Page 82 of Owen

“Richard told me the hedge funding was a sure thing and that I would triple my investment. The crypto thing was unfortunate timing. The collapse of Bankham Main triggered a crash in the market. I wasn’t the only one to lose out,” he protests, looking sheepish. “I also made some stupid decisions betting on stocks.”

Some? They were all stupid, in my opinion.

“You’re a fool.” He has everything. What else did he need? Then it dawns on me. “Greed,” I growl out between my teeth. “None of it was enough for you. What did you think you would achieve?” I’m so relieved I got out when I did.

“I had to borrow money from Gideon and Richard last week to pay the staff wages, to keep the business afloat and pay off some of the other debts that have accumulated.” He carries on as if I hadn’t spoken. “But I took a punt and invested it to see if I could double or triple it.”

“You have got to be kidding me.”

He has a gambling addiction. It’s so obvious to me now and he needs help. Stat.

“And I lost it all.” Pacing up and down now with my hands in my hair, I breathe in and out while I decide how to respond. “So, as well as losing all of your money and Richard’s,andnot being able to pay the staff from the printing press, I’m guessing the merger with Evangeline’s father’s business didn’t go through either?”

“That’s a business deal I no longer care about.”

“Why not?”

“It doesn’t matter now.” His eyes bounce around the walled enclosure of restaurants, my mother standing closer to him than I’ve seen her before.

“What do you mean, ‘it doesn’t matter now’?”

“Evangeline’s father’s money seems insignificant now because it wouldn’t help to dig us out of the financial trouble we are in.”

“We? There is no fuckingwe. And why wouldn’t it help?” Was Evangeline part of a deal or payment? What a mess…

“It’s not important.”

Fuck him, I’m probably best not knowing anyway, and I’m relieved the deal didn’t go through before the wedding. As much as I hate what our fathers were making us do, I would never wish for another business to fold because of my father’s stupid decisions.

“Your money problems have nothing to do with me. I kept our books cleaner than a freshly laundered bedsheet. I hope everyone knows that. You blew it.” I point at him. “Not me.” I stop pacing and look at him. Really look at him as sweat patches bleed like ink on blotting paper into his shirt.

Oh, my fucking God, Daddy dearest blamed me. “You used me as the scapegoat, didn’t you?”

Looking away, I scoff.

“I have no way of paying Richard and Gideon back.” He nervously looks at my mother and says under his breath, “If they find out we have no money left, he will take the only thing we have—the printing house—and illegally trade fuck knows what from there with his shipping company. They don’t trade in coffee and cars, Owen.”

I’ve read many an article about the lawsuits against Sanderson Shipping. There are so many rumors about their dodgy dealings.

I tilt my head. “You’re just like them. Greedy, manipulative, and corrupt.”

Exasperated, he lifts his hands into the air, gesturing to what looks like an explosion. “I can’t let him get his hands on our business, Owen,” he grits out through his teeth. “It’s the only thing we have left, but it’s not enough to pay him back. I need you to come back and help me figure out how the hell I liquidate the business without losing our house and figure out how I can pay them off.”

“Oh, hell, no. I’m not doing that. This is your mess,” I exclaim. Immediately after the words leave my mouth, an odd calm settles over me. I’m relieved I’m not a part of this anymore, and then I realize. “You don’t care about me at all, do you? You’re only here to ask for my help so I can save your sorry ass and keep her in designer handbags.” I point at my stiff-as-a-board mother who hasn’t let one flicker of emotion show on her face throughout this whole conversation. “And she’s only here with you because she’s desperate.”

I mean, what will her elitist friends say about her if she doesn’t have the latest purse in every color?

Jagged creases line the skin around my father’s eyes. He looks tired, but he’s hiding behind a wall of bravado. I should know; it’s what I was doing myself before I fled that sorry excuse of a wedding and this family.

His voice is low and steady as he makes his demand. “You will get on the plane with us tonight and come home, Owen.”

A burst of laughter leaves my throat. “You are so out of touch with reality, it’s actually funny.” I hold my stomach for good measure. “Get yourself out of the mess you got yourself into. I will not be your scapegoat or your savior.” The one good thing in all of this is that my father signed off all the end-of-year accounts I filed. Choosing to take a bigger salary and no dividends, I was a director in name only and not a shareholder. Thank fuck for that, or he would have happily dragged myname through the mud with him, possibly ending up in prison, just like he might.

I take one last look at my mother. Her blue eyes are laced with a mixture of fierce pain and defiance. “I would say it’s been nice knowing you, but it hasn’t. Good luck with everything, and you can use the money you stole from me to pay off some of your debt that you are owe Richard,” I add as a final dig before I turn away.

“It’s not enough to pay him off.” My father’s loud voice roars closer to me as I make to leave, but he storms after me. “You will save this business.” My father’s voice sounds desperate as he tries to demand I help.

“I will not.”

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