by Sarah Bailey
“If it’s any consolation, I’m sorry your granddaddy did what he did, Avery, but I’m not sorry he died that way. He deserved worse, but I couldn’t allow it to look like he’d been murdered.”
“You… you… I hate you,” she whispered. “You manipulated all of us.”
Rick shrugged, rubbing a hand across his face.
“I never said I was a nice man, darlin’.”
I stiffened and watched her fist clench in my t-shirt.
“Do not call me that.”
He put his hands up.
“You know the truth now. At least the truth of how Lizzie died and what I did about it.”
His eyes told me there was more. He’d said Avery was important, but he hadn’t mentioned her involvement yet.
“Why did you keep this from me?” I asked. “I could’ve made my own fucking mind up about what to do if you’d just fucking told me. Maybe none of this fucking shit would’ve happened. Maybe Avery wouldn’t have had to suffer like this, had to witness what she did. You could’ve fucking stopped it.”
He seemed to contemplate my words for a long moment. He steepled his fingers, looking at me with a grave expression.
“Who said you would’ve believed me if I had. You hated me, Aiden. There were only a few people who knew what Nick did.”
It dawned on me all of a sudden. The memory of what happened after she died sucker punched me in the gut. Tina’s words rang in my ears.
“Of course, I know it was him. Who else would it have been?”
Could she have known all this time? Then why the fuck did she help me plan Mitchell and Kathleen’s murders when she knew it was Nick who’d done it.
“Did Tina know?”
Rick’s expression became pained. I had my answer before he said the words.
“Yes. She knew.”
I pried Avery off me and stood up, pacing away as my heart fractured in my chest. She knew. She fucking knew and she didn’t tell me the truth.
“I told her she had to keep silent. Don’t blame her, Aiden. You can blame me for everything, but don’t do that to her.”
I didn’t want to listen to him. I felt two arms band around my stomach and a face press into my back.
“Avery, let go of me,” I said, trying to keep the anger out of my voice.
“No.”
“Avery…”
“No. Rick is right. You can’t blame Tina for that. You know how much she loves you. It’s not her fault.”
She clutched me tighter.
“Please, Aiden, I know you’re angry, but if you start down this road, it’s only going to lead to more pain. Haven’t we already suffered enough this evening? Haven’t we been through enough in our lives? You know the truth now. Isn’t that enough?”
I didn’t know if it was. Even though Nick was dead, it still didn’t feel like enough. I wanted everyone who knew and was involved gone.
“Aiden, please. You need to let this go. You have to. This is why we came here tonight. So you could get closure and we could end this once and for all. Please.”
I let out a breath. Hearing her pleading with me broke me. It tore me to pieces. Because I knew she was right. I knew she was talking sense. That was why we came here. I needed to know the truth and now I did. Now I had the final piece of the puzzle.
I turned around in her arms and stared down at her.
“Okay,” I said. “I’m trying.”
The relief I saw in her eyes fractured me in two. On the one hand, I was angry with Tina for keeping the truth from me, but on the other hand, I understood it. She wanted to spare me that pain. And she had to think about how she could continue to afford to raise me and live. She relied on Rick for financial support. It was only after I started working for the Daniels that I set her up with a retirement fund. They paid me more than enough so it was something I could do for her. So she was no longer reliant on anyone else.
I couldn’t allow this one thing to destroy my relationship with Tina, but I had to take some time to calm down about it before I talked to her. Besides, I didn’t really have time to think too much on it. There were still things Rick had to tell us.
I looked over Avery’s head at him.
“Why is she so important? What does Avery have to do with it all?”
“Why, everything,” he replied, his expression grim.
Avery turned around in my arms to stare at him.
“What do you mean everything?” she asked.
“You’re the final nail in the coffin, Avery. You own your father’s company and you can either bring it crashing down or there is another option.”
“And what would that be?”
He stood up and took a couple of steps towards us before he stopped and spread his hands.
“You can sell the company to The Harris Corporation for more than you could ever hope to get on the open market and wash your hands of it entirely.”
Chapter Twenty Three
Avery
After everything I’d learnt in the past hour, this was the last thing I expected Rick to say to me. Sell Daniels Holdings to him? Was he crazy? After everything they’d done, how could I just wash my hands of it? That wasn’t right, was it? I had too many thoughts running around my head and I had no fucking clue what to make of any of it.
Aiden hugged me to his chest, his arms tightening around me. I didn’t know how he felt about this either. It’s not like I could outright ask him in front of Rick. Or could I?
“Why would I do that?” I asked finally.
“You’re a wealthy girl already, so I don’t expect you want the money.”
I shook my head.
“You dismantle the company; all those people lose their livelihoods. If you give it to me, I will ensure the ones who aren’t dirty remain employed and taken care of. You and Aiden can do what you will with the proceeds of the sale.”
I hadn’t thought of that. Not once did it cross my mind how many people Daniels Holdings employed and if I exposed everything, the company would likely go down with me. All those people out of jobs. I couldn’t do that to them. It wouldn’t be fair. And yet, how could all the things the company had covered up go unpunished.
I turned my head to look up at Aiden. His expression was dark as if he was coming to the same conclusion as me.
“I don’t know,” I whispered.
His eyes told me he understood. His thumb circled my stomach, the action soothing my frayed nerves. I think if he let me go right now, I’d collapse on the floor.
This entire evening had been fucking crazy. Learning that my grandfather killed Aiden’s mother was horrifying. I didn’t need to ask how because Aiden already told me. I knew Nick wasn’t a good man, but this was worse than I ever imagined. The fact that he would just kill a woman he saw as a threat to his family sickened me.
For all Rick’s protestations at loving Lizzie and wanting to protect her, avenge her, he’d still been complicit in keeping her. Raping her. Abusing her. He’d allowed it all to continue when he could’ve stopped it. I might be glad he took revenge on Nick, but my grandfather was going to die anyway.
Everything else after that was just bullshit. He didn’t have to sit back and watch Aiden destroy the empire my family built. He could’ve done it himself. Instead, he decided to keep his hands relatively clean and allow his own son to do his dirty work. I already knew that was the case from our last dinner together, but knowing the whole truth just made it so much worse.
Everything Rick had done was sick. How could I sell my company to him? But it wouldn’t really be to him. It’d be to the Harris Corporation. Unlike Daniels Holdings, they were a public company with stock on the open market. That meant whilst Rick might be the CEO, he still had to answer to the shareholders and the board of directors.
Did that really make it okay?
Could I really rid myself of this mess?
“You don’t have to make a decision just yet,” Rick
said.
I turned back to him.
“I still have things to show you.”
“There’s more?” Aiden interjected.
“I showed Avery the evidence I have for a reason. It’s yours, but there’s more. I have a gift for you.”
Aiden stiffened behind me.
“A gift?”
“Yes, of sorts. Come.”
He walked over to the door and opened it, stepping out into the hallway. I shifted out of Aiden’s hold, turning to look at him.
“What more could he possibly have to show us?” I asked, my voice low.
“I don’t know.”
He took my hand and led me out of the room. We followed Rick down the hallway. I recognised it and its ornate wallpaper. He opened a door to the right and waited for us to enter. I looked up at Aiden. His eyes were narrowed and his body tense.
“What is in there?”
“Your gift,” Rick replied.
I wasn’t sure why Rick was being so cryptic and suspicious, but Aiden tugged on my hand and we walked in. The scene we were met with was not at all what I’d been expecting as Rick came in behind us, shutting the door.
I didn’t recognise the room we were in, but the one I could see through the two-way mirror, I knew that one all too well. It was where Rick had put me when he’d had me tied up and forced me to watch the horrific video of my father and the other ones I’d rather not remember the content of.
That wasn’t the worst part of all this. I realised exactly what this gift was that Rick had been alluding to when I saw who was seated in the chair I’d been in.
Uncle Charlie.
“What the fuck is this?” Aiden asked.
“I told you I would handle things. You have Ed and now you have Chuck.”
Aiden let go of my hand and turned on Rick, eyes blazing.
“I didn’t fucking ask you to kidnap Chuck for me.”
“You haven’t asked me for many things, but I’m giving them to you anyway.”
I didn’t understand why Rick had taken Uncle Charlie. His hands were tied behind his back and he was blindfolded. I could see the rapid rise and fall of his chest, but I wasn’t entirely sure if he was conscious or not because his head lolled on his chest.
“Why?”
“I thought he would be top on your list of people to rid the world of.”
Aiden’s fists clenched at his sides. I looked up at him. His grey eyes were as hard as steel and he looked like he was holding back from completely ripping Rick a new one. I didn’t know if I should touch him or not.
“He’s going to prison. I’m not his fucking executioner.”
Rick raised an eyebrow.
“No? Even after everything he’s done?”
“Even after that.”
Aiden told me no more bloodshed if we could avoid it. He’d not promised me it, but I could see he was trying to stick to his word for me. I couldn’t stomach any more death no matter how much the need for vengeance pulsed in my veins. They needed punishing. We’d just wield the hand of justice by handing over everything we knew to the police.
“Then there’s clearly things you don’t know.”
My stomach dropped. What else could he have hidden from us?
“What do you mean?”
Rick held up a hand before he walked over to a desk with a bank of monitors. He sat down and fiddled with the computer for a moment before he brought up a video on the screen. I immediately knew I didn’t want to see this, but Rick pressed play.
I knew that room. What I didn’t know is why the fuck there was a camera in it. There on the screen was me when I was a kid and my uncle entering the room. Why the hell had my dad put a fucking camera in my bedroom? Was it still there?
I felt sick.
“No,” I whispered.
The entire scene I’d told Aiden about played out in front of us. From my uncle asking me about whether I’d kissed a boy to when he’d pushed me on the bed and held me there. It was the next moments which I’d left out. The ones I never wanted him or anyone else to know.
“You’re so beautiful, Avery. I watch you. Your skin glows. Your body is heavenly. Do you know what I think when I look at you?” Uncle Charlie said.
“No,” I whispered.
“A perfect little girl just ripe to be plucked and tasted.”
I felt bile rise up the back of my throat. This part of our conversation disgusted me. Especially because I’d told Aiden I’d kicked him in the balls immediately, but that wasn’t strictly true.
“What does that mean, Uncle Charlie?”
“It means that I want to love you in a special way. One which your parents can never know about.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You will soon. I wish you’d stay like this forever. It would be my greatest joy.”
I took a step back, putting a hand to my mouth. I couldn’t look away even though I knew what was about to happen next.
“Turn it off,” I said through my hand. “Please.”
Rick either didn’t hear me or he chose to ignore it because the video continued.
Uncle Charlie shifted his weight on top of me until my legs were ramrod straight beneath his. It was how I’d managed to kick him. My uncle ran his hand down my chest, stopping at where my breasts had started developing and fondled me there. I knew what I’d been thinking at the time. About how wrong this was but I was completely frozen in place.
“I don’t like this,” I whispered.
“You will, Avery. Soon.”
“Please, don’t.”
“Shh, shh, you wouldn’t want your daddy to come in right now.”
“Stop.”
He didn’t. His hand continued lower until it reached the one place I never thought he’d ever touch me. That’s when something inside me had snapped.
“Get off me,” I shouted.
“Avery—”
Then I kicked up one of my legs in between his. I remembered the look on his face. The grimace of pain before he clutched his crotch. I’d scrambled out from under him and run.
The video went black.
No one said anything. The urge to be sick grew until I couldn’t contain it any longer. I stumbled back into the wall, trying not to throw up all over myself. My movement caught Aiden’s attention. He looked at me, his eyes were wide with shock, horror painting his features.
It was the last straw. I’d kept that from him all this time because I was so fucking ashamed that I hadn’t pushed my uncle away sooner. How could I tell him that my own uncle had touched me like that?
I bolted, running for the door and ripping it open. I had no clue where the bathroom was, but I couldn’t contain it any longer. Kurt was standing outside. When he saw me, he frowned for a moment as I made a slight noise of alarm before the heaving started.
“Second door on the left,” he said, pointing down the hallway
I didn’t thank him as I ran for the door he’d indicated. Shoving it open, I just about had enough time to fall to my knees in front of the loo before I was violently sick. A moment later, I felt hands on me, pulling my hair out of my face.
“Shh, it’s okay, princess,” came Aiden’s hushed voice.
Everything inside me shattered. I kept hurling my guts up as Aiden held my hair and rubbed my back with his other hand. How the hell could he comfort me when he’d seen the evidence of my omission himself? And to me, it was a big fucking omission.
Tears streamed down my face as I gasped for air. Another wave of nausea drove through me. I wasn’t sure anything else was in my stomach at this point, but more came up until it was just spit and bile.
I shifted away, lying on the floor, completely and utterly spent. I heard the toilet flush along with the lid being put down. I heard the tap running before Aiden knelt beside me and brushed my hair from my face. He cradled my head, turning it towards him as he wiped my mouth and face. I was pretty sure I looked
like a state after all the crying I’d done and now being sick.
He carefully cleaned my face up completely before throwing the cloth back in the sink. He stared down at me, his grey eyes cautious.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“For what?”
“I didn’t tell you everything.”
He shook his head.
“I don’t care about that, princess.”
“You don’t?”
“No, I care about you.”
“I was ashamed he ever touched me like that. You were so angry that night I told you and I was scared.”
He tugged me up off the floor into his arms and stroked my back.
“It’s okay, princess.”
There wasn’t a hint of anger in his voice, just understanding. I relaxed into him, feeling the weight of everything that happened this evening seep from my limbs. Aiden was my safety. My home.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m not happy he did that to you, but I’m not angry with you. You’re the last person who should be apologising. I know why you left it out.”
I wanted to cry, but I wasn’t going to succumb to tears again right now. I’d had enough of being a wreck. It was too exhausting and I already felt drained. Instead, I curled my arms around Aiden and buried my face deeper in his solid chest.
“I love you,” I mumbled.
“I love you too, princess.”
“You’re always taking care of me.”
I felt his chest rumble against my face with his chuckle.
“Only you. No one else gets special treatment.”
“I should hope not.”
“You’re not getting jealous again, are you?”
I hit his back lightly.
“No, don’t bring that up. It’s embarrassing.”
“It’s cute.”
Now he was just saying stuff to distract me from the real issue at hand. I appreciated it, but we also needed to go deal with my uncle and Rick. And I was in desperate need of a drink to wash the taste of sick out of my mouth.
I pulled away from Aiden’s arms, staring at him. I ran a hand over his jaw, smiling. His eyes fell to my mouth. I shook my head, shifting away and getting to my feet. I didn’t wait for him as I stepped over to the sink. The washcloth in it was caked in makeup.