23. Ellis
Chapter twenty-three
Ellis
As soon as Cara walked away, I jumped into my car and put the address of Horizon headquarters in Stenton into the navigation system. I briefly considered calling my father on the phone, but I would rather have that kind of conversation face-to-face.
I called my father’s secretary from the car while I was pulling onto the highway.
“Tell my father I’ll be at the office in about two hours. I need to talk to him.”
“That might not be possible, Mr. Benton. Your father has a very full schedule today.”
“Listen, Mandy. I will talk to my father whenever I want. So, you either clear his schedule, or I will clear his office on my own when I arrive.”
I could hear the woman clear her throat. “Understood, Mr. Benton. I will inform your father that it’s an urgent matter.”
She hung up. I felt bad for losing my temper with her, but those were unusual circumstances. My head was still swimming as I went through the conversation with Cara again and again.
Deep down, I’d already suspected my father had a hand in her sudden disappearance, but I struggled with the idea that he really would go that far. My father was ruthless, but would he threaten to take away a child from its mother just to avoid a tarnish on the family’s legacy? That seemed overly cruel, even by his standards.
I needed answers, and I needed to hear them from him.
After making the drive in record time, I parked my car in my reserved spot and entered the giant tower of glass and steel. A storm of emotion was raging inside me—fear, anger, sadness, shock—and it must have shown on my face because everyone I came across jumped out of my way when I approached.
I reached the top floor and waltzed past Mandy at the front desk. Close to exploding from the sheer intensity of my turmoil, I threw open the door of my father’s office.
He was sitting behind his overly large desk, stacks of paper piled up in front of him. When he saw me entering, he leaned back into his leather chair and smirked. He looked like he already knew why I was there, like he had been looking forward to the conversation.
The only thing missing, to turn him into a picture-book villain, was a cat on his lap, but I pushed the thought aside. I was there for an honest conversation. I’d listened to Cara’s side of the story, and I would allow my father to tell his version before I made my final judgment. He deserved a chance to explain himself, no matter how upset I was.
My father pushed a pile of papers out of the way. “You ignore my calls for days, and now you show up here like you own the company already,” he said. “You know I don’t enjoy tantrums, Ellis, so wipe that impertinent look off your face.”
With a frustrated grunt, I sat down in the chair in front of him. When I walked into the Horizon Tower minutes before, I’d been ready to tear into my father like the attorney general, but within seconds, he’d managed to make me feel like an unruly toddler.
“We need to talk,” I said simply.
“About?”
“Cara Shepherd. And her son.”
My father rubbed his chin. “Mm-hmm… so the girl couldn’t keep her mouth shut after all. What did she tell you?”
I clenched my fists, trying to keep my anger in check. Yelling at my father would get me nowhere with him.
“She told me you threatened her with taking away her child if she didn’t disappear from my life. Is that true?”
He rolled his eyes. “That sounds very dramatic. I told her she could choose between raising the child in the Benton way or raising it her own way.”
I leaned forward. “Did you or did you not ask her to keep the pregnancy a secret from me?”
“Of course I did. You know how soft you are. And it was even worse when you were younger. I’m sure you would’ve given that woman everything she demanded, and I couldn’t allow that.”
“Of course I would have given her everything. She’s the love of my life and the mother of my child.”
He blew out some air, annoyed, like he was explaining a very simple concept to a very stupid person. “She’s a nobody. And that boy is illegitimate.”
“Illegitimate?” I repeated in disbelief. “Are you serious? You’re not Henry the Eighth, Father. Who cares if we’re married or not?”
“I care,” he said sternly. “And besides, I was willing to overlook that blemish if she would have allowed for the child to be raised properly. What I would not allow was a kid raised by some half-brained hippie artist to inherit my company and my legacy.”
“Half-brained? You are talking about—”
“The love of your life?” he snarled. “Oh, get a grip, Ellis. She is not a suitable partner for you. It would never have worked. I might have molded the child into something we could work with if I had gotten my hands on him early enough, but that woman is a lost cause.”
I was speechless. He wasn’t even trying to make any of this sound reasonable, and I needed a moment to process the sheer audacity of my father’s words. “Did you watch too many historical documentaries, Father? Do you think I’m some kind of prince you can marry off for prestige and alliances?”
“You’re my heir, and finding a suitable partner for you is important, yes.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “Have you gone completely mad? I’m a grown man. I will choose my own partner.”
My father’s mouth twitched, and his jaw tensed. “No, you won’t. Not if you want to run this company one day. You’ll do as I say, so listen closely, Ellis. You are going to seal that damn deal at Brightwater so we can go ahead with the factory, and then you will leave that godforsaken town, forget Cara Shepherd and that boy exist, and find a more suitable woman to take your mind off this whole unpleasant affair.”
I leaned back into the chair, too overwhelmed to respond to the outrageous things that had just come out of my father’s mouth. They had been right—Harper, Cara, they had tried to tell me who my father really was, but I had been too blind to see it, too desperate for his approval to accept it. Ever since I was a boy, I’d always tried to please my father. Desperate to keep the only family I had left after my mother’s death, I did anything he asked of me. From the choice of my major to the choice of my suit, I always followed his wishes even if that brought me unhappiness. I had gritted my teeth and done it anyway because he was my father and I longed for his love or at least his respect.
But no more. I had people who loved me the way I was: my sister and Cara. And one day, maybe even Riley. I didn’t need my father, and I sure as hell didn’t need this company. He’d always hinted at that. Don’t do what I say and I will write you out of my will. I’d just realized how little I cared. I didn’t even like working for Horizon. My father could give it to Brooks or some random board member, for all I cared. The only thing that mattered to me was my family. My actual family—not that cruel tyrant who fancied himself a patriarch. He had taken my son from me. Now he would lose his.
My father’s eyes were still fixed on me. “Do we understand each other, Ellis?”
“Oh, we understand each other perfectly.”
He leaned back, folding his hands in front of him. “Good.”
With clenched fists, I stood up and walked out of his office. Part of me yearned to cause a scene, to yell at him that he was dead to me and maybe to throw his fancy designer chair out of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
But that would just warn him something was up, and I wanted him to believe he’d subdued me. Before I could cut our ties once and for all, I needed to make sure Cara and Riley were safe from him. Then I needed to find a way to thwart his factory plans in Brightwater. He could build his ugly, boxy factory somewhere else, preferably somewhere on the other side of the country—or the planet.
My head was still spinning when I left the Horizon building toward my car. I wanted nothing more than to talk to Harper. She could be a little shit, and she had a severe lack of real-life experience, but she did always tell me the truth without sugarcoating anything, and she’d always seen through our father’s bullshit better than I. That clear-sightedness was exactly what I needed right then to put together an action plan, but unfortunately, my sister was still at the Pineview Rehab Center, with no exceptions to the visitation schedule, as the receptionist reminded me rather rudely when I called them.
I was sitting on hot coals until the visitation Thursday rolled around, not knowing what to think or what to do. I felt like I was standing at a turning point in my life, but I felt paralyzed. All my life, pleasing my father had been the guiding star in everything I did. That had suddenly changed, and I felt lost and overwhelmed. I wanted to talk to Cara, but I was afraid my father would find out. I couldn’t risk it, before I had a solid plan.
When Thursday finally came, I arrived at the rehab center so early that the parking lot was still completely empty. Walking past a group of people heading toward the forest, I went straight into the main building and announced my visit to the receptionist. It was the same bored gray-haired woman that had been on shift the day after Harper arrived.
“You’re too early. Visitation starts in forty minutes,” she told me without looking up from her magazine.
“I don’t care.”
She raised her gaze for a second before returning her attention to her magazine. “Me neither.”
I took that as approval and walked right past her into the common room. It was a large A-shaped space with a floor-to-ceiling window that allowed a breathtaking view of the pines and the mountains behind them.
Harper was sitting at one of the smaller tables, playing a board game with another young woman.
When she noticed me, she broke out in a grin. “You’re early. Couldn’t wait to see me, hmm?”
I sat down with a sigh. “Yes, actually.”
The girl sitting across from Harper eyed me from head to toe. “Harps, you didn’t tell me your brother was hot.”
Harper scrunched her nose. “If you’re into the Christian Grey type, I guess. Ellis, this is my roommate, Frankie. Hey, Frankie, can you leave us alone for a bit? My brother looks like he needs a good heart-to-heart.”
“Sure, but we’ll finish the round later. Don’t touch the board. Ellis, make sure she doesn’t move anything, alright? I’m beating you this time, Harper.”
“In your dreams, amateur.”
The moment Frankie got up from the table, Harper’s gaze locked onto me. “Okay, brother, what’s bothering you? You look like a pipe bomb ready to go off.”
I looked around, checking if anyone was listening in. Our family was somewhat famous, and I didn’t want any of our dirty laundry aired out in one of those magazines the receptionist loved so much. After making sure we were out of earshot of everyone else in the room, I took a deep breath and started talking.
Harper rested her chin on her folded hands and listened intently without interrupting me with her usual jokes or snarky remarks. Soon, her expression turned from cheeky to serious. A few times, she looked like she wanted to say something, but I didn’t stop talking. The words just poured out of me. I told her about what had happened between Cara and me, about Riley, about our fight, about what Cara had told me, about what our father had done to her. And I told her about the conversation I had with him and how his words had shattered my entire world.
When I was done, Harper leaned back in her chair and slowly shook her head. “That narcissistic, megalomaniacal, tyrannical asshole.”
I laughed a bitter laugh. “That sounds about right, yes.”
“I can’t believe it. I really can’t believe it. I knew he was terrible, but even I am surprised he pulled this off. This is almost comically cruel.”
“I know. If he hadn’t admitted it himself, I might have doubted Cara’s words. But it’s all true. He didn’t even try to deny it. He took the woman I love and my son away from me because they didn’t fit his plans for me.”
Harper let out a huff. “So, I’ve been an auntie all this time.”
“And I a father.”
With a smile, Harper reached across the table, knocking over a couple of plastic playing pieces on the board, and took my hand. “That fits. I’m sure you’ll do a great job.”
“If Cara will ever let me near him again after I doubted her words.”
Oh, how I wished I could turn back time. The thought that my misguided loyalty to my father might’ve ruined my relationship with Cara for good made my stomach clench. Would she ever forgive me for doubting her?
Harper pursed her lips, making it clear she had the same concerns. “Yeah, you need to apologize big time.”
I slowly nodded. She’d opened up to me, and I’d failed to live up to her expectations. Thirteen years before, I’d had no say or choice in the matter, but this time—this time, I could have picked her side but didn’t. I would have to re-earn her trust, but I was determined, now more than ever, to rebuild what we once had, no matter what it took. I already had a pretty good idea of where I needed to start.
“There’s the issue of Father himself,” I said. “I need a plan to deal with him.”
“You’re afraid of what he will do if you go against his wishes?”
“I am. Not about me, but about what he will do to Cara and Riley.”
Harper rested her head on her hands again and furrowed her brows thoughtfully. “What can he do? Dad is big on threats, but realistically? What can he do to them? Short of kidnapping, I mean. I assume that drastic measure is reserved only for his own daughter.”
“Back when Cara got pregnant, he hinted at using her mental health history against her. To declare her unfit for parenting and take Riley from her.”
“Oh… Yeah, that might become a problem.”
“You think? Even calling it history is a stretch. Her mother had schizophrenia, and Cara herself voluntarily spent a few days at a psychiatric clinic after her father died.”
“You know how Father is, and you know he has friends in a lot of high places. I don’t want to scare you, but he might get somewhere with that if he was serious about it. Don’t know why he would want yet another kid who hates him since he already has me, you, and Brooks, but he might do it just to hurt Cara and punish you.”
“You really think he would go that far?”
Harper went silent for a brief second before she continued in an unusually serious tone. “I think staying away from you and keeping her kid a secret was the smartest thing Cara could have done. Father is dangerous, maybe even more dangerous than you and I realized. I think it’s very likely he will find a way to retaliate if you don’t do what he wants.”
“So… what, you think I should just give up Riley and Cara and marry whoever Father picks out for me?”
Harper gave me a stern look. “Hello? How long have we known each other? It’s me, Harper. You know it’s my life’s mission to go against Dad’s wishes. No, Ellis, you don’t give up. You fight back.”
“Fight back? How?”
Harper looked at the ceiling, biting her lip. “I think…” she said slowly, “I think if father is not above blackmailing, neither are we.” There was a glint in her eyes that worried me a bit.
“You suggest we blackmail him? With what?”
“There’s basically a buffet full of choices, but I have something specific in mind. The PocketQuest 4.”
“What about it?”
“When the user connects to the Horizon servers, it collects data. A lot of data. Sensitive information. And without getting consent. One could consider that a pretty severe data-privacy violation.”
I furrowed my brows, trying to follow along. “How do you even know that?”
“I looked over a couple of shoulders when they updated the software recently.”
Harper had studied three and a half semesters of information technology at Stanford before dropping out, but I’d had no idea she had that much knowledge or insight into our products.
My little sister was full of surprises, and I was thankful for that because her intel was exactly what we needed.
“If this comes out, it would cause a major scandal,” I said.
Harper leaned back and grinned. “And just in time to ruin Christmas business.”