted was to see Sawyer. I had no desire to play the prodigal son. I didn’t need his help or his money for anything else in my life. I was pretty sure the hard stance shocked him. Annoyingly, he agreed to help me, but only if I acquiesced to one of his requests as well. He demanded that I change my last name from Snyder to Richman. I was now the only child he had whom he could be semi-proud of, even with the accident still on my juvenile record. I was the only one who hadn’t been declared legally insane. He told me that even if I didn’t want what was rightfully mine now, that might change down the road. He no longer wanted me to be seen as his bastard. He promised he wouldn’t publicly claim me as his son if I agreed, but for all intents and purposes, I was his legacy now. The house where I grew up and hated with every fiber of my being would be mine one day. I told him I didn’t want it.
My last name was really the only thing my mother gave me. I never once thought about changing it. But speaking with Sawyer and protecting Ollie was more important than hanging on to something that never amounted to much anyway.
I made the deal with my old man, but I didn’t tell Ollie about it. I knew she was going to have a fit I was keeping something that big from her. But this time, it couldn’t be helped. I didn’t want her to know I was going to see Sawyer. I didn’t want her to know I was once again playing games with my stupidly rich father. I didn’t want her to know I had so much as dipped a toe back into our old life.
She was hellbent on making amends and taking accountability for the past. I knew there was no way to stop her once she had her mind set on it. She’d already made plans to go back to our hometown so she could clear my name and confess to being the one behind the wheel the night of the accident.
I would lie, cheat, and steal to make sure she didn’t have to do that for me. Legally, I wasn’t sure there were any major repercussions she would face since the accident had been so long ago and I’d already done the penance for it. But I wouldn’t put it past Sawyer’s mother to sue her for damages and medical fees once she confessed, even from behind bars. I just wanted the whole situation put to bed and Ollie in the clear.
Which is why I was sitting across from Sawyer right now.
My brother made a face and shifted in his chair. “Aren’t you getting ready to head to law school? Shouldn’t bribing the authorities to get what you want be against your moral code or something? Didn’t you always pretend to be better than that because you didn’t want anyone to think you were like your money-hungry mother?”
I shrugged a shoulder and fought to keep my face still, even though I was taken aback that he knew anything about my life. It was unnerving to hear that he’d kept tabs on me all this time.
“I’m going to be the kind of lawyer who gets the job done no matter what.” I tapped my fingers on the table, separating us. “I don’t survive in that house with you and your mom without learning when the rules are meant to be broken. So, I guess I can thank you for making me the kind of guy who thrives in the world’s vast amounts of imperfection. Because of you, I can lean into the darkness when necessary, but I know better than to get lost in it. I’m smart enough to move toward the light when I get in too deep. As you know, Ollie has been shining since forever. As long as I move toward her, I’ll be fine.
He tried to drag Ollie into the shadows with him instead of letting her glow the way she was always meant to.
Sawyer flinched, but it was barely