The Billionaire's Claim: Redemption

I lift my chin and look at him. His expression is so earnest. I don’t doubt he’s being honest, but only because he doesn’t know how I set Andy up. If he knew, would he still feel the same way? Tolyan told me Andy deserved it, but Dominic’s fond of his cousin. I saw that in Hawaii. I’m not sure what Dominic will say or do. He’s so protective.

“Let’s go downstairs,” I say in a wooden voice. “I really need a drink.”

Even if Dominic didn’t like Andy, what I’m about to say isn’t something I can talk about without a drink or two first. The horror still lingers in my mind, and I can’t even think about it without shaking.

“Whoa.” Dominic suddenly lunges forward and takes my arm, supporting me. I look down, see my knees bent awkwardly. I almost fell without realizing.

He helps me down the stairs. I almost want to tell him I don’t need it, to get some time to pull myself together and put on a hard, well-composed mask, but I can’t. My legs are too shaky, and my muscles feel about as strong as soaked cotton balls.

I point at an armchair, and he takes me there. The moment my butt hits the cushion, he goes to the bar and brings a bottle of vodka and a tumbler.

“Here.” He pours me a glass and hands it over.

I wrap my hands around it gratefully. “Thanks.” I take a long swallow, then wait for the alcohol to warm my insides.

It doesn’t.

He takes a seat on a couch to my right. I lick my lips, then flex my fingers around the glass. “I already told you Mom wanted me to date.”

“Yes.”

“But I didn’t tell you why.” I swallow hard, then take another sip. “It was a kind of competition. Dad sent me extravagant presents to show off his wealth. Mom made me do things to show him I was beyond money, because of course she and her children were much too refined to be impressed with something so…base.” I snort, then giggle hysterically. “Isn’t that the most ridiculous thing ever? She’s filthy rich, but acts like money’s gross. But if you ask her to be more charitable, she’ll spit in your face. Yeah…that’s my mom.”

That was probably one of the biggest reasons why Grandma Shirley didn’t think Mom would be good for the foundation. She adored Mom, but wasn’t blind to her faults.

“She started to get upset when I kept dating but didn’t pursue any of the relationships past casual dating. She raged that it was taking too long. I wasn’t even old enough to drink the champagne toast at the wedding. Told her nobody had to marry that young, but she didn’t care. She picked out the most suitable families—old money, of course. None of the gaudy nouveau riche like Dad, of course. Then there was influence, which mattered greatly. She was obsessed and became increasingly angry. We argued all the time, but never too loudly. We didn’t want Shirley to overhear, although I’m pretty sure she knew.”

I hand Dominic my empty glass. He fills it to the brim, and I empty about a quarter of it before continuing.

“Then one day, I’d had enough. By then I had Tolyan’s loyalty, so I asked him for a solution. He proposed I blackmail Mom. It would be the cleanest. I vetoed it. Mom would just run to Shirley and bring Grandma’s disapproval and anger over me. She was always so fond of Mom. Tolyan was adamant he could find something so embarrassing that Mom wouldn’t want Grandma to know, but I wanted something more certain than that, because I was only getting one chance.

“His second solution was bold, but dangerous. To me, it was worth the risk even though he disagreed. But it was my decision, so he finally caved in and chose Andy Brown as the target.”

Dominic tenses. “What do you mean?”

“Andy’s good at hiding his deviant behavior, but he’s a sociopath who loves to beat and rape women. Dorothy and Chuck knew, but hid his crimes from the world because they didn’t want anything to mar Chuck’s image with voters. They made sure the women he raped knew what was waiting for them if they came forward. There was no MeToo movement to support those women back then. They’d be vilified, called sluts who got what they deserved because they wore short skirts and drank the drinks he bought them.

“Tolyan found all this out, then slowly pushed Andy into Mom’s orbit. She decided he might do because of Chuck. His family’s produced a lot of state senators and governors. That kind of political influence made up for the less-than-desirable bank account.”

I breathe out roughly, then knock back the rest of the vodka. I need to talk faster. I’m too jittery now—not from the alcohol—and I know if I slow down or think too hard about it, I’m going to lose my nerve and throw up all over myself.

I keep my eyes somewhere beyond the wall in front of me and keep going, my words coming out more rapidly now.

“I had three dates with him. The first time, I was friendly, but second, I was flirty, but without letting him have more than a peck on my cheek. The third one…he wanted a house dinner. He was grilling some pork chops, using his mom’s seasoning mix. Wouldn’t I want it? I knew what was coming, but went anyway. Tolyan and I had already practiced a few maneuvers, and he gave me a panic button I could push when I needed him.

“And sure enough, that was it. Andy was so angry when I fought back. Do you know it really hurts a lot more than you think to get backhanded? I thought I was going to black out. But I managed to stab him with a steak knife. He cut me under my breast, which hurt like hell, then stuck a small butter knife there to ‘teach me a lesson.’”

“The scar—” Dominic says, his voice almost soundless.

I nod. “I hit the panic button, and Tolyan came in and beat the crap out of Andy, dislocating his jaw. He probably would’ve killed him if it weren’t for me groaning in pain.

“But I got what I wanted. Shirley blamed Mom for everything, and Mom was no longer allowed to order me to date or do anything. Grandma then had everything documented and photographed and confronted Dorothy and Chuck. They begged for mercy because it was one thing to harass and threaten rape victims with no money or power, but it was quite another to do the same with someone like me. Shirley promised to forgive them only if they could convince me to do so. I didn’t think she expected them to succeed. She just wanted to watch them humiliate themselves.

“I didn’t want to forgive them. I know Dorothy had egged Grandma on to destroy you and drive that wedge between us. I wanted them all to pay for that and for what Andy’s done for years and years under their protection. But I knew my forgiveness didn’t mean much in the grand scheme. Even if Shirley had Andy prosecuted, he wouldn’t get much of punishment unless we could prove it wasn’t the firs

t time. And even then, some judges are outrageously lenient to young men, worried about how harsh punishment for a minor ‘mistake’ could affect their future.” I curl my lips in disdain. “The worst part is Dorothy and Chuck would walk away—since I didn’t have any evidence to prove that they were part of the problem—and they’d use all their influence and call in favors to protect their psychopath son.

“I told Dorothy I’d let it go if she kept Andy away from me and other women and if she and her husband and their cronies stopped interfering with your business. They were denying you permits and ‘losing’ your paperwork and applications, among other things. Then I told her if she didn’t want to lose everything, she and her husband better be dogs—very good and obedient dogs that did whatever the family wanted. Then, to reward their good dog behavior, I’d have the family support her husband’s career. They fell to their knees and took my proposal. And Shirley let it go, and we all made sure that my three dates with Andy remained a secret.