Page 41 of Octane

Over the years, I tried giving him chance after chance to prove that he’s not the lying asshole he was when we were younger, but all he does is fuck shit up. He stole money from my company, he crashed my Lamborghini, and now he’s fucking my fiancée.

“Derrick? What the fuck?”

“Jackson,” his hands fly toward me as if he’d actually be able to shield himself from me. “Wait, it’s not what you think!”

Without further hesitation, I rain punches down on him. I don’t remember everything that happened after that, just bits and pieces. I know I dragged him out of bed, down the stairs, and threw him into the hallway, bare-ass naked. I remember arguing with Kristen. She cried. I cried. She begged me to forgive her, but it was too late.

The condo was in my name, so I threw her out. She packed a bag and left. We called off the wedding. She came by on our would-have-been wedding date, wondering if I’d calmed down enough to want to take her back. I just sat there while she talked, but it was as if she was speaking to a statue. She told me it was the first time she’d ever cheated, which I knew was a lie. After the news broke, one of herbestiessent me screenshot after screenshot of conversations they’d had with one another about Kristen’s magnitude of infidelity.

Finally, with all of her questions unanswered, and frustrated that I wouldn’t say anything in return, she left.

I wouldn’t wish the pain and bitter rage that consumed me after that day on my worst enemy. Not even Daniel, no matter how badly I believe he deserves it. More importantly, I don’t want to fuel his aggression toward Sawyer.

But I was serious about wanting to help her. I hope I was able to get through to her tonight. The story I told her about my mother isn’t even something that Kristen knew about. In hindsight, I’m now sure that I didn’t tell her because deep down I knew what kind of person she was. I can count the number of people who know the truth about my upbringing on one hand.

I won’t be seeing Sawyer again until Thursday, but that’s too long to go without seeing her. However, I can’t chance meeting up with her again under the guise of a mandatory meeting like I did tonight. I’ll just have to wait.

It’s going to be a long four days, waiting, wondering, agonizing over her wellbeing. I feel like an elephant is sitting on my chest, and the only thing that will make it move is seeing her again.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

SAWYER

Once Daniel leaves for work, I drive to Pacific Trust Financial. The weather is gorgeous today. A warm, sunny day for February in Los Angeles, and I take it as a sign that I’m doing the right thing for my future. As I step through the doors of the bank, I’m greeted by an agent in the lobby.

“Welcome to Pac Trust, I’m Lindsay, how can I help you today?”

“Hello, I’d like to talk to someone about my trust.”

“Okay, I can help you with that. If you’ll follow me, we can discuss everything in my office.”

Lindsay leads me into her office, and I take a seat in the chair in front of her desk.

“Can I have your account number? And I’ll need to see two forms of identification.”

I rattle off the account number I have saved in my phone. As she types it into her system, I grab my license and passport from my purse then place them on her desk. She reviews my documents and confirms that I am who I say I am. When she returns her attention to the computer, she tilts her head slightly with a confused look on her face.

That’s not a good sign. Please don’t let something be wrong.

“Let’s try again,” she states as if she heard the worry in my mind. “Sometimes this system is a little wonky.”

I smile nervously as she types my information in once more, and again, the look of confusion on her face unnerves me.

“So, based on what I’m seeing, this trust was dissolved three years ago by the grantor.”

“There must be some kind of mistake.” Panic begins to set in. “Can you please check again?”

“Sure,” she agrees.

We both know she’s not going to get a different result, but I appreciate her for appeasing me.

“I’m really sorry, Ms. Stone, but the trust has been dissolved.”

“But I don’t understand. I thought that I’m the only one allowed to make withdrawals from it?”

“Well, this was a revocable trust. Which means the grantor can withdraw, change, or dissolve the trust at any time.”

I feel like I’m going to throw up. Like someone just punched me in the stomach, and I can’t catch my breath. Struggling to swallow, I grab my ID and passport, and flash Lindsay an embarrassed look before I walk out of her office.

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