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“Go lie down,” I told Vivian. “Get some sleep. We’ll discuss how to move forward from here once you’ve had some rest.”
She hummed. “A nap sounds nice, actually.” She gave Wally’s hand a squeeze before she ventured down the hall to the guest room, disappearing from sight.
Wally crossed his arms and regarded me curiously. “Can’t imagine what she’s going through.”
“What are you doing home?” I asked, changing the subject. “I thought you had a full day of classes.”
My son shifted. “I did, but I thought I should be home for her just in case.”
“I have everything under control.”
“I’m just trying to be a good friend.”
“I know you are, but you still have your studies to think about. There’s a reason you entrusted her with me. You should be in class.”
Wally rolled his eyes. “It’s not like we were going over anything important. It’s stuff I already know.”
“What about that group presentation for biology you were telling me about?”
“We were going to meet up later to put it together before class.”
“Individually marked?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I expect you to pull your weight.”
He shook his head and sighed. “There are more important things going on right now, Dad. Vivian—”
“Is in good hands,” I interrupted. “Her being here shouldn’t affect your studies.”
“I can never talk to you,” I thought I heard him grumble before storming off.
I found myself alone in the kitchen, the low hum of the air conditioning in my ear. There was so much that I had to do. Important emails to send, security teams to check in with, clients to proposition. I didn’t get around to any of it. For the first time in forever, I didn’t want to. In a rare turn of events, running my business was the least of my concerns.
Looking after Vivian was the only thing on my mind.
Chapter 13
Vivian
Inapped for all of fifteen minutes. I was beyond exhausted at this point, existing in an in-between state where I was both sluggish and alert. I paced around the guest room, mulling everything over.
The missing money. Molly. The Azure Cartel. Something big was going on, but what?
What if Blue Cloud Financial was in on it? What if they knew about the missing funds and took Molly to keep everything hush-hush? If word got out that Blue Cloud Financial was laundering money on behalf of a dangerous criminal organization, that’d drive the company’s reputation into the ground.
A part of me didn’t want to believe it. It was such an out there, ridiculous notion that I almost dismissed the thought as quickly as it came. I thought about Alistair, about how sweet a mentor he’d been to Molly and me over the past few months. There was no way he could be involved in all of this.
But what other explanation did I have?
I wished I had proof.
Proof.
I exited the guest bedroom just in time to see Wally leaving, the elevator doors sliding shut with a ding. “Where’s he off to?” I asked Jesse, who had once again taken up his spot at the kitchen island. His laptop was open, as per usual.
“School,” he answered flatly.
