Page 66 of Fractured Constellations
“Good evening, Master Chase, Master Thorn,” he greets warmly, and I must admit I will miss him once we leave.
“Good evening, Jerry. Is my father in his study?” Chase asks, and Jerr nods.
“He is, shall I announce you?”
“Nope, we’ve got it, Jerr,” I assure him. “But could you make Luna a quick snack please? We’ll be heading to The Cottage after this, but she might be hungry.”
“Righto.” Jerr agrees, saying hello to Luna and Blade behind us as Chase and I make our way to our dad’s study.
Chase knocks when we reach the door, Dad’s deep voice calling us in a moment later.
“Evening, boys. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” he asks, though his smile doesn’t reach his dark eyes. I’m suddenly glad we all got Mom’s eyes and not his. It’s something I’ve never thought about until now, until I see the coldness there looking out at us.
“We’re here to tell you that the results of the PET scan showed the treatment has not been effective, so Luna will be stopping it and we’re going ahead with the bone marrow transplant at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.” Chase’s voice is unemotional, relaying the facts as my heart beats faster inside my chest. Dad looks fucking livid, his skin flushing red.
“It just needs more time, and we’ve already planned a press conference for tomorrow to tell everyone of the success of thenew treatment ahead of our quarterly reports,” Dad replies, and my mouth drops open.
“You were going to claim it a success before it’s even been proven to be?” His gaze snaps to me, his top lip slightly curled.
“It’s already helped her, I’m sure. It just needs more time, but the shareholders need some reassurance, which I’m confident we can give them, given that her cancer cells have seen a reduction.”
“It’s no wonder they need reassurance, given it’s not completed proper clinical trials,” Chase states, his words landing like a bomb in my chest. Dad narrows his eyes as he glares at my brother. “Tell me, Father, did you marry Lorelei to gain access to Luna so you could use her as a guinea pig?”
Holy shit.
“What the fuck?” I whisper, lead filling my stomach at what Chase is implying.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Dad scoffs, straightening his shirtsleeves, but I don’t miss the slight tremble in his fingers.
“I admit, even I was unsure, until I spoke to some of Lorelei’s old colleagues and discovered that she served at one of our fundraisers five months before Luna’s most recent diagnosis, and I know that you perform thorough background checks on everyone who works for you.” My brother goes closer to Dad’s desk, placing his hands on the top and leaning in. I’m hardly breathing, just listening with growing horror at the story that he’s telling. “They told me that you singled her out at the party, flirting with her, and that you pursued her with an unusual intensity and interest.” Dad’s lips flatten into a thin line, and my heart thuds loudly inside my chest. “You used your connections to monitor Luna’s medical data, then proposed after only three months, no doubt emphasizing the point that you could take care of Luna as well as Lorelei, paying off her past medical debts,but that it was best to keep it quiet for now, waiting until the time is right. Am I close, Father?”
“Of course not! I just wanted to help, and I care deeply for both Lorelei and Luna,” Dad responds, but there’s something not right about his words, like he’s playing a role. Plus, if he cared so deeply, why did he use Luna’s treatment as a bargaining chip the other day? And he hasn’t exactly shown the care a father figure would of her since her arrival, practically dismissing her at every turn.
“Well, how about the fact that three weeks before Luna’s diagnosis, Lorelei confided in you about her fears of the cancer returning due to Luna’s concerning symptoms? But you already knew this given you were monitoring her yourself and had identified her as a potential test subject for your new drug, even though multiple previous subjects had been rejected on account of the inconclusive results.” I’ve never heard Chase’s voice go so cold as it is right now. He’s beyond pissed, and the blood in my veins burns at this revelation. “But like a knight in shining armor, you arranged immediate medical attention for Luna, expediting her test results. When Luna’s results came through, you knew what they’d say having seen them first, and so you proposed to bring the wedding forward so that Luna could benefit from your insurance and the new treatment. You deliberately excluded Luna, and us, and got Lorelei to sign medical authorization papers as part of the wedding paperwork, a treatment plan already in place before the wedding was even finalized.”
Dad pushes to his feet, his nostrils flared. “You have no proof, you little shit. I was her savior. She’d most likely still be awaiting treatment if it wasn’t for me.”
My stomach swoops. He didn’t deny it, didn’t argue the fact that he targeted a mother at her most vulnerable moment just to help line his pockets.
“Oh, Father,” Chase states, straightening up. There’s a cruel smile on his face, one I’ve not seen since we discovered Luna’s condition. “You taught me better than that. Of course I have proof. Plus proof that the drug you’ve been using on Luna hasn’t completed proper medical trials and never should have been used in the first place.”
“You put her in danger?” I snarl, my blood boiling at all the what-ifs that come with using a drug that we don’t even know is fucking safe. “Who the fuck even are you?”
“I’m your father and you will show me some damn respect!” he yells, but I’m shaking my head before he’s even finished.
“We may share DNA, but you are not my father. Not anymore.” Curling my lip in disgust, my stomach churning with the danger Luna has been in this whole time, I turn my back on him. “Come, Chase. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
“Our lawyers will be in touch,” Chase informs him coldly, then joins me as I stride from the study, the door slamming behind us.
“Fuck!” I hiss, my hands clenched into fists at my sides. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
“I only got confirmation when we stopped on the way back. It was just suspicion before then,” he admits, his jaw tight as we quickly make our way upstairs.
“How the fuck are we going to tell her? Especially as she still has the transplant to come?”
Shit. This is so fucked up.
“Let’s get out of here, and we can tell her once we’re at The Cottage. Let her decide how she wants to proceed,” he advises, his hand landing on my shoulder and squeezing. It grounds me, just enough to take a breath and calm my racing heart.
