Page 74 of Sweet Ruin

It didn’t matter what had happened between us over the last few hours, days, and weeks. I could see he was in pain, and I needed to reach out to him. When my hand found his, he let our fingers intertwine, and he gripped my hand tightly.

“I wish you hadn’t had to go through all of this,” I said.

“I wish you didn’t either.”

I shook my head because the pain Noah had caused me paled in comparison to what he’d experienced. How he’d spent years pretending to love such a vile man simply so he could find justice for his dad.

“How did you find out William was behind this?” I asked.

“I’ve been piecing things together for years,” he said, looking up to meet my eyes. “In the aftermath of the fire, I knew my grandfather was covering things up. He wanted to make sure my father’s reputation remained intact, so he did everything he could to make sure no one found out your aunt had been there too. He didn’t want anyone to know they were having an affair.”

“You know that’s not true, right?” I said. “About your dad and my aunt.”

“I didn’t, but I know now,” he said. “I’d always struggled to believe my dad would cheat on my mom, and I can’t tell you the relief I felt when Matthew told me what really happened. How he, my dad, and Georgina had been trying to fix the rift between our families. I think that’s what I liked most about teaming up with Matthew. It’s what my dad would have wanted.”

He smiled, and I found myself smiling too. He didn’t talk much about his dad, but it clearly meant so much to Noah that he made his father proud.

He released a sigh, and his expression became heavier as he continued. “But, at that time, I believed what my grandfather told me about the affair, so I didn’t question his decision to hide it from the public eye. It wasn’t until later that I started to suspect that wasn’t the only thing he was covering up.”

“What happened?”

“Shortly after my father died, William wanted me to start learning more about the company. I started to spend my summers working there, attending business meetings with him, and doing paperwork. Over the years, I started to notice things.

“One evening when I was at the office, someone from the fire department came to visit my grandfather. I overheard the two of them talking, and it sounded like the man was trying to blackmail my grandfather. Apparently, this guy had overseen the inspection of the fire at the lab, and William had paid him to alter the report so it listed the cause of the fire as an electrical fault rather than an accelerant. He wanted more money to stay quiet.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean your grandfather was the one who started the fire.”

“No, not necessarily” Noah agreed. “But my grandfather gave the man the extra money he wanted. After that, I started to do some digging. I stayed close to my grandfather, worked hard at the company, and gradually he trusted me with more responsibility and more access.

“The longer I worked at the company, the more I realized how much it was struggling, especially since Matthew undercut the price of our bestselling drug. The finances made for grim reading. But after the fire destroyed the lab and a ton of priceless research went with it… Well, the massive insurance payout my grandfather received was the only reason the company survived. I discovered documents that showed William had conveniently increased the policy by millions of dollars only weeks before the fire.

“It was clear that he’d started the fire to get the money, and as I reflected more and more on that horrible night, I cursed myself for missing it at the time. The way my grandfather had so desperately tried to keep the whole thing quiet. Even the speed with which he tore down the lab, destroying all evidence, so he could create this park…”

Noah let out a heavy breath and stared down at the flowers he’d laid by the memorial to his father. “I don’t know if William intended to kill my father, and I think I’m always going to hope that was an accident. But, either way, William is to blame for my dad’s death. It was time for him to finally pay.”

Noah glanced up, and there were so many emotions flickering across his eyes it was hard to tell what he was truly feeling. There was relief and anger, sadness and pain. If Noah had been hurting over this for years and planning his grandfather’s downfall all this time, I couldn’t begin to fathom how he must feel now he’d succeeded.

“So, you sold his company.”

“I did.”

“And you plan to run it for Matthew?” I asked. “I thought you didn’t want that.”

“No, I just didn’t want to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps. I wanted to follow in my father’s and use the work of Hastings Labs to help people. By working with Matthew, I finally can.”

“Oh,” I murmured.

“I’ve hated lying to you so much,” he said. “And I can’t begin to tell you how hard it’s been to pretend you mean nothing to me."

“Noah, we don’t have to talk about this.”

“Please just hear me out.”

I didn’t know if diving into the act Noah had put on for his grandfather would help either of us. But given the depth of the emotions Noah had just laid on the table, I wasn’t sure I could bring myself to deny him. I nodded for him to continue.

“I’ve done a lot of things I’ve hated to gain my grandfather’s approval and maintain his trust. But the night he asked me to break up with you was the first time I considered telling him no. Everything I’d worked for would have been gone, but at least I would have had you.”

I was already regretting agreeing to let Noah say his piece. I needed to be reaffirming the wall between us, not letting him slowly take it down.

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