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“What are you offering me?” he asks.
There.I’ve cracked him.
“I think the better way to phrase that question is, will you give me what I want in return formy silence and my help?” I intensify my stare, so he knows not to fuck with me.
“Your silence and your help? And what does your help include?” His bottom lip trembles with worry and rage.
“Myhelpincludes paying off Falcone. Along with providing all the money you need to stop Wright’s Investments from going into liquidation, and yourself in subsequent bankruptcy.”
William bites down hard on his back teeth and clenches his jaw so tight it looks like it might snap.
“You do know that Sunset Cove can only be yours through marriage, right? There are also a number of other terms that need to be adhered to. Those parts were specifically set out in an irrevocable living trust. I can’t justmakemy daughter give it to you, even if I am the executor.”
“I know.” I knew that little detail all along. Getting married is something I never wanted, but the ends will justify the means.
William’s hawk eyes narrow, assessing me once more. “I’ll have to speak to her.”
“By ten tomorrow morning,” I cut in before he can continue. My tone is sharp and succinct enough to make him know there is no room for negotiation.
He thinks for a moment, then nods. “Please don’t tell her what I did. Don’t tell her about my rehab stay, and don’t tell her about her mother’s letter.Please.” His eyes continue pleading with me moments after he’s spoken. “I’m already breaking my wife’s heart by entertaining thisoffer. This is not anexceptionalcircumstance. This is you blackmailing me, Knight Grayson. And it’s all my fault.”
“Call it whatever you want.”
“Just, please, don’t tell Aurora. That is all I’m asking for.”
I owe him nothing, but I won’t make the situation harder than it already is. “Okay, but she’ll know what she needs to know in order to comply. Understand?”
His frown deepens. “I understand.”
“Perfect. Well, it looks like I just became your future son-in-law.”
Chapter8
Aurora
My stomach coils into tight knots as I walk down the hallway leading to my father’s office at Wright’s Investments.
Rain is pouring outside. Through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls on either side of me, it looks like I’m trapped in a tropical storm. The forecast states it will be like that all day.
It’s nearly ten. Dad wants to meet with me to talk.
Usually, we meet here once a week for lunch and have dinner at the family home two nights a week. That’s our family time. A chance to catch up and spend precious time together.
I already know today won’t be anything of the sort.
Dad was brief on the phone last night when he extended the invite, but I guessed he wants to talk about the Conrad and Nathan situation, which has exploded across New York into a colossal mess.
Over the last twenty hours, the news has reported details of how Conrad stole millions from his clients.Millions.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How a person could think it was okay to steal millions is beyond me, and Conrad never seemed to be the kind of person who would do something so terrible. But he did.
Like the rest of New York, I saw the evidence for myself broadcasted on the national news.
Now, the Gilmars have nothing. The last piece of news I heard was that all their assets had been seized by the government. From their ten-million-dollar home in the suburbs to their holiday home in The Hamptons. Everything is gone.
They’ve gone from billionaires to paupers in the space of hours.
The whole ordeal hit Dad hard, but I have to wonder if he was really in the dark about his best friend’s unsavory activities.
