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Her mouth hung open in shock at his accusations. “I’m not unwell. And I’m not making this up.”
He cocked his head to one side. “No? You aren’t just trying to extort money out of the husband leaving you because you know that without him, you haven’t got a cent to your name?”
She swallowed hard and darted a glance at me. “You don’t believe this, do you?”
I suddenly had no idea what to believe.
Gordon put his hands on the edge of the bed rail. “She’s an elaborate liar, Vaughn. You know this. How did you not even consider she was behind this all along?”
The woman’s finger was in my rubbish bin at home. It didn’t seem even remotely possible she could have done that to herself. “Because that would be literally crazy.”
Gordon looked over at his daughter. “You need to start telling us the truth, Brooke. I promised your mother I would offer you help, instead of just cutting you off completely, which frankly, was my preferred option. So this is me offering it. I’m not giving you or any”—he made air quotes with his fingers—“‘men’ any money. I’ve done that for you your entire life, and look where that’s gotten you.”
His disappointment was thick. “If this was you all along, then now is your chance to confess, consequence-free. I’ll pay Vaughn back for the trust fund you blew through, and I’ve already called White Dove Rehabilitation Facility in Bibury.”
Her brow furrowed. “Where on earth is Bibury?”
“In the UK. And far outside any major city where you might be tempted to start gambling again. No one needs to know you’re there. We’ll just tell people you’ve gone to find yourself after your breakup with Vaughn. But stop this nonsense now.”
Brooke’s eyes watered with unshed tears. “No one would know where I was? You can promise me that?”
He nodded. “No one but the three of us here. I won’t even tell your mother.”
“It’s true. All of it,” she said in a rush, words spilling in my direction. “There were never any other men. It was me all along. I cut my hair. And my finger.”
I blanched at the idea she was so desperate to get money out of me that she would mutilate herself on purpose. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
She wouldn’t look at me. “Daddy, I need that hospital. I’m so sorry. Please, can you make the call? I can go tonight. I don’t need anything. There’s nothing left for me at home anyway.”
Gordon gave a curt nod and pulled his phone from the suit pocket of his pants. But before he made the call, he focused on me. “I’ll transfer the money she took from you if you keep this quiet.”
I didn’t even know what to say. But a deep, sad, pity-filled feeling came over me. This all felt like a cry for help. Clearly, Brooke had been desperate and spiraling for a lot longer than I’d realized.
I hadn’t seen it.
I should have.
When I looked at her now, all the anger I’d been harboring for her for the longest of times faded away. All that was left was pity. What else was there to feel for a woman who would cut off her own finger to continue the ploy?
“I won’t say anything,” I said stiffly. I shook my head at my ex-wife. “I hope you get the help you need.”
“I’ll call you later,” she promised, reaching out for me.
I dodged her attempts to touch me.
Her father walked me toward the door. “Go. I’ll be sure she doesn’t contact you. The hospital won’t let her have a phone anyway. You’ve done your part, Vaughn. I shouldn’t have let this go on as long as it did, but I was trying the tough-love thing. I’m sorry it impacted you. I appreciate your discretion with this matter. I’m sure you understand this sort of thing is frowned upon in our line of work, and how it could damage a man’s reputation if it got out. Not just mine, but also yours.”
I swallowed thickly with a final glance over my shoulder at Brooke. “I don’t care about my reputation. I just want her to get the help she needs.”
I walked away from Brooke and Gordon and left that part of my life behind.
15
CALEB
Without Chaos, the Sinners were about as useless as my fat bitch of an ex-fiancée. I stared at the stringy-haired, rat-faced man who probably shot drugs for breakfast. “What do you mean you lost the women?”
He scrubbed a shaking hand through his hair. “The Slayers came snooping around again. So we left the house to flush ’em out—”
