Page 25 of The Mood Board

The thought brought up a swell of fury that threatened to burn away my fear.

How could someone possibly be so evil that they would destroy a good man doing good in the world just because they were greedy? Liam stood to lose everything because someone wanted more than the billions they already had?

This wouldn’t affect just Liam, either. No, the consequences were far-reaching. It would affect the company and, by default, the employees. And their families. And the families that were part of the Hope’s House mission. Though Bianca was hard at work fundraising, including a future gala, the foundation was still new enough that it relied heavily on Liam’s personal funding. What would happen if that funding got cut off?

And what about the life-saving technology the company was developing? Or their current technology? What would happen to those who relied on it if hospitals cut ties trying to distance themselves from scandal? How many people would die because they didn’t have access to the technology they needed?

My hand clenched tightly around my phone, so tightly I heard my phone case creak, heat beginning in my chest and spreading outward as I watched officers and agents moving in and out of the house, carrying boxes and bags of stuff—Liam’s stuff. Probably our stuff. Even some of my stuff, maybe.

All this because of someone’s greed.

Someone was turning our world upside down because they wanted more, even though they probably already had it all. Because, for some reason, they wanted to take down one of the best men I knew and had ever known.

For a moment, I felt like running at the steady stream of people and screaming at them to stop, but I knew that would only make the situation worse.

Instead, I glared at them, standing shivering on the lawn, aware that the neighbors were probably looking and muttering and wondering what was happening.

I also knew, with certainty, this would be on the news tomorrow. Local Billionaire Arrested Under Suspicion of Fraud—I could see the headline now, hear the talking heads almost gleefully speculating about the reasons, making my wonderful fiancé out to be a liar who fooled the public for years.

My heart broke for Liam, and the house blurred as tears filled my eyes. He didn’t deserve this, not at all. All he had ever done was do good and work tirelessly to build his company from the ground up. He was one of the good guys in a world where very few existed, and he faced evisceration from the court of public opinion and possibly the courts themselves.

Taking deep gulps of air was the only thing I could do as my mind spun wildly out of control with the possible catastrophes until the extra oxygen to my brain became a rush of dizziness to my head and a buzzing in my ears.

“Bailey?”

I heard my name distantly.

“Bailey?”

The voice was louder now, and I opened my eyes to find Tom bending down to peer at me, brow furrowed with concern, mouth turned down into a frown.

“Are you okay?” he asked, holding out his hand to help me up. At some point, I had slumped down onto one of the steps up onto the front porch, heedless of the people who had to step around me to get in and out of the house. I took his hand and let him haul me up—my muscles were stiff from all the pacing I had done, standing on my feet for the past hour, and the damp chill in the late-night air.

Tom’s hair was a mess like he had been running his hand through it the entire way over to the house, his shirt wrinkled as though he had grabbed it out of the hamper. Bianca, too, was sans her usual neat, stylish attire, instead wearing a sweatshirt and leggings.

“Bianca?” I asked, instead of answering the question when I realized how odd it was that she had come with Tom. “What are you doing here?”

“I was at Tom’s when you called,” she said, and her cheeks reddened with faint color. “Playing video games.”

“Have you found anything else out?” Tom asked, glaring at the passing officials.

“No.” I shook my head, suddenly bone-weary now that I wasn’t facing this nightmare alone.

“Well, that ends now,” he growled and stalked off.

Bianca and I watched him for a time as he went from officer to agent to officer, no doubt demanding to see whoever was in charge. But I could take a deep breath for the first time since they had led Liam away.

“He’ll figure it out,” Bianca said, watching him with an odd look in her eye. But I was too tired and too drained to think any more about it.

“I hope so,” I sighed, leaning back against the base of one of the pillar supports, and Bianca finally moved her gaze from Tom to me.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her tone soft, her eyes full of compassion.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly, and it took me a moment to reach that conclusion. “It happened so fast, I feel like a tornado touched down and whipped me up, and I’m still trying to find the ground.”

My head was definitely spinning that way.

Bianca pursed her lips and put her hand on my shoulder. “It’s going to be okay, Bailey. Tom and the lawyers will figure it out. He got a hold of their lawyer on the way over—called him in Italy personally—and he’s scrambling to get back here and find someone to cover Liam while he does.”