CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Blair
I jolted awake, Zach’s scent hitting my nostrils. I was back in his arms, and his lips trailed a tantalizing path down my jaw and neck.
“Zach,” I murmured, turning my head around, my hand reaching out for . . .
Nothing. Zach wasn’t here.
My chest clenched. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, remembering I’d fallen asleep in Zach’s bed after hours of crying.
I also remembered everything that happened yesterday, and I unbuttoned the shirt, looking down at the tattoo.
I inhaled a deep breath against a wave of anguish crashing over me, then chased the memory away.
The tattoo was still sore, and I made a mental note to look for some cream that would help alleviate the pain.
I stood and buttoned up my shirt, glancing around Zach’s room one last time before I headed out.
I only made it past the open door of Mom’s office, when she rushed to it, her stiletto heels jabbing the floor.
“Where were you? You weren’t in your room, and you weren’t answering your phone.”
“I fell asleep in the gazebo. My phone was on silent.”
“What? You shouldn’t have left your phone on silent! Not when we’re dealing with an emergency and you have to be available when I need you!”
“I’m sorry.” I shrugged.
Her expression turned thunderous. “In my office. Now.”
I looked upward and took a deep breath, preparing myself for what I was sure was going to be a grueling conversation.
She went to sit behind her desk, her shoulders too rigid. “Close the door behind you.”
I pushed the door closed and moved carefully as I took a seat across from her because my butt still hurt. I was more than aware of my unbrushed hair and unwashed face, and I was pretty sure I had eye boogers, but she was too angry to mention any of that.
“I can’t even begin to tell you how bad this situation is for us, yet you act like you don’t even care.
I asked only one thing of you.” She raised her finger.
“One. To be on your best behavior, and you failed through and through. As if what happened with Zach Curtis and that video wasn’t enough, you ruined my plan with the soup kitchen, which would’ve helped us immensely now, considering your reputation will hardly recover from this. ”
I arched my brows. “Help us? How? Nothing will change the fact that I was a terrible person.”
Her lip twitched, her nostrils flaring. “As if we’d let people believe all that happened!”
“What?”
“We’ll send a statement saying it’s fake. Our PR team is working on it as we speak.”
“You can’t be serious. That’s ridiculous!”
She grabbed her pen with both hands, squeezing it hard.
“Don’t you talk back to me, Blair. It’s how we’re going to go about this whether you like it or not.
I won’t let what I’ve been building my whole life be destroyed that easily.
And you know how fragile a reputation can be.
One wrong move, and it’s all over for us. ”
I tightened my jaw. Smoke and mirrors, smoke and mirrors; it was always the same with her. So shiny on the outside while so rotten on the inside. “Yet we’ve been making wrong move after wrong move.”
“What does that even mean?”
“How about the fact that Dad is using me to get what he wants?”
The muscle in her jaw ticked. “What’s that have to do with anything?”
“It has everything to do with it. You’re so busy painting the picture of a perfect philanthropist, wife, and mother, when you’re nothing but a fraud.”
She froze, her eyes widening. “What did you just say?”
“You’re a fraud. Your daughters are treated like breeding stock, and you don’t even care. I wonder if you’d care if the public found out about it as well.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. Her hands tightened around her pen so hard her knuckles went white. “Are you threatening me, Blair?”
“Why? Do you feel threatened?”
Her eye twitched. “Your attitude is appalling. But you better start listening and keep that nasty mouth in check because everything you have—everything you are—is because of us. All the power, all the connections, all the privileges. You don’t want to go against this family.”
“Because that’s all that matters, right? All Dad’s indiscretions, all your nasty schemes . . . they don’t matter as long as this family remains in power?”
“Exactly, and it’s how it’s always going to be. Don’t play the little victim. If you’re any smarter, you’d learn to use your assets”—she looked at me up and down—“and get to the top. But next time, don’t be so stupid and get recorded while doing it.”
Disgust and revulsion washed over me. Just like Dad, there was no ounce of parental love in her, and I wondered why I’d ever listened to her.
She stood, dropping her pen on the desk. “Don’t do anything dumb, Blair. You won’t like the consequences.”
I waited for the fear to overwhelm me . . . yet there was nothing. She and her threats didn’t scare me in the slightest. I just regretted not gathering my courage sooner.
Her phone rang, and she swept it off her desk, answering the call.
“What do you have for me?” Her eyes widened as she listened to the person on the other side of the line.
“You can tell the press to stick it in their asses. We already released our statement about our involvement with Lana Devereux’s charity.
As for anything else, I have no comment.
” Her hand clenched around her phone. “What do you mean someone leaked documents about our own misuse of funds? Who?”
I stood, barely hiding my grin behind my hand as I turned and left her to deal with her own mess. She had to pay, just like Dad, and this felt fitting. Liberating. Long overdue. And no statement would save her.
With a skip in my step, I entered my room, only to slow down when I saw my phone on my bed.
I picked it up and checked the screen for the notifications I knew wouldn’t be there.
There was no reason for Zach to call or text me.
That didn’t stop the hollow feeling from forming in my stomach, which only increased as I blocked his number.
Ignoring all the notifications that were waiting for me, my stomach knotting with apprehension, I dropped my phone back on my bed and headed to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth.
All the while, Zach’s dark eyes haunted me, filled with hatred and pain.
The next few days passed in a blur of distress.
After my mom released a statement that the video was fabricated, we had to go to the police to give our statements, only for a group of disgruntled strangers to “welcome me” as we walked there, and I ended up covered in eggs.
The reporters were also there, catching everything on camera, and more news about me flooded the media.
It felt like the statement had only made things worse, and each day I had to wake up to a fresh wave of hate and death threats on my social media.
All the brands had stopped working with me, my social media following dropped even further, and my mom forced me to stay at home most of the time to avoid any more unpleasant situations.
I could only imagine how happy Zach was right now.
Yet I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
I missed him. I missed seeing him in my house, knowing he was close, and it was torture to want to be near him, even as I had the tattoo to remind me how wrong that was.
That word was always there, instilling pain in me and reminding me not just of Zach’s cruelty but also of my own, and I didn’t know how to deal with it.
I didn’t know what to do about the tattoo, but I put it off for now, occupying myself with my plan to deal with Dad and William first.
I’d tried to dig out anything I could about Dad’s business, but Dad had covered his tracks pretty well.
Other than the gossip on the internet, I couldn’t find anything substantial I could take to court.
I’d even entered his study one time when he wasn’t home and went through all his drawers and cabinets, but none of the documents they stored revealed anything out of place.
I’d thought about talking to Paula again to see if she would be willing to testify, but I dismissed that idea because I believed the prosecutor would reject the case again.
Without more proof or people willing to talk, I had nothing.
Still, I’d come up with a solution, though it involved a lot of luck.
It required me to face William again at that masquerade ball, but if I played my cards right, I’d get my evidence before he could even lay a finger on me.
Furthermore, it was the only way for me to address Zach’s video on my own terms.
Zach wanted me defeated, and he might’ve succeeded in it, but it didn’t mean I had to be a victim.
I wasn’t going to keep lying or hiding anymore.
Although I’d never wanted anyone to find out about my past, the fact remained that I’d been a terrible person, and I’d never faced consequences for my behavior.
So I was going to own who I was and take responsibility for my actions.
That was the only way for me to start living my life the way I wanted.
That was the only way I could remind myself that the word tattooed on my skin wasn’t who I was anymore.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Melody told me, having just heard my plan.
We were in my closet, where I went through the dresses I could wear to the ball tonight.
Dad had been on my case the whole day, wanting to make sure I wouldn’t “do something I’d regret,” forcing me to ride with him to the event.
He’d also ordered me to wear something sexy.
“It’s the best I could come up with.” I pulled out a short gold dress that cut open at the back and on the sides at the waist. It was glamorous and sophisticated, but sexy enough to prove to my dad I wouldn’t disobey. It was also a perfect bait for William.
She shuddered, rubbing her arms. “B, rethink this. You’re putting yourself in danger. Are you sure you don’t want me to come too?”
I slashed her with a glare. “No. I don’t want you anywhere near William. Who knows if there will be others like him who would use the opportunity.”
“But you’ll be there all on your own.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be out of there in no time. Besides, it will be worth it.”
“Dad won’t go down that easily.”
“It won’t matter. Just like Mom, he won’t have any choice.”
Needless to say, he was on pins and needles. The feds had raided Mom’s offices yesterday, and Dad had lost it, spending hours fighting with Mom last night. It only confirmed that he, too, had a lot to hide from the authorities, and it only cemented my decision to do what I planned tonight.
Melody’s lips twisted downward. “You’re once again sacrificing yourself for me.”
“No, it’s not like that at all.” I took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I’m doing this for both of us, so don’t say that.”
She squeezed my hand back, but her expression didn’t change. “How about Zach? He could make sure nothing happens to you.”
I dropped her hand, my chest throbbing. I didn’t like how much I liked the thought of Zach guarding me. “Are you crazy? How can you even suggest something like that?”
“Because it’s better than you going there alone.”
I ground my jaw, snatching a small purse from the shelf. “No. I want nothing to do with him.”
“But what if something happens to you?”
I stilled for a second, my gaze falling on the black mask I was going to wear at the ball. “Then everyone will see it, and it will make my case even stronger.”
She shook her head, mumbling something to herself, but I didn’t listen as I stepped into my dress.
I was riddled with both anticipation and anxiety over what I was going to do, but it was the only way.
I couldn’t risk Dad using Melody. I wasn’t going to be able to be by her side around the clock before her eighteenth birthday.
If I exposed both Dad and William, it could be enough to keep her safe.
With that in mind, I finished getting ready and went outside to meet Dad, my mask in place on my face. He stood by a rented limo, and the look he gave me behind his own mask as I approached him told me not to mess around tonight. I shivered, bracing myself for what was to come.
Hopefully, after tonight, I wouldn’t have to do what my parents wanted from me ever again.
And William and all the men like him would just be ancient history.