Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
HUNTER
My hand fists my phone as I spin into the depths of despair. It’s a technical detail.
I’m not following Dorothy. I just know where she is by her Share My Location app. She’s been in this complex for hours now, which means she’s at Jamison’s place.
Why is she there?
I’m sitting at the bar with my heart beating out of my chest, hoping to catch her when she leaves. Please let it be tonight because if she stays, I’ll die from heartbreak.
“Hunter, do you want anything else to drink?” Jody wipes down the counter.
I glance at my glass. “No, thanks. I’m good.”
I peek at the entrance of the restaurant right as Dorothy passes by and goes out the door to the parking lot.
The stool twists as I hurry off it and try to ‘run’ into her. By the time I get outside, she’s already driving away in her car.
“Goddammit!” I turn back and march to the elevators while shaking my head. I really wanted to confront her and see how she would handle it, but I’ll just have to wait until tomorrow.
“Joe Ison is here to see you.” Hailey holds the doorknob as she peeks in.
“Great. Send him in.” I dig into my pocket and pull out the betting chip.
Hailey shows Joe in, and we share the usual pleasantries before we get down to business. I’m not sure how to go about it because I don’t know my mother at all. Her agenda has me confused as fuck.
“Do you want me to get more information on Jamison Stone?” Joe slouches comfortably on the corner of my couch as I lean against my desk, standing before him.
“No. I need something different. It’s a strange request because I don’t know what I’m looking for.”
“This sounds interesting. How can I help?”
“I need you to find out all you can about a woman by the name of Joan Venturi. She lives near Bordeaux, France.”
“You’re sending me to Europe for a woman? Who is she?” He eyes the chip I’ve been absentmindedly messing with.
“You might not have to go to Europe. Start here first, then if needed, go to France.”
“Alright, but you didn’t answer me. Who is she, and why am I looking into her? I need something to go on.”
“She’s my mother. I don’t know much other than she lived here with my father before she left us for some mobster. That was twenty-four years ago. I don’t know if they’ve lived in France all this time, but that's her last known location.”
“You haven’t had any contact with her since you were ten?”
“That’s correct.”
“Why do you want information on her? ”
“She’s up to something and I can’t figure out why.”
He gestures to the chip. “Is that part of this somehow?”
I hand it to him. “Yes. These were the betting markers the casinos used thirty-some years ago. Maybe even longer.”
“But they’re not now?”
“After my mother left us, my dad changed everything. These chips were removed from commission and changed to ones with a new design. As far as I know, the old ones were destroyed.”
“Is this the only remaining chip?” He works it through his fingers as he takes note of the details.
“No. When my mother left, she gave one to me and one to Jonah. She told me never to lose it, and when I received another one, that would mean she was on her way to make things right.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“You’re telling me.” I fold my arms over my chest. “I still have the chip she gave me, but I haven’t seen her since the day she left. The marker you’re holding was given to me by Jamison Stone.”
“What do you think it means?” Joe hands it back to me.
I place it on my desk. “It means she wants something from me. The problem is I can’t give her what she wants, and I think she’s figured that out.”
“What does she want?”
“I’ll get to that in a minute. I’m more interested in if you think you can get the information I need quickly.”
“I’ll do what I can and fast as possible.” He shrugs. “Tell me about the betting chip. Why did you receive it?”
“She sent that to me as a warning of some kind, but I don’t know what that could be. Obviously, it has something to do with her showing up on my doorstep, but I don’t know what she plans on doing when she does.”
“You said Jamison Stone was involved somehow? ”
“Jamison isn’t involved. Ava Aldridge is. She’s been blackmailing me for years. She gave it to Jamison to give to me as a warning. She’s trying to prove to me she’s willing to get my adversary involved if I don’t comply with her demands. It’s clear she’s getting desperate.”
“Hunter, you need to tell me everything because this got twisted fast.” Joe pulls a small flip notepad out of his motorcycle jacket.
“Tell me about it. Let’s start at the beginning and see if we can piece together why my mother sent me the marker.”
“Start with Ava.”
I recline against the edge of my desk. “Ava and I dated in high school. I wouldn’t call it that, but she does. I took her virginity, so it makes her feel better to think we were in a relationship. She always told people we would end up together and have kids.”
“A jilted lover. Gotcha.”
“I never had those same thoughts as her because I was sleeping with anyone I could get my hands on. Fast forward to college, and we were still going through the same cycle. We’d hook up when I was having a dry spell, and I’d break it off as soon as someone else came along.”
“We all have that one girl who always waits around, don’t we?”
That makes me think of Jamison and Dorothy.
Have they been waiting around for each other all these years?
I shake off the thought. “Ava’s father is the ethics advisor on our board, Douglas Aldridge. He and Gerald Dupree are my father’s best friends. Gerald Dupree is the foreign relations advisor on our board. They all tie into the story, so write those names down.”
I wait for him to finish doing that. He glances up and nods, telling me to continue.
“Here’s where I fucked up, and my life has been hell because of it. In college, I went to Europe for the summer. I stayed with the Duprees during my time there. They're beyond wealthy and have a castle for a home, so their door is always open.”
“Sounds like a great place to vacation.”
“It would’ve been, but I messed up.”
“How so?”
I kick off the desk and stride to the window. “Helena Dupree was the ultimate goal for a guy like me.”
“Who is she?”
“She’s Gerald’s wife. She’s the forbidden fruit, a gorgeous older woman who’s married and more than tempting. I went after her by pretending I needed a French tutor. Long story short, she got pregnant with my kid.”
“You’re sure it was yours?”
“Yes. She had a paternity test done after he was born. It was all done secretively.”
“Give me the specifics.”
“I went to France after the baby was born and gave them my sample. They compared it to that, and the boy is mine. After that, I vowed never to father another child.” I swallow the awful taste of that memory.
“So, you have a kid out there?”
“Yes.”
“Who else knows?” Joe flips a page over in his notebook.
“As far as I know, Helena, Ava, my mother, and now Jamison. Why Ava told Jamison remains a mystery. Maybe she has a thing for him, but that doesn’t matter. They’re the only ones who know I’m Jack’s father.” My entire insides tighten by saying his name.
Joe finishes writing something and then glances at me. “If I’m following, Jack Dupree is your son. Helena passed him off as her husband’s, and somehow Ava found out. She’s been holding you for ransom since. Does that sound about right?”
“Partially, but Ava took it to another level. When I got the paternity test results, Ava overheard Helena and me on the phone. I had no idea Ava was behind me, listening to my conversation, but she heard it all.”
“Sneaky. I’ll add that to her profile. Continue.”
“She threatened to go to her dad, Douglas, Gerald Dupree, and my father unless I funded her lifestyle until she got married. Obviously, I’m still doing that because she’s still single.”
“Not a bad gig for Ava.”
“Right. But there was a problem with her threat. I was still in college and my dad paid for almost everything.” Acid rises into my throat because this is where it all blew up and burned me to the ground.
Joe’s brows draw down. “So, how did you pay for Ava? And why did she want you to? Doesn’t she come from wealth?”
“Her family has money, but not like the Efrons and the Duprees. She wanted that level of wealth.”
“Where do they think she gets the money from?”
“She tells her family she makes money modeling all over the world. Trips I pay for, but they all think she’s going to these places because she has a job there. To keep up the ruse, she attends events with me to get into the media.” I return to my desk and sit.
“Where did you get the money to fund her back then?”
“I was interning here and had my dad move me to work in the accounting department. It wasn’t far-fetched because I had moved around in the business a lot.”
“Why?”
“My dad wanted Jonah and me to know the ins and outs of it all. He had us intern so he could assess our strengths and determine what our duties would be when we took over.”
“Smart plan.”
“It was. Anyway, while I was working in that department, I found a way to siphon the money I needed into a dummy account. ”
I run my hand over the back of my neck. “That’s how I paid Ava. Looking back, I should’ve just asked my dad for the money and made up some stupid reason I needed it, but I was young, dumb, and scared.”
Joe’s eyes widen. “Now Ava has the kid and the embezzlement held over your head. How does your mother tie into this?”
“When Ava found out about Jack, she demanded I pay for her to go on a trip to Europe the following summer. I didn’t think much about it. I agreed, thinking that was just another way to keep her quiet. When she came back, shit hit the fan.”
“What happened then?”
“All this time, I thought Ava found my mother and got her on Ava’s side to kick me while I was down. My mother left us, so I knew she didn’t harbor any lost love for me.”
“And you figured because of that, she would help Ava?”
“Correct. I thought Ava buttered my mother up and got her to back Ava up on the next part of this fucked-up story.” I hang my head and try to ground myself.
Spilling my guts over this is something I never thought I’d have to do. My chest tightens, threatening a heart attack. It’s taking its toll.
“It gets worse?” Joe asks.
“Yes. When Ava came back, the terms had changed. Ava said she met with my mother, and they came up with a better plan.”
“Why do I get the feeling it was in their best interest, not yours?”
“Because it was. Not only was I to fund Ava’s lifestyle until she got married, but it was now me she would marry. In addition to that, we would have a baby of our own by the time I turn thirty-five.”
I push out of my chair and trudge back to the window. “As a young boy, I was stuck with no way out. I agreed to Ava’s terms. ”
“Forgive me for asking, but why would you do that?”
“I figured she’d meet someone, fall in love, and have their own kid. Ava and my mother seemed to be close, so I figured Ava would tell my mother to back off of me and focus on Ava and her new family.”
“I’m getting a sick feeling where I think you’re going with this.” He joins me at my side.
“You and me both. I’ve had it backward this entire time. Ava recently came clean about how it actually went down. The first trip Ava took to Europe was because my mother summoned her there. Dear old mom came up with the plan to the very last detail.”
“And Ava?”
“She just wanted to have fun with my money to rub it in my face until she got married. She wasn’t even going to go to rat me out, but now my mother is holding her to the fire, which means I’m burning too.”
I fold my arms over my chest and watch the wind blow tiny snowflakes around.
He pats me on the shoulder. “This is bad, Hunter. If your mother is married to someone in a crime family and wants Ava and you to have a child by the time you’re thirty-five, there’s a reason for it.”
“You don’t say,” I deadpan. “There’s more you need to know.”
“Fuck, Hunter. You must have pissed your mother off something fierce.”
“Obviously, but I don’t know what or how I did that.”
Joe returns to the couch and sits. “Why Ava?”
“At the time, it was because my mother knew about us dating on and off for so many years. My dad and mom were high school sweethearts, so maybe she thought it would be romantic. Who knows?”
“Are your mom and dad still in touch?”
“Not that I know of. ”
“Any clue as to why she used Ava?”
“Because my mother is out of her mind. But in all seriousness, I think it’s because we’re so far into this agreement there isn’t any other option.” I return to my desk.
“Joe, here’s what doesn’t add up. My mother left us when I was ten, but she’s been watching over us all this time. Why? She didn’t want us, so why would it matter what we were up to?”
“Do you know why she left?”
“Kind of.” My chest aches. “I remember the day she left. I held on to her legs, cried, and begged her to stay. She told me she had to go because I didn’t fit into her new life.”
“Her new life? Interesting.”
“We were yesterday’s trash to her, so why does she want Ava to have my baby? And why does it need to happen by the time I’m thirty-five?”
“You said there was more. Continue with that, and we’ll come back to your questions.” He picks up his notepad.
“When Ava went to Europe, I knew she stayed with the Duprees because my father said something about it. I figured she was checking on the boy for whatever reason., but that wasn’t the case.”
“Then why did she go?”
“Ava just disclosed that my mother had her stay with them to make sure Helena would keep Jack's paternity a secret. Ava threatened Helena, saying she would take them out if it ever came out, starting with Jack.”
“Did Ava say how she planned to do that?”
“She told Helena my mother’s husband would see to it. I never knew that part until the other night.”
“So, your firstborn child is to remain a secret. Is that correct?”
“Yes. But if my mother doesn’t want my son with Helena ever to be known, why does she want me to have one with Ava? It doesn’t add up. The other thing is that Ava got my mother to agree to drop the marriage part, but the baby is nonnegotiable.”
My head throbs with a raging headache. “And if all that wasn’t confusing enough, good old mom sent Ava pictures of me and my girlfriend.”
“Why would she do that?”
“As you know, my girlfriend is my employee, and it’s top secret we’re together because she’ll lose her job if anyone on the board finds out.”
“You lost me.”
“Ava’s supposed to take those pictures to them if I don’t start working on having this baby. The pictures are a threat hanging over me, telling me I better do as my mother wishes.”
“Is that the only thing your mom is threatening at this point?” Joe glances up at me.
“So far, yes. If I don’t have Ava pregnant within four and a half months, Ava’s been directed to go to the board with proof of my relationship with Dorothy.” I lean over my desk and rub my temples.
Joe shakes his head and sighs. “But they have all the other stuff if they need it.”
I rest back in my chair. “Not the embezzlement. They don’t know this, but once I started making good money myself, I found a way to pay back everything I took.”
“Good. That can help us.”
“I still don’t want that to be used against me because my father and brother would have a lot of questions that I may not have an answer for. But the books balance in perfect order, and the dummy account was wiped clean by one of the world’s best forensic accountants.”
“Do you know if they can trace the payments to Ava back to you?”
“I always paid her through my own accounts and credit cards. Nobody could ever tie it back to the company.”
“I’ve always said you were a brilliant businessman.” He closes his notebook. “Hunter, I’ll do my best to help, but I hate to say this. With a crime family involved, I think you’re in a world of shit.”
I huff a heavy sigh. “Don’t I know it. The problem is, I have no idea what they want from me.”