Chapter 25 #2
“Too bad. I’ll tell everyone the truth.” I opened the door. “Tell them you’re the father who abandoned his pregnant wife and then spent twenty-five years running from the consequences. Tell them you tried to destroy your own daughter to protect your reputation. Tell them everything.”
“Tashi, don’t—”
“You don’t get to call me that.” I looked back at him one last time. “You don’t get to use my name like you have the right. You’re not my dad. You’re just Henri Saltz—deadbeat father and thief.”
I walked out and closed the door behind me.
The hallway was empty. Silent. I made it three steps before my knees gave out, and I had to lean against the wall.
Henri was my father.
The man who’d tried to destroy everything I loved was my father.
And he told me I meant nothing to him.
My phone buzzed. Leo: Where are you?
I texted back: We need to talk. Coming to you now.
The response was immediate: What floor? I’m coming to get you.
Me: Third floor executive offices.
He arrived two minutes later, taking one look at my face and pulling me into his arms without a word.
“I found out,” I said against his chest. “Marta brought the documents. Henri Saltz is my father. He left my mother when she was pregnant. Disappeared. Changed his name. And then when I showed up here, he tried to destroy me rather than admit the truth.”
Leo’s arms tightened around me. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“How do I do this, Leo? How do I go out there tomorrow night and celebrate love when my own father—”
“He’s not your father,” Leo interrupted. “A father is someone who shows up. Who protects. Who loves unconditionally. Henri Saltz is just the man whose DNA you share. That doesn’t make him your father.”
“But—”
“Your family is the people who choose you,” Leo continued. “Your mother. Marta. Us. That’s family. Henri is just a cautionary tale about trusting the wrong people.”
I wanted to believe him. Wanted to let Henri’s betrayal roll off me like it didn’t matter.
But it did.
Because somewhere deep inside, I’d always hoped that my father—whoever he was—hadn’t known about me. That if he’d known, he would have loved me.
Now I knew the truth.
He’d known. And he’d chosen to leave anyway.
“Tomorrow night,” Leo said gently, “you’re going to stand on that stage with us. You’re going to tell the world that you’re not defined by the people who abandoned you. You’re defined by the people who choose you. And we choose you, Tashi. All three of us. Every day. For the rest of our lives.”
“Even though I come with this—” I gestured helplessly “This disaster of a family history?”
“Especially because of it.” He tilted my chin up. “You are the strongest person I know. You have taken all three of us on.”
“I don’t feel strong.”
“You just confronted the man who abandoned you and told him exactly what you thought of him. You took back your power. That’s strength, Tashi. That’s courage. That’s everything.”
I leaned into him, letting his solid presence ground me.
“Henri’s going to be at the gala,” I said. “He’s still a shareholder. He’ll be watching.”
“Good.” Leo’s voice was hard. “Let him watch. Let him see what he lost. Let him see his daughter standing with three men who actually deserve her.”
“You think we can still do this? After everything? The lawsuit, Henri—”
“We don’t just do this,” Leo said. “We win. We stand up there and show everyone that love doesn’t have to look like what they expect. That family isn’t defined by blood or convention. That four people choosing each other is just as valid as any other relationship.”
“And if they don’t accept it?”
He kissed my forehead. “We do it anyway.”
I pulled back and looked at him—this man who’d stood behind me every minute I was in Las Vegas.
“Thank you,” I said. “For choosing me.”
“Always.” He took my hand. “Now come on. We need to run through the announcement one more time, and then you need to rest. Tomorrow will be a long day.”
“Rest.” I almost laughed. “Right. Because I’m definitely going to be able to sleep after this day.”
“Then don’t sleep. But at least lie down. Close your eyes. Let us take care of you for a few hours.”
“Bossy.”
“You love it.”
I did.
We headed back to the executive floor, to the suite that had become our sanctuary.
Orion was waiting, his face tight with concern. “Marta told me,” he said immediately. “About Henri being your father.”
“Ex-father,” I corrected. “He stopped being my father the day he abandoned my mother.”
“Fair.” Orion pulled me into a hug. “You okay?”
“No. But I will be.” I stepped back and looked at both of them. “Tomorrow night we tell our story. We stand together and we tell the truth.”
“All of it?” Orion asked carefully. “Including Henri?”
I thought about it. About the media circus that would erupt. About the questions. About Henri’s face when his greatest shame became public knowledge.
“Not yet,” I said finally. “The gala is about us. About love. About celebration. Henri’s story—that comes later. After we’ve proven that nothing can break us apart.”
“Then that’s what we do.” Orion pulled me close.
“And after that?” I asked.
“We face the Gaming Commission,” Leo said. “We present our evidence. We watch Marcus and Henri and Wilder face consequences. And we start building our life together. Officially. Publicly. Permanently. No more hiding.”
“No more shame,” Orion agreed.
“No more running,” I finished.
We stood together—the three of us—and I felt something shift inside me. A release. A letting go of all the fear and doubt and guilt that had weighed me down since this nightmare began.
Henri had abandoned me. Daniel had betrayed me. Marcus had threatened me. Kurt Wilder had weaponized me.
But I was still here.
“Let’s do this,” I said. “Let’s throw the party of the century and show them all what real love looks like.”
“Together,” Orion said.
“Let’s party!” Leo grinned.
“Wait, where’s Ares?” I asked.
“That’s a good question.” Orion glanced at his watch.
“Call Neville,” Leo suggested.
Orion pulled out his phone, his jaw tightening as he dialed. “Neville? Have you heard from Ares?” I watched his expression shift from concern to alarm. “What do you mean you haven’t heard from him since he left to confront Marcus?” His voice went dangerously quiet. “How long ago was that?”
Leo and I exchanged looks. My stomach dropped.
“Hours?” Orion’s hand clenched around the phone. “And his phone?” He listened, his face going harder with each passing second. “I understand. Send me the warehouse address. We’re going now.”
He hung up and looked at us. “Ares went after Marcus at a warehouse in North Las Vegas hours ago. His phone’s been off since then. Neville tried calling LVPD, but they said leaving a hotel isn’t a crime and there’s no evidence of foul play. They won’t send anyone.”
“Hours,” I whispered. “Anything could have happened in that time.”
“Then I go get him.” Orion was already moving toward the door. “Neville’s sending me the address.”
“We’re coming with you,” Leo said immediately.
I agreed. “Ares is missing. We’re not sending you alone.”
Orion looked like he wanted to argue, but he just nodded. “Let’s go.”
We took Orion’s Mercedes—fast and built like a tank. The warehouse district was twenty minutes away, but Orion made it in fifteen, pushing the car hard through evening traffic. Nobody spoke. The silence was thick with fear and unspoken possibilities.
What if Marcus had hurt him? What if Ares was injured somewhere, unable to call for help? What if—
I couldn’t finish the thought.
My throat tightened. The gala we’d spent two days planning, the announcement that was supposed to change everything, the carefully orchestrated event that would save our reputations—none of it mattered if Ares was hurt.
“We’ll find him,” I said, trying to convince myself as much as them. “He’s strong. He’s trained. He knows how to handle himself.”
“Against one man, yes,” Orion said grimly. “But Marcus isn’t working alone. If they ambushed him—”
He didn’t finish. He didn’t have to.
The warehouse district appeared out of the desert like a graveyard—rusted metal buildings, broken pavement, abandoned vehicles casting long shadows in the fading light.
Orion followed Neville’s GPS coordinates to a sprawling industrial complex that looked like it hadn’t seen legitimate business in years.
“Unit 14,” Orion said, pointing to a building ahead. “That’s where Neville tracked his phone.”
He parked fifty yards away, and we all got out. The desert air was cool now, the sun just setting behind the mountains, painting everything in shades of orange and purple. Beautiful and eerie at the same time.
The warehouse door was open, and dark inside.
“Ares!” Orion called out, his voice echoing across the empty lot. “ARES!”
Nothing.
We moved closer. Leo pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight, sweeping the beam across the warehouse entrance. I could see scattered tools, and signs of a struggle.
“There was a fight here,” Leo said quietly.
“Ares!” I called out, my voice breaking. “Please answer!”
Still nothing.
Orion stepped into the warehouse, and Leo and I followed. The flashlight beam caught broken glass, scattered papers, and then—
“His phone,” Orion said, bending to pick up the shattered device. “They destroyed it.”
“So, he can’t call for help,” Leo finished.
My chest felt too tight. “Then where is he?”
“ARES!” Orion roared, his composure finally cracking. “Where are you?”
A sound—distant, from outside. Not a voice, but movement. Footsteps on gravel.
We ran back outside, scanning the darkening desert. The sun was almost gone now, just a sliver of orange on the horizon.
“There,” I said, pointing down the dusty access road that led away from the warehouse. “Someone’s walking.”
A figure, moving slowly in the shadows. Limping.
“ARES!” Orion shouted.
The figure stopped. Turned.
Even from a distance, even in the failing light, I knew that silhouette. Knew the way he held himself despite obvious pain.
Orion broke into a run. Leo and I followed, our feet kicking up dust as we closed the distance.
Ares stood in the middle of the road, swaying slightly. As we got closer, I could see the damage—blood crusted on his temple, his suit torn and filthy, his face battered and swollen. He looked like he’d been through a war.
“Jesus Christ,” Orion breathed, reaching him first. “What happened?”
“Marcus,” Ares said, his voice rough. “And his partner. They—” He stumbled, and Orion caught him.
“We’ve got you,” Leo said, taking his other arm. “We’ve got you.”
“I’m sorry,” Ares managed. “I tried to stop them. Heard them planning—the gala—they’re going to—”
“Later,” I interrupted, touching his face gently. “Tell us later. Right now, we need to get you to a hospital.”
“No hospital.” He straightened slightly, wincing. “No time. The gala—they’re planning bombs. Charges in the building. During the announcement. We have to—”
“Ares, you’re hurt—”
“I’ll live.” He pulled away from Orion and Leo, standing on his own despite the visible effort it cost him. “But if we don’t stop Marcus, everyone at that gala dies. Including us.”
The words hit like ice water.
“Bombs?” Leo said. “At the Olympus Royale? During the Gala?”
“During our announcement,” Ares confirmed. “Maximum casualties. Make it look like a structural failure or terrorism. I heard them planning it. That’s why they tried to kill me—I know too much.”
“Then we cancel,” I said immediately. “We evacuate the hotel, call the police, call the bomb squad—”
“No.” Ares’s voice was firm. “If we cancel, they’ll know I’m alive. They’ll know I told you. They’ll just try again another day, another way. We have to catch them in the act.”
“You want to use ourselves as bait?” Orion said incredulously.
“I want to end this.” Ares looked at each of us. “Tomorrow night. No more running. No more threats. We find the bombs, we catch Marcus, and we finish this conspiracy once and for all.”
“You can barely stand,” I pointed out.
“I can stand well enough.” He managed a ghost of his usual confident smile. “Besides, I’ve got three people to fight for now. That’s pretty good motivation.”
Orion studied his brother for a long moment, then nodded. “Then we do it together.”
Leo pulled out his phone. “I’ll text Neville that we’re dealing with a security issue. We have until tomorrow night to find the bombs.”
“And if they aren’t planted yet?” Orion asked.
Ares was firm. “We keep doing security sweeps. Quietly. Without causing panic.”
“How?” Orion demanded. “How do we search an entire hotel with hundreds of guests without anyone noticing?”
“Neville can handle it. Give me your phone so I can call him to coordinate the sweeps,” Ares said.
“You’re sure about this?” I asked. “We could just evacuate—”
“And let Marcus escape?” Ares interrupted. “Let him try next week, next month. Or we end it tonight. Your choice. All we have is suspicion, not proof. If we need to pull the fire alarms to evacuate, we will. “
I looked at Orion and Leo. Saw the same determination in their faces that I felt building in my chest.
Ares started toward the Mercedes, moving stiffly but steadily. “Come on. We’ve got a conspiracy to stop.”