Chapter 19
The Call
Sofie
“That was so hot,” Noelle says as I close the bathroom door behind her, Nalani and I.
“It was, but—”
“But nothing, it’s time you stop playing hard to get and take full advantage of all that energy he’s putting out,” Nalani says as she hovers over the toilet and pees, letting out a moan. “This baby is raising hell on my bladder already.”
“The fact you’re not all bombarding me with questions about my family right now is—”
“Hello,” Noelle circles a finger in the air, “as if any of us haven’t kept our family secrets until we were ready to talk. You’ll tell us when you’re ready.”
“Fair point, Pembrooke,” I say as Nalani flushes, and I quickly take her place.
“But if your Dad’s sick?” Noelle says quieter. “You were there for me when Dad died.”
“I know, and I’m sorry, I will explain when I have my head wrapped around it all.” I wipe, flush, stand, and Noelle takes my place.
“Now, what are we going to do about the sister drama?” Nalani asks. “And by sisters, I mean KET verse Tri Gam.”
I rinse the soap from my hands, “I wanna send Elena a thank you card.”
“What?” Noelle asks as she flushes.
“For the tea about Emma wanting kids?” Nalani asks.
I nod my head, “Did you miss the part where she said she’s wanted them for years?
She stopped, which tells me she may have a medical issue and knows she can’t have a child, and I’d have all the empathy in the world for her in those regards.
But if my hunch is right, and instead of adopting and giving a child without parents a good home and all those things, Elena thinks will make her a better option for Savannah, she’s trying to take Savannah from Claudia, from us. ”
“I have no idea how you figured that out, but —”
“Can you two have James take you and Deacon’s parents to Icehouse? I want to make sure Claudia didn’t miss it, and I want to do that without her feeling uncomfortable.”
“Of course.”
Nalani and Noelle take Deacon’s parents and head to Icehouse. Leaving Claudia, Savannah, who is sleeping on Deacon’s chest, Paul, Hugo, Aleks, Matteo, James, and the two other men, and me alone.
“I know there’s a bigger conversation to be had, but were they invited to this meeting?” Aleks asks of Matteo and James.
“There’s a bigger story there, too.” I rub my temple.
“They work together,” Paul answers Aleks.
Aleks’ eyes get huge.
“This is a lot,” I say as I look to Claudia, who walks over, and I know she’s going to try to comfort me, and all I want is to comfort her, and I no doubt will be after this.
I let her hug me and then step back, “I’d like a few minutes with my friends and lawyer.”
Matteo clears his throat, “Sofie, we have a lot to—”
I cut my father’s closest ally off. “Look into any female employees who are Tri Gam, or anyone affiliated with them. And if any of you can pay someone to look into Emma Shaw’s medical records, I have a hunch that she may not be able to have kids.”
“Sofie,” he attempts again.
Aleks shakes his head, “You won’t follow us to my vehicle or the hotel.”
“Let’s give them space,” one of the men from the security company tells Matteo, and then looks at Aleks, “He’s not your enemy.”
Then they head out.
“I think you should all have a seat,” Aleks says. When we all do, he stands behind me, hands gently gripping my shoulders.
I clear my throat and turn to face Claudia, and begin, “Someone at Fairfax media leaked information to my sisters that our father,” I pause, feeling the strings of my strength stretching thin right now, “After I graduated college and came home, he’d been drinking a lot, he was never a drinker.”
“Explains that,” Paul states, in reference to me being so angry at him for drinking that first day we found him.
I nod, “He, um, he slapped me once early on,” a collective gasp fills the box, not Aleks though, I feel his grip on my shoulders tighten just a bit, and it doesn’t loosen.
“The next morning, I was moving out, and Matteo showed up. The week following, I noticed he seemed confused, and Matteo agreed. Within a week, we were on a plane to see a doctor in Europe. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease with behavioral disturbance, and that’s where he’s been seeing a doctor since. ”
“I’m sorry, Sofie,” Claudia says softly.
“Thanks.” I take in a deep breath and continue.
“At the beginning, we were able to prepare for how to hide the bad days, until he figured out what he wanted to do with the company. He didn’t want it to fall into the wrong hands, so we’ve managed.
Prerecorded videos and fake golfing trips.
On good days like the other day, he addressed the board from his office.
I thought we had longer, but now it’s time to address the issue. ”
“You think they’ll really want anything to do with actually working?” Claudia asks.
“They will try to take over, bleed it dry, and take great pride in watching it all fall apart. They won’t give a shit about it being Dad’s legacy, or the hundreds of people who depend on their jobs.”
“We’ll do everything we can to help,” Deacon assures me.
“There’s something else, far more important, something,” my voice breaks, “something really big and life changing in a way, that.” I hold my hand to my chest and turn and look at Paul. “You tell the story better than I ever could.”
Paul tells her about the day he brought me here from the Puck Pad, and what he shared about my mom, and his disdain for my father.
How he and I figured out Matteo’s real name is Tomas —he is a founding member of the Legacy Group— and that my dad has used him for years, first when another young woman who had lived with him and his wife had run away.
Again, when he realized his ex-wife was trying to sway the board to oust him after my mom died. And brought him back two years ago.
Then he handed the photos to her of her mother, the runaway, and her damn broke, mine broke, Paul’s broke, and we all … hugged and cried and then hugged and cried some more.
“Sofie, we could be—”
I smile so big my freaking face hurts, “Yeah.”
“You’ve distanced yourself from your driver and Matteo, because—”
“Matteo hid this from me. And he was a dick to Paul. And he should have found you.”
Hugo clears his throat, “During our meeting, Matteo aka Tomas explained all—”
I cut him off, “I pay you, allow me to be pissed as long as I want. If for no other reason than he lied to me for freaking years and I could have found my freaking sister.”
Paul looks at Deacon, a total poking the bear look on his face, “It also means you’re going to be married to a Fairfax. Those boys in the locker room are going to give you so much shit about being a kept man.”
“I don’t want his money.” Claudia shakes her head and squeezes my hand.
“His Will reads that all living heirs get an even percentage of his shares in the company when he passes,” Hugo informs her.
Behind me, Aleks clears his throat, and I look back, “You think Dingy or Shaw knows this? Knows Savannah’s not only worth more than either of them ever will be as a human being, but also financially.”
“Again, I don’t want a thing, I never knew him and I,” she pauses and shuts her eyes. “I don’t want anything. I don’t want even to be mentioned.”
“You don’t have to be,” I say, understanding totally why she’d want to shelter herself and Savannah. Aleks again squeezes my shoulder like he just freaking knows when I need that little squeeze.
“I think everyone needs to let their brains rest for the night. Sleep on this before making any decisions.” Hugo stands. “We’ll figure out if anyone outside of these walls and the men outside know before worrying unnecessarily.”
“I’d like a DNA test to...” Claudia stops when she looks at my face, which must read, busted across it. “Is that where my toothbrush went?”
“To be fair, that was my idea, and your sister wouldn’t allow me to take a sample from Savannah,” Hugo says, opening the door. “I’ll be in touch.”
Icehouse feels louder tonight than usual, but I know it’s because none of us wants to be here. After dropping Paul and Savannah off at the hotel, we headed straight here, with zero time to process. But the world can’t stop. Post-win tradition and celebration still need to continue.
I feel like I’m watching it through glass.
Aleks stands at the bar, broad shoulders tense, Faulker there with his shot, and the bartender giving them both a pint.
I can tell Faulker senses something. But he lets Aleks be…
Aleks. Broody, looking like he’s carved out of control and restraint, like the past freaking two weeks haven’t been an emotional rollercoaster, one I half expect him to unbuckle, hop out, and run for the hills and never look back. I wouldn’t blame him.
Dash bangs a spoon against a glass. “To the guy who refused to go into overtime. Kilovac!”
The place erupts. Chanting his name. Grinning faces. Aleks closes his eyes for half a second as he heads back to the boys. When he speaks, the room quiets faster than it should.
“I scored,” he says flatly, “because I didn’t feel like skating another five minutes.”
Laughter explodes.
“And because I wanted to be done,” he adds. “With the game. With the noise. With you assholes.”
More laughter. He waits. They wait. He gives them nothing more.
He takes one controlled sip and sets the glass down like it’s already served its purpose.
The cheers come back twice as loud.
I’m standing near the back with Claudia, our shoulders close but not touching, like we’re both learning the shape of this new gravity. She looks distant, not cold, just… protective. Guarded in a way you only get after too many systems fail you.
Deacon beside her as Nalani and Noelle approach.
“Go,” Claudia smiles at him. “Your team and your parents are waiting.”
Noelle stands beside me, Nalani beside Claudia, the four of us kind of sag into each other, no words spoken, none needed, okay, that’s not true, a lot are needed, and that’s what tomorrow is for.
“Sleepover at your place still?” I ask Noelle.