The Baby Pact (Babies and Billions #5) - Holly Rayner Page 0,24

you at the time, because we didn’t want to make things awkward between you and your friend. And then Mom found out that he was going to be leaving school anyway, so we thought it would be best to just let your friendship peter out rather than making a big deal about it.”

“So everyone knew this?” Rhea asked. “You all kept it from me?”

“It was for the best,” Stephen said. “You needed to focus on school, not on drama with the company. And I think maybe Dad didn’t want you thinking there were inherent problems with managing Wilson Whiskey, because he already knew you were thinking about not going into the family business.”

“I can’t believe everyone lied to me,” Rhea said quietly. “Are you sure it was Zach’s father?”

“There was security footage,” Stephen said. “I’ve seen it myself. It was definitely the guy we had dinner with on your birthday.”

“If there was security footage, why wasn’t he arrested?” Rhea asked. “The footage must not have been very clear, right? That’s why Dad didn’t go to the police? Maybe you were wrong. Maybe it wasn’t really Zach’s father.”

“No, it was him,” Stephen said. “We didn’t go to the police because… well, because Dad was filming the employees without their consent. The footage would have been inadmissible in court, and admitting we had it would have opened us up to lawsuits from a bunch of the other workers. Dad said it was best to just cut our losses. But I’ve never seen him so angry. That formula was worth a fortune.”

“How?” Rhea asked.

“Come on, Rhea,” Stephen said, shaking his head. “You may not have gone into this business, but you understand how things work. Once Zach’s father got away with the formula, he was able to sell it to a competitor. He made a lot of money from that sale, and even though Dad still produces that particular formula, it’s gone from being one of his bestsellers to one of the cheaper varieties we sell.”

“I can’t believe this,” she whispered. “I’m sure Zach didn’t know. Zach couldn’t have been involved in anything like this. He wouldn’t.”

“I don’t know,” Stephen said. “You’re not the best judge of character, Rhea. You thought his father was a good man, but he turned out to be a thief.”

“That’s not my fault.”

His face softened slightly. “I’m not blaming you,” he said. “Of course it isn’t your fault. But you have to know that you can’t get involved with Zach Danes. Dad would never forgive you if you did. He would never get over it.”

Rhea put the potato masher down. “I need a minute,” she said quietly. “I need to think. I’ll be in my bedroom.”

She took off before Stephen could object, leaving him alone in the kitchen, scurrying past the steps that led down to the wine cellar when she heard her parents moving around. The last thing she wanted right now was to talk to them. It would have been hard enough to spend all day today with them without allowing talk of Zach to come up. But now, knowing everything Stephen had told her…

She needed to hide out.

She went into her childhood bedroom, closed the door, and sat down on her bed. Being here always made her feel as if her problems were melting away. The room had the ability to make her feel young again, as though everything in her life could be solved by a hug and a glass of juice.

But she wasn’t feeling like that today. Instead, her inner turmoil only seemed to grow stronger as she sat staring out the window.

Zach would never have been involved in such a thing. He must not have known. I’m sure he doesn’t know, even today.

But how could he not have known? If his father had sold that formula and earned a lot of money for it, as Stephen had suggested, surely Zach would have noticed—

She caught her breath.

He did notice.

He had told her that his father had won the lottery, and that that was where his family’s money had come from. But that hadn’t been the case at all. His father had gained wealth by stealing from her family.

Stephen was right.

And it had happened right before Zach had left school. Zach’s father must have lost his job over it, or left willingly. And that was the real reason Zach had moved to Philadelphia.

That’s why he wouldn’t let me help with the scholarship problem. I’ll bet he never really lost his scholarship at all.

He had