Phoenix Rising Issue #3 - S. R. Watson Page 0,53
ring the doorbell, certain that we lied about it being our place. Too late for him to run, though, because when Trevor opens the door, his face is as white as a sheet. Oh, Dad tells him in that slick British accent of his to let us all in or we’d make a show for the neighbors.”
“I’m picturing this shit.” I laugh.
“Begrudgingly, he obliges. I greet Melissa when she comes to see what all the fuss is about—her face matches her father’s. Aldrich gives him notice that he would be relinquishing all his shares over to us, thus giving us the remaining power we need for our ownership. We also tell Ted that he will cease any attempts at a hostile takeover.”
“Damn, I wish I could have been there. What did the fuckers say?” My pacing stops in anticipation. I just know my dear old brother is saving the best for last.
“Oh, they were arse over tit, as Aldrich would say.” He chuckles. “Said no fucking way. That they’d just deny involvement with each other and claim any pictures we had were elaborate Photoshop fakes. So then it was time for the grand finale.”
“For fuck’s sake, you’re killing me. Tell me already.”
“We play him a video of his daughter—her submitting to a man. We blacked out her nudity for the sake of no father wants to see their child naked. We stopped the video before the sex became too explicit.”
My shoulders drop in disappointment. “Tell me the pics of him and Ted will stick—that him cheating on his wife with a man is enough to call his bluff.”
“The pics didn’t, but the video did.”
“I don’t get it. He could turn that to a negative countersuit against us.”
“Phoenix. The man in the video with his daughter was Ted.”
I almost drop the phone from overwhelming shock.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Neither he nor his daughter knew about their dual involvement. He was using them both. Probably hoping to play that card, should he need it against his lover. It’s pretty sad, to be honest. Trevor cheats on his wife with Ted, and Ted cheats on him with his daughter.”
I shake my head to clear it. My mind is truly fucking blown. “So what was Melissa’s angle in this?”
“From what we gather, she’s always been a daddy’s girl. She sought to get dirt on us, but her final admission was she never meant to hurt us. She thought she could give Trevor just enough info to appease him but not enough to get what he was truly after, which was our company. She promised that she would have never shared our secret.”
“I don’t know if I believe that, but it doesn’t matter.”
“Nope. It’s over, brother. The papers have been signed. We have all the shares we need and enough on our remaining members that they wouldn’t try to cross us again in the future.”
“I’m so relieved. It feels good not to have this hanging over our shoulder.”
“So. One last piece of business. And this comes from Claude once he learned of the news.”
“Okay,” I answer hesitantly.
“Are you in with us as one of the owners?”
“You know what? As long as I don’t have to leave the band, I’m in.”
“Fuck, yes,” he hollers on the other end of the phone.
“I’ll let you go, but we’ll need to schedule an official press conference. Officially lay all this shit to rest.”
“Indeed.”
I end the call with him, excited to share the news with Harlow, but know I need to play it by ear depending on how her conversation went. When I walk into the room, she’s grinning. Not sure what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it.
“So, babe. Uh, did you talk to your mother? How did it go?”
I know I’m firing questions at her, but I’m secretly afraid her grin is some psychotic break.
“Yes, I talked to her, and no, I didn’t bring up Thomas.”
“Ah, princess, that’s okay. We’ll do this on your time.”
“There is no longer a need.” I scratch my head, puzzled. “He’s dead, Phoenix.”
“What? How?”
“He molested the neighbor’s daughter a year ago, only she didn’t keep it a secret. She told her father, and he killed Thomas. It made local news but not national.”
“Why didn’t she tell you sooner?”
“Honestly, I hadn’t realized it had been that long since we last talked. But she said once she found out he had that side to him, she was scared to ask. Deep in her heart, she just knew from my behavior and the change she saw in