Chapter 41
ENZO
It’s pure carnage outside.
News vans line the street outside Knight offices and journalists crowd the entrance, cameras raised as our SUV approaches.
Molly gasps as we look outside. “They want blood.”
I press down on my molars, wishing these people would leave us alone. “They want something.”
The SUV goes around the corner and takes us to the back entrance to the offices.
Bodyguards help us inside the lobby and then I quickly rush across to the elevator bank.
Just as we get inside, the lift stops and Jett walks in.
My gut churns. This has blown up again. How many times will this keep happening?
“Welcome back.” He steps inside and gives me a cursory glance before nodding at Molly.
“Thanks,” I say, carefully.
“It’s crazy out there.” Jett slides his cell phone into his trouser pocket.
“Insane.”
I watch for his reaction, wondering how it must affect him and Dex and Zach, with their mom being dragged back into the news.
“You guys okay?” he asks. “Rio tells me you were in Manhattan for a few days, and then you went to Chicago.”
Trouble seems to find us wherever we go, but we’re dealing with it.” I glance at Molly, making sure she's okay. She's spent her whole life trying to build something happy and trouble-free, and now she's surrounded by this.
Jett turns to Molly. “I heard about what happened in Chicago. Sorry about the school.”
“I’m sorry, too.” Her voice is quiet. She seems a little somber, but I can hardly expect her to be full of life. After all, we’re at the Knight offices, and I’m about to see Father.
She’s worried for me. I worry about her. I guess we make a pair.
Jett looks at me and I look at him.
“We good?” I ask, needing to know how pissed off he and the others are.
“Why would we not be?” He tilts his head like he’s not sure what it is that I’m asking. “Have I done something?”
I wasn’t expecting that.
“I did something. I’m sorry if this is stirring up lots of bad memories for you all.”
Jett’s gaze bounces between me and Molly. “I hope you’re not blaming yourself for that. What happened was because of the old man. No two ways about it.”
He would say that, because he doesn't know the full story. The elevator doors spring apart and he motions for me and Molly to exit first.
“I’ll see you around,” he says, before disappearing down the hallway.
“You okay?” Molly rushes to keep up with me. I’m walking faster than I mean to, and that’s because I want to get this over with as fast as I can. It’s been keeping me awake all night.
I quickly introduce Molly to my assistant, Lesley.
“So you're the one who ordered the funny disguises!” Molly cries. A bit of light relief lightens the mood. I can see these two are going to get along just fine.
“I won’t be long,” I tell Molly.
“I'll be outside. Good luck.”
She kisses me on the lips. I can feel my assistant looking at me. I head for Father’s office, then take a moment just outside his door. He’s expecting me because I emailed him first thing this morning and told him I’d be in the office at nine. I knock, but I don’t wait for him to tell me to enter.
I walk in, and almost stumble back at what I see.
Father looks worse than the last time I saw him. Smaller somehow. The exhaustion sits heavily on his face, and for a moment the sight of him knocks some of the anger out of me.
He looks ill.
“The boy wanderer returns.”
No good morning, no hello. Just the type of typical snarky comment I expect from him.
“Good morning.” I drop in the empty chair opposite him, watching him carefully. “You should rest up. Take some more time off work.”
Should he even be here?
“And watch the legacy I built burn?” he replies.
He wants a fight, and I won’t give it to him. He knows we’re more than capable of running Knight Enterprises, and he’s afraid of that.
“You’ve been causing mayhem wherever you go, Venice, Chicago, and now here.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“Your friend did.”
I despise the way he says it. But then, hearing something nice come out of Father’s mouth is rare. I adjust my cufflink. “She’s more than a friend.”
He scoffs. “Her father’s a convicted criminal, and she’s been placed on leave.” He twiddles his thumbs. “Meanwhile, these snakes have set up a base outside my home and my office. Look at what you’ve done to this family.”
“Me?” I shake my head, vehemently disagreeing. “I didn’t do that. Neither did Molly.”
“No?” Father tilts his head, but my glance falls behind him, to the tall skyscrapers standing sky-high.
I force my attention back to Father. “This was all your doing. You can deny it all you want, twist it any which way you want, but you know the truth and so do I.”
His jaw clenches and his eyes narrow. Anger pulls his features tight, but for once, the sight of it doesn't make me reconsider my words.
“My doing?”
“Even now you deny the obvious truth.” I sit back and loosen my tie. “You created this. You chose to deceive Mama, you cheated on your wife. You thought you could father children and have two families. You were arrogant enough to think you could get away with it.”
Father’s lips press together. He wants to snap, wants to unleash his wrath, but he’s somehow managing to control himself.
Or maybe he knows the truth, but can’t bring himself to admit it.
“You created this situation. You created the lies, and the betrayal. Both families suffered because of your actions. The past that the press want to dig up is the past you created. Not me. You’ve given them ghosts to dig up. You did all of this, not me. I was just a child.”
Father’s face creases. He doesn’t like what I’m implying. That’s typical of him. I run my hand along the desk. “Did you ever wonder how Mama knew?”
His attention snaps into place. He leans forward, and I notice that his hands are closed tight.
“I found the photograph, of you, with your wife and the boys.”
“You?” he hisses.
“Me.” It comes out calmer than I expect. “I showed it to Mama, because I didn’t understand, because I was too young.”
“You were the one?” he hisses.
I nod, feeling calmer than I expected. With every word the pressure, the weight, the heaviness seem to lift.
“I’ve carried that guilt, thinking I was the one who broke both families. I thought I was the one who caused Aurora’s death.”
I sit up, placing my hands on the table. “But I didn’t. I was a child. The betrayal was yours. You separated six brothers. All I did was find a photograph.”
“You, you … you little—” Father’s face turns red and I fear he’s going to pop a blood vessel.
I consider calling his assistant to summon his nurse, or have some medic on standby.
“It was you, you sneaky …” His breathing turns fast and furious.
“If you hadn’t gone through my things, if you’d obeyed me, none of this would have happened! ”
“No.” I’m not carrying his guilt anymore. “What happened is not my doing. It’s yours.”
“You … you …” He can’t get his words out.
“You did this, and now you’re living with the consequences, because despite your best efforts to keep us divided, we’re more together than ever.”
Father's face flushes an alarming shade of red. His fists clench on the desk and his breathing turns harsh. I stand up, feeling fearful. The last thing I want is for him to have a heart attack.
“No!” he cries.
I walk towards the door.
“I’m not done talking to you.”
I stop with my hand on the handle and look back at him.
“I am. For once, Father, this isn't mine to carry.”
Then I walk out.