Once Upon a Friendship

His unsuccessful personal life—the innuendo to Missy and Tamara—was so Walter. Until the past month, even Liam wouldn’t have known of what he was speaking.

“I knew better, having been down that road before. One game leads to another, and each one with higher stakes. When I won, I won big. When I lost, I used company money to cover my debts, drawing from a charitable fund I’d set up to offer a one-time buyback forgiveness to top executives who made a bad investment. I’d win, I’d fill the account. I’d lose, I’d drain it. And drain it. And drain it. It was only a matter of time before I was called to pay the piper. One of my top men applied for buyback funds that didn’t exist. And instead of admitting what I’d done, I used a piece of dirt I had on him to blackmail him into silence.”

The crowd was so quiet Liam could hear his own breath like a roar in his ears. In. Out. In. Out.

“The second thing...” Walter paused. All eyes were on him. From half a block away Liam could feel their pressure. “I’m even less proud of...”

Here it goes. He wasn’t seeing the crowd anymore. Just the cement at his feet. The shine of metal off the cars on the road a few yards away. And, as he turned, the black of Gabi’s hair. In. Out. In. Out. His breath roared.

He was going to be fine. He knew that now. No matter what, he’d be fine. He just needed to know that Gabi would be, too.

“About three months ago, I stumbled on some documents that troubled me. As I looked into the matter, I found evidence of fraudulent investments being made by a member of my staff. I won’t bore you with the technical details, but while I very quickly figured out who was behind the criminal activity, I didn’t have any way to prove it.”

Liam waited. Almost eager now to have it done. Looking forward to taking the next steps. Energy filled him with every word his father spoke.

“I confronted the man...”

Liam’s head shot up at the same time he felt Gabi’s hand grab his arm. Holding on. As if he was holding her up. He turned to look at her. The shock on her face mirrored what he knew must be on his own.

His father had never confronted him. And then he remembered that Walter wasn’t speaking the truth. He was spinning the tale that would lead to Liam’s arrest.

His heart should be pounding with panic.

He wasn’t feeling it, though.

Wasn’t feeling anything at all.

“I was told at that time that my son, Liam...” Walter turned then, looking out over the crowd—as though searching for someone—and Liam’s shoulders straightened. Had his father seen him? He didn’t think so. And was glad. He didn’t want the old man to have the satisfaction of knowing that he was witnessing this.

“I was told that Liam had been set up to take the fall if the Ponzi scheme came to light. I was shown a trail of paperwork that would be exposed as proof of Liam’s involvement. For years patterns and situations had been contrived to leave Liam in the right place at the right time to make him look guilty.”

Liam’s lips started to tremble. He took a step forward and stopped, his gaze on only his father.

“In order to protect my son, I allowed this man, this trusted friend, to continue to use my company for his criminal activity, hoping that he’d do as he swore he would, which was shut down the scheme and repay every dime of the money he’d swindled before anyone knew what had happened. I’d like to believe he’d have done so if the FBI hadn’t been ahead of him.”

Walter coughed.

“I knew that what I’d agreed to was wrong, but I did it. And then immediately severed all ties with my family members, hoping that any fallout would be mine alone.” Walter chuckled. A sickly kind of sound. “It’s a testimony to the less than stellar man I’ve become that not one member of my family was shocked by my ability to shun them...”

Liam wanted to say that he’d been shocked. But he hadn’t been. And knew the fault of that was not his own.

Knowing didn’t stop him from caring that his old man was hurting from his sins. Beyond that he couldn’t think.

Couldn’t put it all together.

His father had been protecting him?

“However, it has recently been made known to me that my son has become a suspect in this investigation in spite of my attempt to protect him.”

Gabi’s fingers dug into his and Liam had an idea she knew something about his father’s knowledge of Liam’s interview with the FBI. But before he could follow up on the thought, his father continued.

“I see my son standing tall. Living with his integrity intact in spite of the wrongs being done to him. By me. And by you. And I am sickened again. Because I’ve stood by and let Liam—and the rest of my family—be hurt by these accusations rather than speak the truth, just to save my own backside. I was hedging my bets again. Betting that the grand jury would not indict me, that, as I’d been assured by my blackmailer, there wouldn’t be enough evidence to get an indictment, and I could continue on with my life without admitting to the criminal activity I have done. All of this was carried out with the assurance that if I stayed quiet, Liam would be spared.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the press, my son is not a criminal. I am a fraudulent man in many ways, but I am not a thief. This morning I called Agent Gwen Menard of the FBI, confessed my part in this affair and told her that George Costas, my attorney, ran the Ponzi scheme. An event of which I was unaware until three months ago. I will plead guilty to whatever charges are forthcoming on my behalf. I will cooperate with the ensuing investigation and pray to God that there will be enough evidence forthcoming, that perhaps members of the public who have dealt with George will be forthcoming, and we will be able to put this to rest. That is all.”

Walter turned from the podium. Didn’t look right or left. Walked back into his building, appearing, for the first time in Liam’s life, like an old man.

His vision was blurred as he moved forward, intending to go to him, and that’s when he saw Missy and Tamara leave the shadows behind a pillar on the front steps and follow his father inside.