Chapter 17 #2
I swallowed as I considered what Matthew had said.
His account of what started the whole feud was far more detailed than Noah’s had been.
This was the first I’d heard about a fire destroying their work, and that was certainly a more reasonable explanation for my grandfather’s hatred than mere jealousy.
If William really had started the fire and stolen my grandfather’s work, then maybe the LaFleurs’ vendetta against the Hastings was justified.
“This isn’t just about your father though, is it?”
“No.” Matthew let out a sigh. “I’ve had my own hand in the battle between our families.
All my life, I saw my father being torn apart because he couldn’t manufacture the treatment he worked so hard to create.
And he had to watch as William Hastings grew rich off the back of it.
I often wondered if my father would have been a different man, a softer man, if he hadn’t been so brutally betrayed. ”
Matthew seemed to get lost in his thoughts for a moment but then shook his head and continued.
“Anyway, a couple of years back, the patent ended on the treatment they’d fought over.
So, I started to manufacture a generic version of it.
William had been charging extortionate fees for the drug for years, and the price on it was so high that most people couldn’t afford it.
“I hated knowing that people who needed my father’s treatment couldn’t access it, so I decided to sell it as cheaply as possible.
I don’t make any profit on the drug. Actually, I think we might run at a loss.
But, our company is diversified enough that it is not an issue.
If one good thing came out of William’s betrayal, it was that my father was always striving to be ahead of the game and constantly innovating and developing our products. ”
“So, William Hastings hates you for selling the same product as him but cheaper?”
“Yes,” Matthew replied. “I haven’t seen any new developments come out of Hastings Laboratories in years, and they rely too much on this one drug. I think he’s suffered a big hit to his bottom line because of it.”
If what Noah had told me was true, it sounded like my father’s actions were sinking the Hastings’ company entirely.
Whether Matthew knew that or not, I wasn’t sure.
Still, I felt a sense of relief at his explanation.
I took no joy from the fact that the Hastings’ business had suffered due to my dad’s actions, but it sounded like Matthew was simply trying to do the right thing.
He was also yet to mention my aunt. Like Noah, Matthew had focused only on the business side of the rivalry. But I now knew it was so much more than that. Maybe my father found it just as difficult to talk about as Noah.
I cautiously continued my questioning. “I understand there’s this history of business rivalry,” I said. “But I still don’t understand what it’s got to do with me. Why are you personally so against Noah and I dating? You warned me about him before I even met him.”
Matthew swallowed, and his eyes glassed over for a moment. He quickly glanced away before I could see his expression clearly. My question seemed to have hit a nerve. His throat bobbed as he swallowed again and slowly faced me once more.
“There’s more to the story.” He paused, but I didn’t press him as I could see he was going to tell me. He was just steeling himself for whatever it was he had to say. I sat silently, but I leaned forward slightly as I waited.
“My sister, Georgina, went to Hastings Laboratories one night.” As Matthew spoke, his eyes fell and his head lowered slightly. “It didn’t end well.”
I swallowed because this was what I’d wanted to hear more about, but seeing the pain in Matthew’s eyes, I quickly decided not to push my father for any more of an explanation.
“You don’t have to tell me,” I said softly. “I already know about the fire and the affair.”
“Affair?” Matthew’s eyes snapped to mine.
“Noah told me everything,” I explained. “He told me his father and your sister were having an affair. That’s why they were at the lab together the night of the fire.”
“That’s not true.” Although Matthew hadn’t raised his voice, his words came out so forcefully it was impossible to miss the certainty with which he spoke them.
I shook my head in confusion. “But Noah said...”
“Noah was just repeating what his grandfather told him,” Matthew replied. “William Hastings simply assumed my sister was having an affair with his son. He never would have believed what they were really up to.”
“So, if they weren’t having an affair, what was Georgina doing with Noah’s dad?”
Matthew let out a sigh. “It’s my fault she was there,” he said.
“I thought that I could work with Liam Hastings to try and repair the rift between our families.
Georgina was helping us. We wanted to put all the toxicity behind us so we could work together once we had more control of the companies.
But we had to do it in secret because our parents never would have understood.
Their hatred of one another was too ingrained.
“I’ve regretted trying to work with the Hastings family every day of my life since. All Liam and Georgina wanted was peace, and yet their deaths only drove our families further apart.”
He sat up a little straighter in his chair and took a deep breath, regaining his usual calm composure.
“So, as you can imagine, this conflict between our families isn’t something I take lightly.
I hope you can see why I didn’t want you anywhere near the Hastings boy.
It felt too much like history repeating itself, and I don’t think I could endure the pain of losing you too. ”
“I understand,” I said, nodding slowly. Both Noah and Matthew had lost so much because of their families already and were scared to lose any more. I didn’t want to be the cause of more pain for either of them.
“Given what you guys were up to, do you think the fire that killed them was an accident?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, your grandfather thought William started the fire that destroyed his work all those years ago. You don’t suspect he started this one?”
Matthew shook his head. “I might not like William Hastings, but I know he would never risk his son that way.”
“And your father?” I hated asking the question, but it felt like it needed to be asked.
“I’ve considered the same thing many times myself, but I always come back to the fact that, despite their faults, neither of our parents would ever want to hurt their own flesh and blood. It was simply a tragic accident.”
He sounded so certain, but there was the tiniest flicker of concern in his gaze, and I had to wonder if perhaps my dad still wondered the same thing sometimes.
I glanced at my bowl. There was still some soup left, but I’d lost my appetite after talking about my aunt’s death.
“Do you have any pictures of Georgina?” I asked. “I’d love to see her.”
“Of course.” Matthew smiled and pulled his phone out of his pocket.
He flicked through it for a moment before turning it so I could see the screen.
The picture on the display was of a young woman, maybe in her twenties.
Her eyes were bright with mischief, and she looked a lot like Matthew.
They both had the same dark hair and light-blue eyes.
Matthew had told me before that I looked like her, and I thought I could see some similarities.
We shared the same eyes but also the same smile and small button nose.
“She’s beautiful,” I said.
“She was,” he agreed. “She was always laughing and had a terrible knack for getting herself into trouble. She had an infectious personality that was impossible not to love.”
“It sounds like she was a lot of fun.”
He smiled but let out a slow breath at the same time.
“Certainly more so than me. I think I used to be more fun, but I threw myself into work even more after she died. It feels like it’s been so long since I did anything just because I enjoy it.
I’m afraid I wouldn’t remember how anymore.
” It was sad hearing Matthew talk about himself that way, but it was understandable knowing he’d lost his sister.
“I’m sure we can figure out a way to remind you,” I said, and his eyes lit up. I got the impression that one throwaway comment meant more to him than anything else I’d said tonight.
“Speaking of fun, I’ve stolen enough of your evening,” he said. “I should get you back to your friends.”
It felt like we were ending the night too soon, but after everything Matthew had just shared, there wasn’t much more to say.
I still had so many questions, but I wasn’t going to force them on him now.
He’d be back in Weybridge soon enough. Hopefully we’d have another chance to talk about everything then.
Matthew joined me in the car when his driver dropped me back at Cress’s house. We didn’t say much on the drive, and I imagined it was because we were both still reeling from our conversation at dinner.
I glanced at Matthew, watching the city lights flickering across his face as he stared out the window. He looked like his thoughts were a million miles from the car. I couldn’t imagine how hard it must have been for him to lose his sister, and he was clearly still torn up about it years later.
I felt like I finally understood why Matthew had warned me to stay away from Noah. It might not be fair that Matthew judged Noah for his family’s mistakes and associated him with the danger that getting close to one of them presented, but fear wasn’t always rational.
I also understood where Noah was coming from.
He too didn’t want to lose another family member in his grandfather.
But I wasn’t so sure Noah’s anger toward Matthew was fair.
The actions my grandfather had taken seemed justified given everything William did to him.
I hadn’t wanted to take a side in the fight between our families, but after speaking with Matthew, I felt like I had no choice but to back my father up.
He was just trying to do the right thing, and he didn’t deserve to be vilified for it.
There was no way to change what had happened. The only thing I could control was what happened next. Noah had chosen to believe my father was the bad guy. If he couldn’t understand Matthew wasn’t the villain in this situation, there was nothing I could do.
As the car pulled up outside Cress’s house, I realized I still had one last question for my father.
“You know,” I started. “Noah went missing from our school excursion today. My friend Wes was visiting his dad at the hotel across the road from your office and said he saw Noah leaving your building.” It was the only way I could think of broaching the subject without upsetting my father or letting him know I was there too.
Matthew’s eyebrows lifted with surprise, but his features quickly returned to neutral.
“Why would Noah have been in my building?” he asked calmly.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “Wes had this crazy theory that he went there to see you.”
My father raised his eyebrows slightly once again. “That really is a crazy theory,” he said. “If Wes saw him there, I’m sure it was just a coincidence.”
I watched him closely, trying to gauge what he was thinking. I couldn’t really figure him out.
“Yeah.” I laughed awkwardly. “That’s what I said too.”
In truth, Wes had suggested it was all just a coincidence. I was the one who couldn’t stop wondering why Noah was there. I was still questioning it. Despite all of my father’s honesty tonight, I had to wonder if he was still keeping things from me.