Page 40 of The Second Ending
A long and sleepless night later, enough tendrils of memory came floating back that, after a long day at the office dealing with a particularly difficult case, she tried again. This time, with a new approach, she had more luck.
Her father had, long ago, given her some access to his personal files and portfolios, just enough so she could be useful when he needed her assistance with some matter or another. She hadn’t thought about this set of files in years, since he had moved most of his documents to another secure location, but she wondered if he was still using it from time to time. The subscription was still active, and her father didn’t spend money on things that weren’t useful to him.
Thank heavens he hadn’t changed the passwords. He wasn’t the sort to think of that sort of thing, but one never knew. Still,the one she had did the trick, and in a moment, she was logged on and ready to begin her search. This, it seemed, was where she needed to be. All the layers and buffers were on the outside, designed to prevent others from discovering who owned the property where the development was planned. But from inside the shell, it was easy to find with a basic search.
She’d been right.
Her own father was the mysterious owner of the land between the school and the park, the negligent party who had left the field open for the world to run wild on for decades, and the ass who was now refusing to sell it, despite having signed multiple documents to that effect.
And, even worse, it seemed the reason he refused to sell was simply because he hated Marcus.
“Marcus,we need to talk. Please call.”
She’d left that message on his work line, not wanting to disturb him if he was asleep, and again as an email. When would he get back to her? This was something he needed to know, as much as telling him might destroy the tentative bonds they’d reformed.
Could he consider being with the daughter of the man who was dead set on ruining him? It wasn’t just this incident. If her father was out for blood, he’d never stop. Marcus had to know that, too. Oh, this was horrible.
He called back just after nine on Tuesday morning, just after she went into a meeting. Of all the worst timing! She sent a text explaining, and promised to try him later.
It wasn’t until three that they finally were able to talk.
“It’s not good news,” she began, and his gruff response was answer enough. “You know?”
“My lawyer found out. We need to talk. After work? I can leave early.”
Ashleigh looked at her calendar. She had enough to keep her busy but none of it tied to the clock. “I can as well. Any time, really.”
Marcus was there in twenty minutes. They walked together, grim-faced and silent, to a small park between a cluster of tall buildings, one of which housed his offices. Neither wanted to go inside. Ashleigh’s stomach felt like it was ready to empty itself at any moment, a reflection of the grey and looming clouds overhead.
The air was heavy, threatening rain at any moment, but Ashleigh needed the to be outside. Everything about this whole mess was so stifling, she was desperate for the space. Otherwise, she thought she wouldn't be able to breathe at all. She balanced on an uncomfortable concrete bench. Marcus sat beside her for a moment, before jolting up again and stalking around her like a lion in a cage.
He didn’t say a thing, but his impatience was palpable, and at last she managed to choke out the words.
“My damned father! I went through his files last night. I probably shouldn’t have, but I had to know…” She stared at him, wild-eyed, in the vain hope that he would somehow solve all her problems. He didn’t. He just kept pacing. “I can’t believe he would do this. And it gets worse.”
“Tell me.” His voice was as cold as a slab of metal.
“He knows it’s you, and he’s doing it on purpose. I found a letter, or rather he gave me a file, and the letter was inside. I don’t know if he wanted me to find it, or if he was just careless. It’s been his intention all along to do this, and I’m so angry, I’m numb. All this time, since the beginning, he’splayed this horrible game. He knew you were looking to buy a plot for a development, and he formed this mess of layers and agents to hide his identity so when you discovered this particular property, you wouldn’t know whose it was.” She wrung her hands until the skin hurt, and couldn’t force herself to meet his eyes. “He never intended to sell it to you. He just wanted to string you along until you were completely committed, and then sell out to someone else, just to destroy you. It’s horribly cruel, and I’m sick about it.”
Marcus glared at her with unreadable eyes, the line of his mouth tight above his beard. “I had to tell you,” she all but wept, “but if you hate me, I understand. I’d hate me, too.”
His voice softened a notch, and he stopped his agitated pacing. “Hate you? No. I could never hate you. It’s not your fault your father is such a bastard. I wondered. We found out the other night, and Nick has been trying to learn more. It’s just a mess, and I am so fucking furious. But not at you. I could never hate you.”
“You did once,” she muttered, eyes fixed on her shoes. Thankfully he didn’t seem to hear. She looked up at him and raised her voice to be heard. “I wish I knew what to do. I’ve been in knots over it, because it’s my fault—”
“It is not! Don’t say that.” He was in front of her in a moment, reaching out to take her hands.
“It is. If we’d never met, he wouldn’t have developed this idiotic anger against you. Then he’d have no reason to try this nonsense.”
“If we’d never met, Ash, I’m not sure I’d have finished my degree and gone on to build the business into the company it is now. You were my inspiration. I worked hard so I’d be worthy of you. Even…” he took a deep breath. “Even after we broke up, I wanted to make something of myself and of Laconia. At the time, I thought it was to show you what you’d given up. I’m not proudof that. But now, I realise that I wanted to do something you could be proud of.”
“I am! I’m so proud of you. But I’ve ruined it all. I wish I knew what to do to help.”
His voice grew serious. “Can you talk to your father?”
She blinked. “He’ll never listen to me. I told him that I was finished with his nonsense.”
“Can you try? Please?”
