Chapter 34 Kairo
KAIRO
“You’re going to rot for this, do you hear me?
You’re going down and I’m making sure that when the cell doors slam closed behind you, you’ll never hear them open ever again!
” Ryan’s face is almost purple from the sheer volume he’s yelling at, repeatedly slamming his hand against the table we’re seated at.
“Ryan—”
“No! You don’t talk. I talk! Have you got any idea how many lives you’ve uprooted because you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants?
How every one of us is going to be under the same magnifying glass because the fucking CEO was fucking a potential business acquisition?
And on top of that, you married her! The conflict of interest basically writes its fucking self because you ordered our lawyers not to fight that land appeal, and she won!
So we can add fucking fraud to the list!
Every deal we’ve ever made is going to be picked apart, every client or acquisition that felt even a hint of flirting is going to take this to trial, and you know what?
They’ll fucking win! Everything your father built, everything this company relies on, is crumbling because of you, Kairo! ”
No one else around the table says a word.
Everyone’s been pulled from dinners, story time with their kids and more to be here while Ryan explodes and the rest of the Silver Canopy board stares at me with a mix of defeat and hatred.
I don’t blame them.
They’re right.
Deep down, I knew this would always be the outcome when someone found out. I just didn’t expect it so soon.
“Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?
” Ryan rages on, but as soon as I open my mouth, he launches into another tirade.
“We’re already on the brink with the deal that you lost, and now, this close to Christmas, we can say goodbye to those bonuses.
Goodbye to any hope of making it to the New Year in the green and why?
For a fucking woman? You know this looks like you plotted to undermine us from the start, right?
Every time you dug in your heels, claiming some moral struggle against your father’s memory?
It was all bullshit, wasn’t it? Our lawyers are going to pick you apart until there’s nothing left but the marrow of your bones if I don’t kill you first! ”
Silence falls.
Ryan pants, the tirade taking it out of him, and he points one thick finger at me. “How are you going to fix this?”
I slowly look at them all in turn.
Erin was on a date, judging by her dress.
Donald is still in his pajamas.
Harvey has spent the entire meeting sending countless emails.
Penny has her phone glued to her ear, and Trent sits next to my mother while she sits, woefully silent, staring at me like my presence is a bigger betrayal.
I know what I should say. I should defend myself, come up with a plan to save the company and the reputation of everyone working here.
Tell them it wasn’t intentional.
But listening to Ryan’s rant alerted me to one single realization.
I don’t care.
I don’t care about this company that has grown from painful, underhanded deals since its inception.
I don’t care about my father’s reputation because he held no love for me and his final act was to scar me.
I don’t care about the people around this table who have likely done worse than me and simply not been caught.
The only people who will truly suffer are our employees.
I care about Devon.
I care about how she makes me feel, how she makes me want to be a better, decent man.
I care about the bakery and Martin, and her parents.
I care that she’s scared because a monster has tracked her down.
That’s what I care about.
Not this.
I stand and everyone shifts, watching me as if expecting some words of wisdom that will suddenly smooth this whole thing over.
I close the button on my suit jacket and lift my gaze to Martin who watches me with a pinched brow.
“I’m not going to fix this,” I say quietly.
“Because I just don’t care. Call the lawyers.
Call the police. Do whatever you see fit.
But I’m done. I quit. The company was never mine to begin with.
I was just a figurehead because Silver Canopy without a Sycamore at the head would have crumbled.
I used to think I had to do this to keep my father’s memory alive, but you know what? ”
I step away from the table. “This isn’t living. And Ryan, you’re not angry at me. You’re angry that the attention this has brought is going to unearth all the shit you’ve been pulling over the years. My resignation will be in your inbox shortly.”
The table erupts.
There are so many angry, distressed voices that I can’t decipher what anyone is saying.
It all washes over me as a bubble of regret rising in my gut.
I left Devon alone when she likely needed me.
Putting out this fire while my team hunts for Axel was a top priority, but being here made me realize I’m happy for it to fizzle out.
As I walk past Martin, he joins me in the hallway and hands me his phone.
“I did what you asked. Axel is fleeing a warrant in Colorado. Turns out he beat up his girlfriend so badly she lost the sight in her left eye. There are witnesses, so the warrant is air-tight.”
“Fuck.” My stomach flips at the pictures. “And now he’s here. What about the marriage? Are he and Devon legit?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Martin presses the button on the elevator, ignoring the fury behind him in the conference room. “But I already spoke to your lawyer. Given the circumstances, we can get it annulled.”
“This late?”
Martin smiles. “If you’re willing to pay for it, yes.”
“Kairo?” Mom’s voice drags me from my phone and I turn to her as she stops a few feet away.
“Mom.”
“What did I ever do to deserve this?” She clutches at her pearls. “What kind of son have I raised?”
I step into the elevator with Martin.
“You didn’t raise me. My nanny did. You looked the other way my entire life until I became useful.”
“No, I loved you. I cared for you. I did everything for you,” she gasps, stumbling forward. “Do you have any idea what this will do to me?”
My heart clenches as tears fill her eyes, but over the years I’ve learned they’re barely real.
“Do you remember that night after the Yankees game when Dad was so angry at his loss that he broke my wrist? Do you remember what you told me?”
Despite the tears rolling down her cheeks, she nods and straightens up. “I told you that Sycamores can weather anything. Reputation is everything.”
I scoff and press the button inside the elevator.
“No. You told me to suck it up. So I say the same to you. It’s time for both of us to find out who we really are without the Sycamore weight tying us down.”
A flash of anger in her eyes is the last thing I see before the doors close.
In the silence of the elevator, I puff out my cheeks and clutch my abdomen.
“You good?” Martin’s concern is genuine.
“Mmhmm.”
“Good, because we’ve got a problem.”
Our eyes meet and my stomach turns to stone. “Tell me.”
“She’s gone.” Flipping his iPad around, he shows me the security cameras from the penthouse. A few clicks and Devon is nowhere to be seen.
A strange, sickly chill sweeps over my arms and legs, like the frozen air from outside has somehow seeped in just to cling to my limbs.
“No… no, she was there. I locked her in. She should be safe, she should be—”
My phone buzzes to life as we reach the lobby, Devon’s name flashing up on the screen.
“Devon?”
“Kairo.”
It’s her, but there’s something in her voice, something tight and wrong.
Something that turns my blood to ice.
It’s the same painful fear that overtook me when I walked into my lounge and found my father motionless.
Covering the speaker, I meet Martin’s concerned gaze.
“Find her.”