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How fitting…
Walking toward Aiden’s office, my heart races ferociously as I enter and quickly shut the door behind me. I lean against the closed door while my breathing quickens and my head fogs to the point I can’t think straight as the panic ripples through me. Exhaling out a staggered breath, I stare at his untouched desk. The memory of us together before he was arrested floods my mind as I picture myself sitting on his desk while he kisses me. With a final heavy sigh, I manage to blink back the tear threatening to fall and pull my shit together.
You can do this.
My eyes shift to the boxes Niall’s placed on the floor. Straightening my shoulders in defiance, I walk over to Aiden’s desk and look at the photograph of us at Skye’s birthday party. I run my finger over Aiden’s face, then with a steely demeanor, I place the picture frame into the box.
I can do this.
Suddenly, Niall slams the door open, causing it to hit the wall with a loud thwack as he enters Aiden’s office. My body flinches with the harshness of the noise. “Good, you’re here. Now get his shit out of this office as quickly as you can. I don’t need this stuff lying around as a reminder of a son I used to have. I can’t even call him my son, that fucking pathetic excuse for a man.” Niall storms back out as quickly as he came in, slamming the door behind him, rattling the bookshelves as he leaves. Like a whirling dervish that asshole gives me whiplash.
How can he say that about Aiden? About his son?
My head pounds, but I continue packing. Unexpectedly, my stomach lurches with the urge to be physically ill. I dash from the office to the bathroom holding my hand over my mouth, and barely make it in time, heaving and expelling bile from my stomach into the bowl. I cough and sputter, annoyed at myself that my steely resolve obviously isn’t holding as well as I was hoping it would.
Once there’s nothing left, I slide onto the cold tiled floor. An overwhelming sense of defeat and loneliness engulfs me as I try to calm my breathing. I’m utterly lost without Aiden, and I have no idea where to go from here. I look up through my long lashes to see Brielle walking toward me.
A concerned look crosses her face, and once she reaches me, she holds out her hand to help me up. “I saw Father storm back into his office and realized you must have arrived. I thought I’d come and see how you are.”
“Thanks. I could honestly do with your support at the moment.”
Brielle pulls me from the floor into a tight embrace. “I know how you feel. I can’t seem to shake this hollow feeling either, but at least we can be here for each other.”
I nod, and with Brielle’s help, I find my resolve once more. A quick walk to the sink, I wash my face and hands, and we make our way out to the office area. Rachelle isn’t at her desk, as we continue walking. And as we get closer to Matthew’s office, the sound of hushed voices gains both our attention. So I stop and stand just outside his office door where they can’t see us. Brielle raises her eyebrow in confusion, but I put my finger up to my lips, gesturing for her to be silent.
“You didn’t see what she looked like, Matt. She’s a mess. You did that to her, and I helped.”
I furrow my brows, knowing they’re talking about me.
“As if I care. She’ll get over it. She’s just a money-hungry bitch. She’ll move on and forget all about Aiden by the time he’s out,” Matthew snaps.
My eyes widen at Brielle, who’s listening just as intently.
“I don’t know, Matt. She’s devastated, and I feel guilty as fuck.”
“Don’t! Aiden deserves what he got, and we’re reaping all the benefits.”
My stomach churns at his words.
This fucker! Really!
“I know the rewards for this are money, but destroying their lives isn’t what I signed on for.”
“You need to pull yourself together. It’s imperative we remain united. Aiden deserves this, and I’m enjoying every single minute of knocking him off his pedestal… the arrogant prick.”
My hand moves up to my mouth to stop myself from gasping out loud, and Brielle’s eyes widen. With my hands shaking, I take out my phone, open the video recording app and press record, holding the camera part of the phone around the door, just enough to catch them. Brielle steadies my hand with hers as I position my phone through the doorway to record their conversation.
“I don’t think the ten million dollars is going to help my conscience, Matthew. But I do love you, so I’ll follow along and trust in your decisions.”
“Rachelle, it’s not just about the money. It’s always been about shoring up my position here as vice president, so I can take over from Niall when he retires…” He pauses with a slight laugh. “This company will be ours, Rachelle. We will own this corporation, and it’ll be worth way more than a measly ten million. We’ll be rich beyond our wildest dreams, and we can do anything we want. Don’t you see? Setting up Aiden was the best thing we could have ever done!”
Rachelle says something I can’t quite hear, but then Matthew continues, “Rachelle, think about it. Aiden does seven years, four if he behaves himself, then he’s out. He can start his life again. He has plenty of money. In the meantime, we’ll reap the rewards. Aiden’s tough, he’ll be fine.”
My body shakes as I try to keep the phone steady so it captures everything.
“Anyway, I’ve enjoyed destroying Niall’s little family. It’s been fucking awesome to sit back and see that bastard’s world collapse right in front of his eyes. Niall has always put Aiden before me while I’m the one working my ass off and making all the damn money for his company. Niall will regard me as his number-one son now that Aiden’s out of the way. He’ll take me under his guidance while I take him down from the inside...” I hear him laugh. “Just goes to show that even with my messed-up childhood, I can be the ‘good son’ and not the spawn of Satan, like my mother used to call me…” He pauses again for some reason. “I’ll enjoy showing Mother just how clever I can be when I own this huge conglomerate, and I’ll make sure that bitch gets absolutely nothing.”
I shake my head. My emotions are running on overdrive. First anger, then bitterness, and finally, elation as I realize we may have something we can use to help Aiden. My hands continue to shake as I listen while trying to ignore the sound of my heart thrashing in my ears.
