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Dad.
“I wish I didn’t have to tell you,” Ryan continues. “Now you understand why we can’t go to the police.”
“No.” The world tilts beneath me. I grab the rail to support my weight. “We can’t let them get away with this.”
Ryan raises his hands. “If this comes out, everything comes out. Think about Mom, about how the scandal will ruin her life. Think about Mattie and the baby. Celeste and me. Brad.”
The rational part of me understands his logic. The rest of me battles to process what’s happening. Whathappened.
“Why?” I whisper-cry. “This isn’t—” I swallow a sob. “This wasn’t Dad.”
He drops his arms at his sides. “There are parts of the business you don’t understand. Illegal parts. If any of this comes to light, we’re all fucked, Bella. Do you understand?”
Slowly, like muck drifting to the bottom of a muddy river, the truth sinks deeper. The bribes weren’t the only unscrupulous dealings in the business. That nasty, unsavory bit of reality was only the tip of the iceberg. I shudder thinking what lies beneath.
Ryan advances cautiously. “I’m going to call an ambulance. You have to be strong now. Understand?” His gaze drills into mine. “You came here to surprise Dad. Instead, you discovered the body.” His speech is steady and grounding. Like me, he’s carrying his storm inside. “You fainted. Blacked out or something. The shock can do that to a person, especially someone as young and sensitive as you. It’s believable. When you didn’t call Mom as agreed to let her know you arrived safely, she got worried. She called you and Dad, but neither of you answered your phones.”
This part must be true. The missed calls will be registered on our phones.
He stops short of me, cupping my shoulders in his palms. “Mom called me. I came looking for you. I found you here, disorientated and in shock. Then I called an ambulance.”
He waits, searching my eyes for agreement or understanding.
I’m not sure I can do this.
He gives me a shake. “Think about the family, Bella. This is bigger than us. You have no idea just how big. It goes all the way to the government and higher. The media will have a field day with the truth. It’ll ruin every one of us and any future our children can ever hope to have. Dad made a call that destroyed Angelo’s family. Angelo did the same to us. It can end here. Be over. Or we can go down a path that will be a thousand times worse than what happened today. You may as well put a gun against our heads and pull the trigger. Can you live with that? Can you live with doing that to Mom and Brad and Mattie’s baby?”
I’m trembling by the time he’s done. “What’s wrong with us, Ryan?” I point toward the office. “We’re talking as if Dad isn’t lying dead in there.”
“Nothing is wrong with you, Bella.” He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close. “Dad tried to protect you from this. It’s us. Me. The guilt is mine.”
No. If I lie, the guilt is just as much mine.
“You’ve got this.” He holds me at arm’s length. “You’re strong enough.”
I’m not.
“Dad made sacrifices for us you can’t begin to comprehend.” He squeezes my shoulders. “Don’t let it be for nothing.” Letting me go slowly, he takes his phone from his pocket. “I’m calling, all right?”
I open my mouth, but there’s only silence. The havoc is stuck inside.
“I have to call now, Bella. We’ve taken too long already. You can do this.”
It’s a lie. Everything is a lie. There’s only one truth here.
Dad is dead.
Oh my God.
Dad is dead.
The circles of light sway in my path. Their brightness isn’t enough to expel the darkness that steals over me. The floor gives way, and then I fall into a blissful night where monsters don’t exist.
ChapterSix
Angelo
The news about Edwards’s suicide will soon be all over the news. I remain in South Africa to do damage control if necessary while my father flies back to Corsica. Damage control includes killing anyone who dares to reveal the truth, and the only people who know the truth are us and the Edwards family. Taking into consideration what’s at stake, I’m not worried about anyone running to the authorities. Still, I take nothing for granted.
