Chapter 39 Sutton
Sutton
I look at the ceiling as Charlotte's naked body drapes over mine. Her head rests on my chest as I absentmindedly strum her bare arm.
I feel in control. For the first time in what feels like ever, I’m leading my life how I want to.
I would prefer to not be on the run from the media, hiding in a mob house and trying to figure out what my next steps have to be.
But the past day or so is the first time in a long time that I put myself on the line for something that’s important to me. She’s important to me.
“I need to tell you something…” I don’t stop my hand as it continues to run up and down her arm.
“Hmmmm… did you buy some more forests?” she teases, and I smile into her hair.
“I’ve been having immunotherapy.”
Her body tenses, eyes widening as they look up at me. “Immunotherapy?”
“Hudson has been helping me at the hospital. It’s where he injects me with bee venom in the hopes that my tolerance for bee stings will increase to the point that if I get stung, my reaction will be similar to that of a person who doesn’t have an allergy to bees.”
“What? I had no idea that was even a thing.”
“Yeah, well, I read up on it and thought I’d give it a go. We’ve had a few sessions now. So far, it’s going well. My histamine response has really leveled out. Maybe a few more treatments, and I’ll be good to go.”
She smiles brightly, relief in her tone. “Seriously?”
I nod, smiling right back. “It’s been amazing.”
“I was so worried. When you talked about your beehives, I could see the excitement on your face, but I’ll admit, I was scared.”
“I’ll still be careful. But if I wear all the protective clothes and ensure I don’t anger the bees when I get them, then maybe in a few months, we can have our own honey.”
“That sounds perfect.” I can’t wait to wake her up with breakfast in bed, maybe some fruit from my orchard and honey from the bees.
Humming, she cuddles closer.
We’re quiet for a bit, my hand still rubbing her back, but I can hear her thinking. I’m patient for her to open up to me; she’ll do it in her own time.
With a deep breath, she breaks the silence, her voice quiet.
“We’re running from my stepmother.”
My brow crinkles with curiosity and concern as I kiss the top of her head. “Your stepmother?”
“My full name is Charlotte Titan.” Titan. It sounds familiar, but I can't put my finger on why.
“My father is Colin Titan, owner of Titan Energy, the biggest oil conglomerate in the country and perhaps the world.”
I still. Yes, I know that name. Colin Titan is one of the richest men in the country. Ruthless in business. I sat next to him at a charity gala once, I think.
“I think I met him once. A charity gala in LA.”
She nods. “Sounds about right. He often attends dinners and things. He was a great dad until my mother died. That’s when things changed.”
They say a mother is the glue that holds a family together, and I believe it wholeheartedly. I see it in my own mom. The quiet strength, the unwavering presence, how she made everything feel whole even in the hardest times.
Charlotte’s mother must’ve been the same. I see it in Charlotte. In the way she moves through the world, instinctively protecting, nurturing, and guiding Preston like it’s second nature.
It’s not just responsibility, it’s like love is woven into every action, a quiet yet undeniable force that holds them both steady.
“Mom died just before college. I worked hard at my degree, enjoyed it. My dad thought I would then step into the family business, and when I didn’t, he didn’t take it well.
I’m sure he thought I was just being an unruly kid.
But I have other dreams, and they don’t align with drilling for oil.
So we became strained, and he submerged himself into work even more.
It created distance between us that was never there before.
“Then he met Maribel. She hated Preston and me from day one, and there was nothing we could do that would change that. Over time, Maribel turned my father against us. He was still angry and frustrated with me, so he cut me off, froze my trust funds. I was okay with being cut off. I was determined to make it on my own. But he put the word on the street for no one to hire me. Which meant I had no money and no job prospects. That wasn’t enough for Maribel.
She was money hungry, wanted his kids gone so she was the only one in his life.
The only one who could inherit anything.
She decided I was being rebellious and disobedient.
I wasn’t. But Dad listened to everything she said, and eventually, she locked me out. Out of the house, out of the family…”
My body goes rigid at that. “What do you mean, locked you out?”
“She pushed me out of my family and my home. I stayed with friends for a while, but even that was hard.”
“What?” I’m trying to pull the pieces together, wondering how in the world a father could do that to his daughter.
“My father doesn’t know the extent in which Maribel changed our home.
When Maribel wouldn’t let me inside the house to see Preston, I had to sneak through the gates.
Chef Luc often disguised me as a bag of dirty laundry or a large box of apples to get me inside.
I always hated how small I was, but it was beneficial back then. ”
I can only shake my head, completely in awe of her as she continues.
“Maribel doesn’t have an empathetic bone in her body. She made sure Dad wouldn’t see me. I tried. Calls, office visits, nothing. He was never available. She controls everything. She wanted me gone. But then it escalated.”
“How so?” I ask, and she shifts so we’re face-to-face.
“She locked him in his room. No friends, no sports, no life. Just school and silence. His mental health started to suffer; the light in his eyes was slowly being extinguished. I snuck in at night to see him, but then she caught us.”
Oh no. I know where this is going. “What did she do?”
“Gave us an ultimatum. Leave and disappear, or she’d send Preston to military school and destroy Dad with false assault claims, insider trading rumors. She knows how to ruin people.”
I nearly balk. “That’s insane. Can’t you talk to your father?”
“I tried. He wouldn’t take my calls. She gave me an hour to leave, or she’d call the police.
I didn’t wait to see if she was bluffing.
Preston would never survive that type of school and those kind of allegations will ruin my father.
He’s many things and has failed us more than a father should.
But he built that business from nothing.
He gave my mother a wonderful life, and up until the day she died, he was the best dad ever.
I can’t let Maribel ruin my brother and my father. So I grabbed Preston, and we ran.”
My blood simmers. A ten-year-old locked away like a prisoner? Charlotte cast out like she’s nothing? I clench my fists. Maribel’s on my shit list. Her father too.
“Sawyer will know what to do,” I say, grounding myself.
Charlotte sits up then, expression torn. “I don’t want you dragged into this. You’ve got enough going on.”
I shake my head. “You’re not alone. Not anymore.” I brush her hair back and tuck it behind her ear. She melts into my touch. “We’re in this together.”
Her breath catches, eyes filling with tears. She sees it now—my choice is already made.
“We’ve got bigger obstacles than most, but I love you. Whatever it takes to protect Preston, we’ll do it.”
“Even if I go to jail?” she says, almost a whisper.
“You won’t,” I assure her.
“Kidnapping is a crime.”
“So is abuse. Locking Preston up, cutting you off—that’s abuse. Emotional, physical. All of it.”
The way she’s staring at me, her breaths shallow, her fear is palpable. I want nothing more than to take that away and replace it with safety and comfort and joy. “She’s untouchable… She has money. Power.”
“So do I, Tinker Bell.” I look into her eyes, steady and sure. “And I’ll use every bit of it to protect you if they ever try to accuse you of anything other than being a loving sister.”
Nodding, tears in her eyes, she exhales heavily and leans against my chest. I hold her close, praying it doesn’t come to that.