“So, you understand,” my father replies. He smiles at me. “Now, go upstairs and get ready. Your mother will be ready to leave soon.”
“I’m not going,” I say flatly. “I’m sick.”
“Fine,” my father snaps. “Just remember what I said.”
As soon as I’m back in my room, I lock the door and throw myself on my bed. I can’t believe it. As dumb as my father always made me feel before, well, that’s nothing compared to how idiotic I feel now.
Daddy never loved me. He only used me for his own evil purposes.
And Dane must have known all of this from the beginning. Yet, he did nothing about it.
Why? Why wouldn’t Dane act on his knowledge? Or at least tell me, for God’s sake!
Taking a deep breath, I try to summon courage. I know what I have to do.
Exposing my father for the criminal that he is won’t be easy.
In fact, I have a feeling it’ll be the hardest thing I ever do.
But damn it, I have to try.
Chapter Sixteen
Dane
After I get home from Tokyo, the days blur into one giant lump of awful. I’m jet-lagged and exhausted, and I find myself staying up all night and spending hours in my private gym.
I go from my condo to the office and back again, a never-ending cycle of monotony.
And yet, I can’t get her out of my head. Sweet, young Allie.
I miss her all the fucking time.
Everyone can tell that something is on my mind. I almost fire Hanson one morning when he asks me what’s the matter. Like I would tell him. If I wanted a shrink, I’d go to one.
The truth is I can’t tell anyone. Even if I want to. There’s no way my staff and subordinates can know what a bad man I am. I took a beautiful child and ruined her life. I stole her virginity, scandalized her, and then broke her heart.
All because Dane Andersen can’t keep his dick in his pants.
God damn it, I’m a fucking mess.
When Lea rushes into my office, I’m one step away from yelling at her, but she pushes past me and turns on the giant flat screen television mounted on the wall.
“What the fuck, Lea,” I snarl. “A little privacy, please!”
Lea turns to me and gives me a wide-eyed look. “Mr. Andersen, you have to see this,” she says. “It’s really important.”
“It better be,” I growl.
Lea flicks through the channels. She’s shaking and her face is completely bloodless and pale.
“Here,” Lea says breathlessly. She turns up the volume and clutches the remote nervously in one hand. Frowning, I step closer to see that she’s turned on a local news station.
There’s a shot of a giant home outside the city with columns and white marble stairs. It’s overdone and gauche – like a McMansion for people who have actual wealth.
When I see James Carter being led down the stairs in handcuffs, my jaw drops. The banner across the bottom of the screen reads:
BREAKING NEWS! SCARSDALE MILLIONAIRE JAMES CARTER ARRESTED FOR DATA THEFT!