Chapter 24
DOMINIC
Isit in the back of the limo opposite my woman. She’s dressed in an elegant dark dress, her hair styled expertly around her shoulders. She’s got dark eye makeup around her eyes, giving her a dangerous look. It’s been a day since the revelation at the hospital: a day of activity.
Her grandmother is now back at her home, with round-the-clock medical care while she adjusts to her new treatment.
Izzy and I went to the cops with the evidence my perfect detective managed to gather while we were separated.
And now, we’re on our way to a TV interview to tell the world what sort of scumbag Aaron really is.
A publicist, the best in the biz, sits in the seat between us. His name is James Smith, and he’s what people describe as nondescript, as though he’s so concerned with other people’s PR, he never needs to worry about his own. He’s focused on his phone, texting.
I take out my cell and shoot a text to Izzy.
Dominic: How are you feeling, beautiful?
She takes her phone from her handbag, then aims a secret smile at me.
Izzy: So nervous, I could puke. But I’m also determined to get this done. What about you? You’re going to be sharing a lot too.
Dominic: I don’t care about that.
After I’ve sent the first text, I immediately write another.
Dominic: Or maybe I do. Maybe it’s impossible not to care. But I’m not going to let it stop me. I loved my father, but I won’t let innocent people suffer to protect his image.
She smiles again, a bright and beautiful picture despite the tension in the car.
Izzy: I never could’ve gotten such a high-profile interview without you. Thank you.
Dominic: You don’t need to thank me for doing the right thing.
Izzy: Do you think the police have arrested him yet?
Dominic: Highly unlikely. The photos you gave them are enough to start an investigation, but they still need to prove he knew the drugs were there and that he was involved in the distribution. It’ll take some time. That doesn’t mean we can’t ruin his goddamn life though.
She looks at me, not smiling anymore. She looks fierce and ready.
Izzy: Hell yeah.
James puts his phone away, glancing at Izzy, then me.
“They’re going to want to push the boyfriend-girlfriend angle.
That’s what makes this interview exciting.
The bombshells, well… they are bombshells.
But don’t be surprised if they focus on your connection too.
” James looks at me. “I know you’re normally pretty cold in interviews, but—”
“That’s over,” I tell him flatly. “I couldn’t even pretend to be cold when it comes to Izzy.”
James smiles. “That’s good. That helps us.”
“It also happens to be true,” I say.
“That’s even better, then,” he agrees.
“What about slander charges?” Izzy asks.
James makes a pfft noise, waving his hand.
“Slander only applies if it isn’t true. So, unless you’ve both lied to me about this situation, he’d be an idiot to even try for a slander case.
It’d mean a defense team combing through his business, questioning people at the hospital, all to check if he’s telling the truth. ”
“Even my uncle isn’t that stupid,” she says.
I look out the window at the city passing by. A few weeks ago, my life was so simple. But it was cold. Pointless, except when it came to my work. My projects were the only thing that brought me joy… that made me feel alive. Now, I feel like a changed man.
Sebastian Armitage stabbed me in the heart with the revelation about my father. But luckily, I’ve got my very own heart-healer right here, my Songbird, to stop it from stinging quite so badly.
The studio has arranged it so that Izzy and I are sitting side by side, with the interviewer opposite. Carlson Grace is a well-known journalist, a skinny man with a sculpted goatee and signature lime-green glasses. He folds one leg over the other, looking at me.
“This makes quite the change from the iceman we’ve all come to know and…”
“Love?” I cut in, winking.
He chuckles. “I wouldn’t want to presume. I hope you don’t think the term lovebirds is a step too far?”
“Not at all,” I tell him. “I was a cold man before Izzy came along, like you implied. But being with her has changed me.”
James told us to play up the feelings, to exaggerate, to win the sympathy of the audience. But every word I say is the truth.
“I can’t talk about love at first sight, because life isn’t a fairytale,” I say, taking Izzy’s hand and giving her a warm look.
The light in her eyes is all the motivation a man could ever need to keep going.
“But I think about knowing at first sight. Not anything specific, even. But knowing that something is going to change. Knowing I’ve been waiting all this time for a reason.
Knowing that, now my Songbird is in my life, I’ll never be the same. ”
When Izzy sniffles and brings my hand to her lips, kissing it gently, I know it isn’t just for show. I can feel how real it is.
“Do I have to ask if you feel the same?” Carlson asks, smiling.
“I cared about him from the first second,” she murmurs. “Which is what makes all of this so much worse.”
“You can’t blame yourself,” I tell her.
“You’re talking about your uncle’s alleged scheme to have you infiltrate Dominic’s business?” Carlson asks.
“Yes,” she says. “He blackmailed me. He used my grandmother as leverage. But I still did it. I still betrayed him.”
“No,” I tell her fiercely. “You did what anyone would do. It’s not your fault. Aaron and that sick, obsessed man are to blame.”
“That would be Sebastian Armitage you’re referencing, Dominic?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“You’ve told our production team what happened between the two of you, but for the benefit of our audience…”
I clear my throat, seeing an image of my father right at the end, so tiny in bed, still asking for another drink. He killed a woman and a child because of his booze addiction, and he still begged for one at the end.
I speak slowly, explaining about the hit-and-run, about Sebastian’s long revenge game.
“He said he tried to forget it, after my father died,” I go on. “Tried to let it go. But he just couldn’t. So, he used his connection to Aaron’s company—and his knowledge that Aaron has always had it out for me—to attempt to ruin my business.”
Carlson shakes his head slowly. “That’s almost Biblical,” he murmurs. “The sins of the father…”
“Men like Sebastian, they’ll always rise higher than people like me,” I say.
“Why do you say that?”
“Sebastian will tell you he did this for his wife and child, God rest them. No one should outlive their own child, and to see the woman you love die…” I shudder, not faking it, as I glance at a teary-eyed and beautiful Izzy. “It’s terrible.”
“But?” Carlson prompts.
“There is no but,” I say, disgusted. “There’s no qualifier that can make what happened to that man any easier.
My father… I loved him. I’ve lived every second since he passed with him on my shoulder, guiding my actions.
Even when I knew he did wrong, I held onto the belief.
He did a bad, bad thing. Unforgivable. So, no, there’s not a but. Except, well… we need more context.”
“Such as?” Carlson asks.
“He got his revenge,” Izzy says fiercely, then looks at me. “Sorry.”
“Please,” I whisper. “You don’t have to say sorry.
” I turn back to Carlson. “It’s true. My father wronged him, and in turn, he destroyed my father.
To hold onto this for years, to blame me for what my father did, to pull Izzy and her grandmother into it through Aaron…
that, Carlson, I think we can agree, that is too far. ”
“Like I said,” Carlson mutters. “It’s Biblical.”
“I don’t know about that,” I reply. “I just know it’s wrong, and it doesn’t do anyone any good. Not even himself.”
“This must be difficult, to speak so publicly. Due to your more-than-generous business practices, you’ve been hounded by my colleagues—and, yes, by me—for interviews for years. But you always say no. No, to speak so openly…”
“Some things need the light,” I tell him. “To purify them. To heal them. We can’t live in the dark forever. That’s what Izzy has taught me, more than anything. Honesty.”
Izzy makes a noise.
“You don’t agree?” Carlson says, turning to her.
“He’s being too kind,” Izzy says quietly. “I lied to get information out of him. It’s lucky I didn’t get anything more valuable.”
“You were forced and bullied into it,” I tell her firmly. “It’s not your fault. It was never your fault. The blame lies with Sebastian and Aaron, and them alone.”
“But how did I teach you honesty?” she murmurs.
“Because you hated yourself for what you did, and you didn’t even get that deep.
You gave some corporate tidbits to save your grandmother’s life.
And still, it ate you up. You’re an honest, beautiful person, Isabella.
You’re not to blame because your twisted uncle tried to make you something different. ”
She takes my hand and holds it tightly, eyes sparkling with emotion.
“So, what’s next for you two?” Carlson asks. “Somehow, I don’t think Sebastian nor Aaron are going to be happy about this interview.”
“They’re welcome to deny the allegations,” Izzy says. “In fact, they should take us to court.”
Carlson smiles knowingly. “A court case for slander? Meaning, they would have to disprove everything you’ve told me here. The blackmail, the weaponization of the past.”
Not to mention the drugs.
But we’ve agreed not to share that part in case it interferes with the police’s investigation.
“I think, for us,” I say, “we just want to have some time to be a couple, to explore what that would be like without all these secrets getting in the way. There were a few days, before it all blew up, when it was just me and Izzy and the excitement of a new relationship. I’d like to get back to that. ”
Izzy smiles. “Yeah, me too. I’d love that.”
Soon, the interview is over.
In the limo after, Izzy is breathless, almost overwhelmed with her relief at getting it over with.
I wrap my arm around her, hugging her close.
James sits opposite, typing rapidly on his phone, before looking up at us with a grin.
“The response is excellent so far. You’re getting a lot of respect for doing this live. ”
“And the negative?” I say.
James shrugs. “A few claiming the interview was a softball, which is true. But it won’t hurt us overall. This was your chance to get your side of the story out there, and you did it. Unless Aaron or Sebastian wants to go public and claim otherwise, we’re dominating the narrative.”
“I wish I could see his face,” Izzy murmurs. “My proud uncle, always so tough and in control. He won’t be able to walk down the street without people knowing who he is, what he is.”
“It’s better than he deserves,” I agree.
“I suggest you two lie low for a few days,” James says. “I know you have a business to run, Dominic, but any press appearances could alter the perception we’ve managed to cultivate here. We need time for this interview to make its full impact.”
“I’ll work from home for a while,” I tell him. “Focus on logistics. My right-hand, Ethan, can do some heavy lifting for a few days.”
“Excellent,” James says.