Chapter Thirty-Six Buying Time #2
“You…” My voice trembles as I look up at them. “You killed him…YOU KILLED HIM!” I scream the words as years of buried grief erupt inside me. “You motherfuckers! My brother died because of you!”
All this time I blamed myself. I thought Colson died because I didn’t say no to him that night, but it wasn’t me.
It was them. They set the events in motion that lead to his death. Sure, he could have still wanted to go outside. He could have still gotten sick. If not then, then some other time. Still, all these years I blamed myself when the catalyst to the events was far worse.
“You’ll pay for this!” I shout, shooting forward but Leon is faster and places a hand on my chest, slamming me back down onto the couch. Snarling, I spit at him.
He just laughs — a short, brittle sound. Aubrey doesn’t react. She simply reaches down and unzips the messenger bag still sitting on the coffee table.
“I figured you’d be reluctant,” she says. “So I brought some assurance of your compliance with me.”
My heart pounds harder as she pulls out a narrow document box. She places it carefully on the table and flips the lid open.
“What is that?” I ask, heart hammering.
Leon is watching eagerly now, the knife still loose in his hand as he leans forward like he’s about to witness a show.
Aubrey pulls out several papers and manilla envelopes, and my stomach drops.
That’s the Holloway letterhead. I knew it.
My hands tremble as I look down at the stack.
“These are…”
“The missing files from Holloway’s main office,” Aubrey states.
My pulse roars in my ears.
“You stole them,” I whisper.
“We secured them,” she corrects coolly.
Leon grins beside me and my rage only intensifies.
“You think this will destroy us?” I give her a feral smirk. “You think releasing those will take Holloway down?”
Aubrey’s lips twitch and irritation flashes in her gaze.
“It would cause significant damage.”
I let out a bark of humorless laughter.
“Fucking idiots,” I snap. “Holloway is bigger than your petty attempts at sabotage. You might cause problems, but you won’t destroy us.”
Leon scoffs. “You still don’t get it.”
I ignore him, keeping my gaze on Aubrey.
“If you release those,” I continue, my voice shaking with rage, “it’ll hurt clients, yes—but it won’t end the company. We’ll rebuild. We always do.”
Aubrey studies me for a moment, then she exhales like she’s exasperated.
“You’re right,” she shrugs.
The simple admission catches me off guard.
“Wh…what?”
“Which is why,” she continues, “I secured something stronger.”
My stomach twists.
“What are you talking about?”
Her eyes lift to mine. “Insurance.”
My pulse stutters as she pulls out the first folder and drops it on top of the contract stack. I gasp at the sight of Jayce’s name printed in bold letters at the top of the folder.
“What the hell is this?” I demand.
Leon is watching eagerly now as Aubrey opens the folder with unhurried fingers. She pulls out a paper and slides it to me. It’s a lab report. Confused, I skim it, then feel the blood drain from my face when I see it’s a positive report for steroids.
My eyes snap back to her.
“That’s fake,” I hiss.
“Of course it is,” Aubrey grins. “But he’s a professional athlete, and just a whisper of performance-enhancing drugs use would be enough to start an investigation, and … well, investigations have a way of becoming suspensions. Do you want to put poor Jayce through that?”
Leon chuckles softly beside me.
“Imagine the headlines,” Aubrey continues. “A hockey star caught using steroids. Team drops him. Endorsements disappear.”
My throat tightens painfully.
“You wouldn’t…”
“Of course I would. What does his reputation matter to me?” Her eyes narrow, and her voice is cold. “And if that alone doesn’t destroy him, we have other options.”
She taps the stack of files in the box.
“Financial allegations. Corporate interference. Conflicts of interest with Parker Global.”
“None of that is true!” I cry.
“It doesn’t have to be true,” she chuckles. “It just has to be enough of a scandal to make sure he never takes over his family company. Enough to destroy the reputation he’s spent his entire career building.”
My hands begin to shake.
“You’re bluffing,” I say, but the words feel weak even as I say them.
Aubrey just watches me before shrugging. “You’re welcome to test that theory.”
The room feels suddenly too small.
“He’s a hockey player,” Leon says with a shrug. “Those leagues panic the second they smell steroids. Doesn’t matter if it’s true or not.”
I feel like the air has been punched out of my lungs.
If they release those files…even if Jayce were cleared later…the damage would already be done. His team would suspend him. Sponsors would drop him. The league would tear him apart in the media.
His career could be over before anyone proved the truth and it would be all my fault.
“You sign the contract,” Aubrey shoves a pen across the glass toward me, “and these documents disappear.”
The pen rolls to a stop inches from my hand.
“If you refuse,” she continues calmly, “this entire box goes public.”
I realize too late that she’s backed me into a corner. If I don’t sign and give over Holloway, I might destroy Jayce’s life, and I’ll definitely destroy mine. It’s my family’s business and legacy, or the people I love most.
The choice is mine.