Page 75 of Forbidden Desires

“She’s not here.”

“The ceremony’s on the lawn at three. It’s close to that now, I’ll check out there,” she calls in my direction.

I go to follow her, and Victor steps into the room. Every muscle in my body tenses at the sight of him.

“Where’s Lana?” I ask, no time left for fucking around. He knows what’s going on here, I’m sure of it.

His eyes meet mine. “I’m not sure. We had a meeting earlier, then she left for the day.”

I stride closer to him. “Why do the two of you need to conduct so many meetings? She has no role here, unless there is a part of this business you’re hiding from me.” I tilt my head, studying him, my glare icy. “Or is it an employee?”

His eyes shift around the room like he’s looking for an escape from my scrutiny. Even now when he knows I’m on to him, he can’t come clean and just tell me what’s been going on.

“You have five minutes to pack your things and leave the hotel for good,” I tell him, my voice filled with disgust. He was dedicated to my father for all those years, but who knows what he was really doing behind his back.

“Excuse me?” He quirks a brow, clearly taken aback by my request.

I move slowly, stalking toward him. “You’re being dismissed. Did you really think I wouldn’t work out money disappearing right in front of my eyes? That you were paying off his mistress and her bastard son.”

Casually he straightens out his suit, dusting it off. “I was only doing what your father was too pathetic to. He treated this place like his personal playground, and he left the mother of his child in debt up to her eyeballs and a small child to take care of alone, instead of manning up and looking after them. Someone had to step in. The only thing your father cared about was his reputation and this damn hotel. But you already know that. It’s why you ran away from all this.”

I assess him. He’s calm, resigned to his fate. He had to know his days here were numbered, but he still didn’t come to me. He had months to confess what he knew and not a word. “So, you took care of them, made sure they were getting enough out of the business to live off, how chivalrous. What I want to know is how did you get him to sign off on it?”

“I can’t believe you haven’t worked it out by now. Your father had no idea what was going on with his business. Once your grandad passed, there was only ever going to be a downhill trajectory. He’s lucky he had my help to keep it afloat for as long as I did.”

“Why did you stop?”

He drops his head, and I see the defeat. “I’m old, Brody. I’m ready to retire, and once he married Lana, things around here got more complicated than even I could handle. You don’t know her like I do. She won’t stop until she gets what she wants.”

Half of me feels sorry for him. He believed he was cleaning up my father’s mess, doing the right thing for his child. Even to his own detriment. “You should have come to me, explained all of this when I first took over. Things could have ended for you very differently.”

“And what would you have done? Given Mason what he was entitled to? Let him share in the ownership of The Alexander? Come on, Brody, give me some credit. I did what I thought was right. I convinced your father to give in to his threats and just pay him what he was after. Who knows what the two of them would have done if we didn’t. Your father was scared for his life.”

“So, it was Mason threatening him? Was he the one who killed him?”

He pulls a folded-up piece of paper from his suit pants. “All I know is we started getting these notes right after your father married Lana.”

“You came down here prepared.”

“I knew what you and Emerson would find when you went to that house. It’s owned by Lana, but it’s where Mason lives, and there’s no way you wouldn’t have put it all together.”

I nod, agreeing with him, before glancing at the note.Your secrets are no longer safe. Pay the price for your sins or your empire will crumble. We know about the illegitimate child and the debts you’ve left behind. You have five days to comply, or it won’t just be your beloved hotel you need to worry about. We’re coming for you, old man.

For fuck’s sake, these should have been given to the police. There’s one for each day in the lead-up to his death, all stating something similar. Anger radiates through me. Victor knew all of this. “Why didn’t you go to the police?” I demand.

“Your father didn’t want his secrets exposed to the town. He was a very proud man, and we both know if he went to the police, his reputation would have been destroyed. So, he paid them, and we both thoughtit would be over. He was also worried about the possibility of other people coming forward claiming to be his children.” Victor’s eyes meet mine, and I know it’s a real possibility.

I run a hand through my hair, my skin prickling at the thought. “For fuck’s sake. There are others?”

“Not that we know of, but there were many affairs over the years. It’s possible.”

My stomach rolls. I’m so disgusted at the thought. Our poor mother. What she had to put up with is beyond soul-destroying. “Tell me one thing. Was it you leaking information to the media?”

“I wouldn’t do that to this family, son,” he says sincerely, and I believe him.

I nod, slowly processing. None of this changes Victor’s part in keeping this all from me. I can’t trust him, and now he’ll have to face the consequences. Jim comes through the open door, his eyes meeting mine. “Emerson said you might need me?” he asks, and I nod in reply.

“You served my father for a long time. You will be paid for your efforts in your severance package, and you won’t be charged for what you have stolen from us, because unlike my father, I uphold my family responsibilities. But you have to understand I can no longer have an employee I don’t trust working for me. Jim will help you empty your office and escort you to your car.”

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