demanded to know.
“Charleigh—”
Determination infused my spine and I stood. “No more hiding. I have a right to know and frankly, so does Holden.”
By the time I’d walked across the room, Jameson had placed the box on the table. But he hadn’t taken his hand off of it.
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
With a stern jerk of his chin, he reached into the box, pulled out a stack of papers, and handed them to me.
These didn’t belong to Paul. They were bank statements dated after he’d died. I shifted through the papers noting there were highlighted lines—deposits—but they were meaningless to me.
“I don’t understand.”
“Neither did Rhode. So he dug deeper. For eight years, there’s been a reoccurring two-thousand dollar deposit.” Jameson reached back into the box and handed me another stack of papers.
More statements. I scanned the first page and froze.
First National Bank.
Edward Axelson.
I didn’t need to look through the bank records to know what my parents had done. I didn’t give the first fuck if the Towlers were blackmailing my parents or if it was my parents’ idea to give Beatrice hush money.
I didn’t give the first two shits my parents had wasted a crapton of money.
They knew.
My own fucking parents had known all along.
Fuck them. Fuck everyone.
I bolted from the room. Kennedy shouted my name, Jameson said something, but I didn’t stop until I was in the room I was sharing with Faith. I locked the door, found my phone on the nightstand, and called my parents.
Luckily, my father answered.
“Charlotte,” he clipped.
Asshole.
“This will be the last time I ever call you.”
“What on earth—”
“I know, Father.”
“I don’t like your attitude.”
The nerve.
The gall.
Edward didn’t like my attitude? Well, I didn’t like his deception. I didn’t like how my whole life I’d been treated like I wasn’t good enough. I didn’t like how their standing at the country club was more important than me.
“Then you’ll be happy to know after today, Faith and I do not exist for you. Not that we ever truly mattered, but we’re gone nonetheless. You will not contact me, you will not attempt to contact Faith. And you absolutely will not reach out to Holden and cause him anymore trouble than you already have.”
“Seriously, Charlotte, why does it always come down to that piece of trash?”
“You do not call him that!” I shouted. “You don’t ever say his name again. You knew, all these years, you knew Holden was Faith’s father and you gave money to those horrible people after all the things they did to me. They took me to court and you gave them money! You lied to me. You’re the piece of trash. You and Mother are vile pieces of shit.”
“Char—”
“Shut up and listen. I hope your reputation was worth losing your daughter and granddaughter. I hope you and Mother are happy knowing you destroyed my life and your granddaughter missed growing up without a father. This is your only warning—if I ever hear from either of you again, I’ll make sure everyone knows what you did. If you ever try to speak to my daughter, so help me God, I’ll unleash Holden on you.”
“Char—”
“Fuck. Off. Father.”
I disconnected the call, tossed my phone on the bed, pulled on the clothes I wore yesterday, and headed for the door.
When I opened it, my breath caught in my throat.
Evie, Bobby, Kennedy, and Silver all stood there with matching smiles. No one said a word but they didn’t have to. None of them masked their approval.
“Are you ready?” Evie asked.
I didn’t need her to clarify her question, therefore, I didn’t.
“Yes.”
“Good. He’s at the farm in his Airstream. Chasin’s there making sure he doesn’t do something stupid.”
Like hitch his rig to the back of his Suburban and drive away.
As fast as that thought flitted into my mind, it disappeared. Holden wouldn’t leave Faith. Hell, I knew he wouldn’t leave me.
I understood he needed time to process the news he had a daughter, but his time was up.
“I need a favor.”
“Anything.” Evie smiled.
Once I instructed the women, I was out the door.
I’d lost my family once.
I was not losing anymore.
30
Daughter.
The word was foreign as it rolled around in Holden’s mind.
He had a daughter.
Incomparable joy morphed into pain. Sheer anguish made his heart ache.
The piss of it was, he couldn’t blame Paul, not fully.
Sick fuck.
Holden stared at the shiny metal above his head. Guilt crushed him to his small mattress, and the longer he lay there contemplating his mistakes, the harder it was to comprehend how badly he’d fucked up.
Pride goes before destruction.
Long ago,