59. Reid
Chapter fifty-nine
Reid
“I’m like a prophet, you know,” Porter continued, already winding himself up. “Fucking call me a psychic, a damn fortune teller at that—”
“Blaine,” Killian interrupted, and he went silent.
God, I don’t know how he tolerates him.
“You two have history…?” Killian asked.
Calvin responded smoothly, “History is a rather… flexible term for the arrangement Reid and I had.”
“And what kind of arrangement was it?”
Calvin’s eyes slid to me, like he needed permission. I didn’t give him any.
But he talked anyway. “While Mr. Kaufman was in hiding…” he began lightly, “tensions in the Newman family were on the rise. A daughter making headlines, a son returning from the army, a family filled with revenge… he couldn’t sit back and watch any longer; he needed someone on the inside.
Someone to keep tabs on Brielle. On Eugene.
Someone… impartial. Someone with reach.” He paused.
“Someone desperate enough to accept the risks.”
“Mmh,” Blaine hummed loudly into his fist. “Suspicious.” Shin elbowed him hard enough that he wheezed.
“And you,” Killian said softly, “were the man for that job?”
“Why of course,” Calvin replied, spreading his hands like he’d been chosen by fate. “I had the resources. The agenda. The moral flexibility.”
“And you’re proud of that?” Blaine muttered.
“Immensely,” Calvin said, but I remained silent, because Killian’s eyes were still on me, watching, the gears in his mind turning.
“Why him?” he asked me, his question pointed.
My jaw tightened. “I didn’t have much of a choice. I wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near my children, or the Newman collapse, for years. I needed information,” I said. “And Lockwood is a man who can find anything… for a price.”
Killian’s stare sharpened. “And what price did you pay?”
Calvin laughed softly, delighted. “Oh, now this should be interesting.”
I contemplated whether or not I should reveal the damage that had been done… but the secrets were bound to escape at some point. Keeping everything in discretion wasn’t feasible… not anymore.
“I gave him the one thing he couldn’t have gotten without me… a seat at the Russel table. And… Delilah.”
The silence that followed that reveal was deafening. I took the final swig of my drink. The more secrets were revealed, the more explanations the people wanted. Soon enough I’d grow annoyed, but for now, I had to endure it for the woman I loved.
“That doesn’t make any sense.” Shin began, “Up until a few hours ago… you didn’t exist.”
“But I had enough power to put an end to it.”
Killian’s expression sharpened, eyes never leaving mine. “Because of your ties to my father.”
So it appears he found out on his own… Frederick had enough resources to keep me from his son, had enough reach to build loopholes through the ears of the elites to keep his son oblivious to my existence. Looking at him now, I was not too sure Killian was entirely fond of that.
“While I was gone,” I continued, “another Russel was getting closer to my family. To my daughter. And my son—” I paused, jaw locking ”—was losing his mind. You expect me to sit still while that happened? You expect me not to control the board however I could?”
I could hear Porter in the background gasping, though I paid him no mind. “Your father hid me away for no other reason than the fact that he was scared. Of how much influence I had, what I’d become and what I already had the power to do.”
Killian’s stare was a razor. “And you expect me to believe he feared you?”
“I don’t expect anything,” I said lightly. “But he couldn’t control me. He couldn’t leash me. He couldn’t own me. And men like Frederick Russel only eliminate what they can’t control. But even though I was off the grid, even though he put me away… if I told your father to jump, he’d ask how high.”
Killian’s hands curled into fists.
The room felt too small for both of us, our egos fighting one another, watching, waiting to see who’d back down.
I added, quieter: “He buried me because he knew one day I’d bury him. I put Lockwood everywhere I needed eyes,” I corrected. “On Brielle. On Eugene. On the Newmans. On anyone who could threaten what was left of my family.”
“And as for payment… you promised him my daughter?”
“What I gave him,” I muttered, “was access. The illusion of proximity. A seat at a table he would never get to on his own. I gave him a path. He was desperate enough to take it.”
Calvin threw his hands up. “For heaven’s sake, why must my desperation be the center of every conversation?”
Killian didn’t respond to Calvin’s outburst. Instead, he turned to face him fully, and the shift in his demeanor was immediate. Gone was the faux conversational tone.
“I think it’s time we formally revisit the terms of our arrangement, starting with a comprehensive review of your financial stakes,” Killian said, voice steady and low.
Calvin’s brows furrowed. “I beg your pardon.”
“Our binding contract will have a new clause effective immediately. Any further involvement in business decisions affecting my company or family without my knowledge results in immediate financial penalty. I assume that was implied long ago, but apparently your involvement extends beyond what was agreed upon. And because it’s my company, penalties are effective immediately. ”
Calvin was rendered silent, as Killian slammed his glass on the table before he walked to the door. When the door slammed behind him, Calvin’s stunned expression melted into something else, a slow, amused smile spreading across his face as if he’d just been handed a puzzle instead of a punishment.
Blaine furrowed his eyebrows. “You’re smiling like a lunatic… and I’m the one with schizophrenic tendencies?”
Calvin chuckled, smile never wavering. “Porter, you magnificent fool.” He exhaled slowly, almost satisfied. “One road block will always lead to another. When one door closes, another one opens—and I always have a plan. For everything.”
Sitting back in my seat, I poured another glass of whiskey, shaking my head. God, I should’ve never let Genevieve drag me here.