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I walk up to the office door and grip the handle. Robert’s head snaps in my direction as I open the door and step inside, with Sebastian right behind me. The manager blinks at me in confusion before rising from his chair with a smile.
“Miss Green, what a pleasure to see you again. I hope you’ve been well?”
“I have. Thank you, Robert.”
He gazes at Sebastian and then returns his attention to me. “Is there something I can do for you?”
“Yes.”
“Please have a seat.” After Sebastian and I occupy the set of leather chairs in front of his desk, Robert sits as well. He clasps his hands and rests them on the desktop, leaning forward. “What can I help you with?”
“I want to know about my father’s involvement with AstraRx.”
Robert’s eyes briefly flare before his gaze is shuttered. “I’m sorry, Calista. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Your father was a very busy man, but that’s one company that he wasn’t affiliated with.”
“Please don’t waste my time with lies. I spoke to Melissa Flynn yesterday, and she was very clear about working with my father in the past.”
“Again, I regret to tell you that you’re wrong. I don’t know who this Flynn woman is, but she’s obviously lying.”
I take a deep breath in an attempt to calm my anger. “Given the fact that you’re desperate to hide this from me tells me that whatever my father was involved in wasn’t good. If you’re trying to protect me or his memory, don’t. I need the truth. My life might depend on it.”
Robert squints at me. “Are you in some sort of trouble?”
Sebastian shifts his gaze from the manager to me. With the subtle movement, I sense what he’s trying to say without words. “Okay, that might’ve been a little dramatic,” I say, backtracking. “However, I want to know about my father’s dealings. I need closure. It’s been a year and I still don’t have any answers concerning what happened to methat night.”
“And you think AstraRx has something to do with the incident?” When I nod, he sighs. “Listen, Calista, I wish I could help you, but you’re making connections that simply aren’t there. Maybe it’s best you forget this whole ordeal and put it behind you.”
His words, condescending and judgmental, are like a match. Righteous indignation explodes within me.
I leap to my feet and snatch the letter opener off to my right. As soon as I curl my fingers around the gold-etched handle, I slam it into the desk, the tip disappearing into the wood right in front of him.
Robert jolts, and his eyes widen to the fullest extent. I can see myself in the darkness of his pupils, my chest heaving and my expression furious. Before he can react, I lean forward, still gripping the handle.
“I came here for answers, Robert. If you won’t tell them to me, then you can deal with Sebastian here. He’s more than a bodyguard, he’sBratva.”
The manager throws up his arms, his palms facing me. “Okay, fine. Let’s all calm down.”
“Don’t you know that telling a woman to ‘calm down’ has the opposite effect?” I narrow my gaze. “Start talking.”
“Okay, fine. Yes, your father had dealings with AstraRx. More specifically, the owner, Thomas Russell.”
With a firm jerk, I rip the letter opener from the wood with Robert watching my every move. After that I sink into my chair with the makeshift weapon resting on my lap. “For what?”
Robert scrubs his jaw with his hand, peering at me and then Sebastian. “Mr. Russell approached your father many years ago, at the beginning of his political career. The senator wasn’t a fool, but he was much more impressionable back then. The owner of AstraRx ended up being a huge contributor to his very first campaign.”
I clutch the handle until my hand shakes. “What did my father promise him in return?”
“At the time, the pharmaceutical company tried and failed to launch a new drug that had the potential to make millions of dollars. It kept getting flagged by the FDA because of detrimental side effects. Your father voted on certain laws that allowed AstraRx to bypass some of the red tape and ease the distribution of the drug into the market.”
“Oh, my God.” I slump in my chair and bow my head. “Are you saying that my father knowingly helped put a dangerous drug into the hands of the public in exchange for funding?”
“I’m so sorry, Calista.”
“Why would he do that?” I whisper. “My father was a good man. He’d never willingly hurt anyone.”
Robert shakes his head slowly, either in disagreement or in pity. “Everyone has skeletons in their closet. It’s only a matter of when they’re exposed.”
I sit motionless as his words sink in. My father, the honorable senator I’ve idolized all my life, helped unscrupulously distribute a dangerous drug just to further his political ambitions. How did I not see this part of him?
