Leo sat on the edge of the desk next to me. “Except, really, Green Industries...” He reached for my hand before continuing. “...Murdered Amber to get Dad to drop the takeover?” His tone was as disbelieving as I felt.
Hayle nodded. “Not the company, obviously, but an individual within the company or Green family.”
“That’s crazy,” Leo said as he squeezed my hand in silent support.
“Is it?” Hayle sat back in his chair. “It worked. Dad abandoned the takeover.”
The room fell silent, and I could feel both brothers’ eyes on me. But I suddenly found the wood grain of the desk strangely fascinating. With the hand not entwined with Leo’s, I reached out and traced the grooves with my thumb. The finish was smoother than it looked, and I could barely feel the depressions I detected with my eyes.
“Thea?” Leo said my name gently, as though he was afraid of spooking me.
He needn’t have worried. I was too far gone for that. Because I’d skipped right over surprise and anger, going straight to emotional paralysis. I should have felt relieved that this information absolved Vincent of murder. I should have been grateful for finally getting answers to the questions that had been hanging over my head for all of these years.
But I felt nothing.
“Thea?” He tugged on my hand this time, urging me into his arms. Leo was trying to be my strength, but I wasn’t weak. I was merely numb.
Withdrawing my hand from his, I stood and walked to the door without reaching for the handle. I needed space.
When I finally spoke, I only managed two words. “He knew.”
“Who knew?” Leo asked.
“Vincent. He knew that my mom was in danger, and he did nothing.”
Hayle moved from behind the desk, but he didn’t approach me. “We don’t know that.”
My pulse spiked. Maybe I wasn’t completely numb, after all. “Don’t you dare defend him right now. He ignored the threats, and when whoever sent them made good on those threats, he covered it up. He made everyone believe she’d died in an accident to save his own ass. No matter what you think, he doesn’t deserve your blind loyalty.”
Hayle pushed that damn lock of hair off of his forehead. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
I released a ragged breath. Maybe he wasn’t completely hopeless.
“But I do think we should talk to Dad about this. Get the entire story.”
Forget that. Hayle was beyond hopeless.
“No.” I shook my head so vigorously, strands of hair whipped in my face. “Vincent can’t know about any of this.”
“Why not? You say you want the truth, but you’re not willing to hear it.”
“This isn’t about the truth.” I stalked forward, stopping myself right before I could do something stupid, like hit him. “Of course, I want to know the whole story. But your father is the last person I would trust right now.”
“That’s ridiculous. Have you forgotten the part where he sought you out, ensured your acceptance to a top tier university, and offered to pay for everything you need? He’s not the villain you’re making him out to be.”
“How about the part where he threatened to ship me back to Kansas if I don’t do his bidding?”
As soon as the words flew out of my mouth, I wished I could take them back. But it was too late. I’d opened the door, and now I was going to have to stride straight through it.
Leo walked to my side. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Sighing, I lifted my head to look at him. I wished I could turn back time to this morning and stay in bed all day. That would be way more enjoyable than this. “I was going to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“Can we move this conversation somewhere else?” It was going to take a while, and I couldn’t stand to stay in this study any longer. The lingering scent of cigars was making me nauseated. Or, maybe, merely being around Vincent’s things was enough to do that on its own.
Hayle looked at his watch and started gathering papers. “I need to get to class, anyway.”
Class. Right. Guess that wasn’t going to happen today.
“This is more important than school,” Leo said tersely. “Surely, even you can see that.”
Hayle avoided both of our gazes as he finished putting the papers back in order and returned the folder to the safe. When he turned back around, his expression was clear. “Okay.”
Not wanting to take a chance that we’d be overheard, even if