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I try and comfort him, but he steps away from my touch. “I don’t give a fuck about her life. I give a fuck about what her lies did to mine.”
Craig gives him a moment. Theo walks off, threading his fingers through his hair, and stops at the glass doors of his terrace. “And the coke?”
“She had nothing to do with that.”
When he turns back to us, his eyes glint with wetness. “Why would he do this to me?”
Tightness spreads across my chest, and tears fill my eyes.
“I don’t know, Theo. His way of making sure Charles wouldn’t back out? Guaranteeing his daughter was taken care of secured that.”
I hate what this is doing to him. I hate Alfred Monroe for all the pain he caused his son. I hate Alana Hill. And I hate myself for ever calling her model material. Theo shakes his head, dismissing the hurt and betrayal, turning back into the cutthroat businessman his father raised him to be.
“Over my dead body will that merger go through. Craig, I want a copy of my father’s will. Assuming he hadn’t made any changes, everything is now mine. It’ll need my final signature to pass.”
He storms over and picks up the papers he dropped. “Everything in these documents, I want them filed and on the record. The false land deals, the blackmail, everything. Then I want the deed of ownership for MIC.”
He turns to me. “You trust me, right?” I nod. “I told you, I’m never leaving you in the dark again. Go get dressed. We’re paying a visit to Charles Hill. This ends today.”
Chapter thirty-two
Fay
Twoweekslater...
I stand next to Theo in a simple Chanel dress, compliments of Fredrick, while Theo greets people and shakes hands. The line is still over a hundred deep—which doesn’t include the other hundred who have already offered their condolences.
Theo reaches out, shaking another hand. “Theo, son, your father was a great man.”
“Thank you, Steve.”
With all the praises for how honorable Alfred Monroe was, one might believe he actually was a good man. I know better. In the past two weeks, Theo opened up about his childhood. Growing up under his father’s thumb and who his father really was. His stories made me angry. Made me cry. No one should be treated so poorly by a parent. I also learned his mother died in childbirth.
He talked about the pressures of college. Europe. And Claire. It’s the first time he’s been able to open up to someone, and the moment he began talking, he didn’t stop. From the outside looking in, Alfred Monroe was set on destroying his son.
Power was mistaken for privilege. He wasn’t granting Theo power and wealth. He was chaining him to a life he never truly wanted.
I steal a look at Theo, but his face is blank of any emotion. In fact, he wears the business scowl I’ve grown to love. I squeeze his forearm. “Hey, you doing alright?”
“I just want this to be over with.”
I secure my crutches and lean forward, looking down the line. “Well, since the line is out the door and backed up into the next county, it looks like you only have four, maybe five hours to go.”
Theo grabs my hand and squeezes. “They have forty-five minutes, then you and I are leaving.”
“You can’t leave your father’s wake.”
“Watch me.” He tugs me closer. “Then I’m going to call Fredrick. Not sure whether to knock him out or thank him for his dress choice.” His eyes graze down to the dip between my breasts.
“You can’t leave early. People will talk.”
When the news about MIC goes public, they will anyway.
In three days, the news of Theo Monroe stepping down as CEO of MIC and walking away from a two-billion-dollar company will spread throughout the country and world. I’ve never seen him so at peace.
Dealing once and for all with Charles Hill was his first step in moving on. Seven years ago, he made a deal with a man out of desperation. He would sacrifice his values as a businessman for the promise of power, wealth, and safety of his only daughter. He would alter his ethics to salvage a dying company and save his marriage to a woman ready to leave him because of his financial mistakes. He would secure a future for his daughter and bury the guilt that instantly began to fester at his choices.
When Theo stormed into Charles’ home to destroy every ounce of his being, the defeated man broke down and confessed his guilt. He explained how he was forced into this web of deceit by a man who convinced him it was his only option.
