I’m sorry, Caroline. I swore the day I put a rose on your coffin that I would never let a minute pass without thinking of you…
I was looking forward to peace and quiet when I left Alcott Inc, especially after the hectic week, but instead, the tranquility I expected, I saw my little sister’s car sitting in my driveway when I got home. She had a key and was always welcome at my house, but I asked her to call first—or at least send me a text message. I didn’t think that was an unusual request, even if she was family. I considered it common decency—she seemed to consider it simply unnecessary. I hit the
button to open the garage and parked my car. I sat there for a couple of seconds and mentally prepared to entertain my sister for a few hours. I wasn’t in the mood, but there were things that neither of us could talk about with anyone else, which is why she normally showed up at my house without giving me any sort of advanced warning.
“Jenny?” I walked through the garage door that led to the kitchen.
“Damien!” Her voice echoed from the living room, and then she came walking into the kitchen with a huge smile on her face. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming home!”
“Well, if you would have called first…” I grunted under my breath.
“I know...” She sighed and looked down at the floor. “I just had a bad week, and I needed a place to cool off.”
“It’s fine.” It was easier to lie than push the issue. “Did you have dinner?”
“No.” She shook her head back and forth.
“I’ll order a pizza.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone.
“Sure.” She flashed what looked to be a forced smile and then walked back into the living room.
I placed the order and poured a drink before I joined Jenny in the living room. She smiled—she didn’t seem to be that upset—but I had learned a long time ago that she knew how to put on the bravest face when the world was falling apart around her. The world that normally fell apart was the same one that used to bring me so much misery when I was younger. I was able to walk away from it, but Jenny didn’t have that luxury—not for another year at least. Until then, she could come and go as she pleased, but she would never get more than a temporary reprieve from Sinn Manor. Eventually, she would have to go back to hell, so I could forgive a visit that wasn’t preceded by some sort of notification—even if it wasn’t my preference.
“I assume your bad week has something to do with our father?” I narrowed my eyes.
“Isn’t he always the source of it?” She sighed.
“Usually,” I grunted and took a sip of my drink. “Making people miserable is what he does best… Is Mom okay?”
“As okay as she can be living with the devil himself.” Jenny sighed a little louder. “Surprisingly, things haven’t been that bad between them lately, but I’m afraid it’s just the calm before the storm—I think he’s cheating on her again.”
“Of course he is.” I shook my head back and forth. “She should have left him the first time. Why would he change if she just forgives and forgets every time he comes home with another woman’s perfume on his damn shirt?”
“I wish I knew…” Jenny exhaled sharply. “But I’ve got bigger problems than that right now—he emptied my trust fund.”
“What!?” I snapped to attention immediately and felt my whole body tense up. “Your trust fund was set up by our grandfather, just like mine was. Dad doesn’t have any right to touch your money!”
“When Grandpa established our trusts, he made the CEO of Sinn Technology, the trustee—it was supposed to be a safety net in case something ever happened to him.” Jenny closed her eyes and appeared to be fighting back tears. “When that position went to our dad…”
“That son of a bitch.” My jaw tightened, and I felt my blood boiling.
“I tried to talk to grandpa about it, but I think his age is finally starting to catch up with him.” She pressed her finger between her eyebrows and squeezed her eyes shut. “It was pretty bad at the retirement party—he barely recognized people he’s known most of his life…”
“Damn.” I felt a lump rising up in my throat, but I quickly swallowed it.
“I thought I was going to get to leave Carson Cove after I graduated from high school, but that obviously isn’t going to happen now.” Jenny opened her eyes, and the tears finally came. “I’ll be lucky if I even get to go to college.”
“That’s nonsense.” I shook my head back and forth. “I’ll pay for your tuition myself if I have to.”
There was a noise outside, and I realized that the delivery driver had arrived, so I excused myself, so I could meet him at the front door. I was doing my best to keep my anger in check, but there was a rage building up inside me. Our grandfather set those trusts up for us when we were kids. They were supposed to pay for college and help us get started in life once we were old enough to manage the money responsibly. That’s exactly what mine did. Jenny had been counting down the days until she could leave Carson Cove for years—I couldn’t even imagine what she was going through.
“You should try to eat something…” I put the pizza down on the coffee table between us.
“Okay.” She leaned forward and picked up a slice.
Jenny took a couple of bites, but the look on her face suggested that she was just doing it to be polite. I didn’t have much of an appetite either. I did my best to reassure her and make sure she understood that I would take care of things so that she could go to college. I even offered to pay for her to go to school somewhere besides Carson Cove if that was what she really wanted. She was too numb to really process what I said. She needed someone she could talk to—someone that understood what she was going through—not a solution to the problem at hand. I could tell that deep down, she was hurt by what our father did. He still had an effect on her—she hadn’t completely purged her emotional attachment to him like I had.
“I guess I should get home.” Jenny picked up her phone and checked the time. “I don’t want to give him a reason to take anything else away from me…”