Chapter 36
DAREK
Isat across from Aaron in his downtown office. The space was all dark wood and leather, designed to project confidence and success. He had an office in the city, but also the one in Cloudhaven to cater to the clientele around town.
“So we got it,” Aaron said, sliding a tablet across the desk toward me. “The original security footage from the yacht club.”
My heart started pounding. “And?”
“See for yourself.”
I picked up the tablet and hit play. The video showed the dock at the yacht club. And there we were, Daisie and me on her birthday. I watched myself turn to look at the yacht while Daisie leaned forward to look at the water.
But unlike the doctored still image, this showed my hand clearly gripping the back of her life jacket the entire time.
My hold never wavered, never loosened. She was never in any danger because I had her.
The water wasn’t choppy at all. It was calm, barely a ripple.
And there were no whales anywhere in sight.
“Wow,” I breathed.
I had been there, and I knew what the truth was, but after seeing that picture so many times, I was seriously questioning my own recollection. They made me feel like I was losing my mind. I started to second-guess the weather and if I even put a lifejacket on her.
“Grant really did a number on this,” Aaron said. “He changed the background, made the water look rough, and photoshopped your hand out entirely. If your girlfriend hadn’t noticed those whales, we might never have questioned it.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.” The words came out automatically, defensive.
Aaron raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment. “Right. Well, whoever she is, she saved your ass. This video proves beyond any doubt that the photo was fabricated.”
“Have you filed the suit?”
“Filed it yesterday. We’re going after him for fraud, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and a few other things my team came up with. We’re asking for ten million in damages.”
I sat back in my chair. “Ten million.”
“Could be more by the time we’re done. The fraud was egregious, Darek. He tampered with evidence in a custody case. He nearly cost you your daughter. A jury’s going to hate him.”
“Good.”
“The state is also pursuing criminal charges. Perjury, fraud, tampering with evidence. He’s looking at serious jail time. But those proceedings are separate. We won’t be involved in the criminal case.”
I looked at the video again, watching that moment on loop. My hand on Daisie’s jacket. Her safe. Me being a good father despite what Grant had tried to make everyone believe.
“How much do you really think we’ll get from him?” I asked.
Aaron leaned back in his chair, a satisfied smile crossing his face. “When it’s all said and done? Grant Waverly will be finished. We’ll take everything—his stake in the yacht club, his investments, his properties. He’ll be lucky if he’s not bankrupt and in prison.”
“Good,” I said again. The word felt hollow. Destroying Grant wouldn’t fix what I had broken with Liza but it did make feel good to exact some kind of revenge. The guy had put me through hell and he definitely damaged my reputation.
We talked for a few more minutes about timelines and depositions and legal strategy, but my heart wasn’t in it. Even the satisfaction of watching Grant go down wasn’t enough to lift the weight that had been sitting on my chest for the past week.
“You okay, Darek?” Aaron asked. “You sound off.”
“I’m fine. Just tired.”
“How is Daisie handling everything? You guys must be pretty relieved to have all of this behind you.”
“Not great,” I admitted. “She’s been pretty withdrawn since—” I stopped. I didn’t want to talk about Liza. Didn’t want to admit that I had screwed up the best thing that had ever happened to me.
My phone rang. I glanced at the screen and realized it was Della. Fuck. That was probably going to be a phone call I needed to take in private.
“I need to take this,” I said and got to my feet.
“I’ll be in touch,” Aaron said.
I walked out and answered. “This is Darek.”
“Mr. Sullivan, this is Della from Faux Agency.”
I braced myself to be lectured about being an asshole. I didn’t think there was anything in the contract that said I had to pay an additional fee for ending the contract early.
“Yes?” I snapped. I was impatient. Angry. Frustrated.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but I wanted to reach out about the payment issue.”
“What payment issue?”
“Well, you authorized payment, but Liza refused to accept it. I’ve tried to explain to her that she earned that money and the contract was fulfilled, but she’s being quite stubborn about it. I was calling to ask if you’d like me to send you a check or refund the card you paid with.”
“Wait, what?”
“I need to refund the full payment, minus the five thousand of course.”
“Why?” My brain was still sluggish.
“Mr. Sullivan, she rejected the payment. I need to return it to you.”
“Liza refused the payment?”
“Yes. She said the arrangement ended early and she didn’t feel right accepting the money.”
My mind was racing. “When did she tell you this?”
“About a week ago. The same day she asked to be removed from our active roster. Said she wasn’t interested in taking on any more assignments.”
“She’s not taking the San Francisco job?”
“No. She was quite clear that she was done with Faux entirely. One fake relationship was enough to last a lifetime, I believe were her exact words.” Della paused.
“Mr. Sullivan, I don’t usually get involved in my clients’ personal lives, but I have to say, Liza was genuinely upset when we last spoke.
Whatever happened between you two, it wasn’t about the money. That girl was heartbroken.”
I felt like I had been punched in the gut. “She really turned down the payment?”
“And the San Francisco job. And every other opportunity I’ve presented to her.”
“I see. Keep the money for now, please. I would like Liza to get the payment. I’ll try reaching out to her and make it clear she knows she earned it.”
“I’ll hold it for another week. Good luck.”
After I hung up with Della, I just stood there, phone in hand, feeling like the world’s biggest idiot. She had refused the money. And turned down the San Francisco job.
She had quit Faux entirely.
Everything I had accused her of had been wrong. Completely, utterly wrong. I was a total dick. If I could kick my own ass, I would do it.
Those messages from Della hadn’t been Liza planning her exit. They’d been Della doing her job, trying to line up work for a contractor. And Liza hadn’t even responded to them because she’d been planning to stay. She was ready and willing to quit Faux and build a life with Daisie and me.
And what had I done? I’d read her private messages, jumped to conclusions, and kicked her out.
I walked to my SUV and slid into the seat. I turned on the AC and blasted it. I was hot and sweaty.
“I’m such an idiot,” I said out loud to the empty car.
It wasn’t just a job to her. It was real. It had always been real. And I’d thrown it all away because I’d been too scared to trust it. Too afraid of being hurt again to believe that someone could actually love me that completely.
I pulled out my phone and opened my contacts, finding Liza’s name. My thumb hovered over the call button.
What would I even say? Sorry I accused you of lying? Sorry I didn’t trust you? Sorry I was too damaged by my ex-wife to believe that you could actually love me?
All of it was true, but would it be enough?
And what if she didn’t want to hear it? What if she had spent the last week moving on and deciding I wasn’t worth the trouble. I had hurt her. Badly. I’d seen the devastation on her face that morning in the boathouse. I heard it in her voice. We were both hurting. And I only had myself to blame.
Why would she want to come back after that?
But I had to try.
Daisie deserved to have Liza back in her life. And I needed her back.
I pressed the call button before I could talk myself out of it. The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.
Then it went to voicemail. Her voice sounded happy and carefree. It made my heart squeeze. “Hi, you’ve reached Liza. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you!”
The beep sounded, and I realized I had no idea what to say.
“Liza, it’s Darek. I—” I stopped, took a breath.
“I’m an idiot. A complete idiot. Della called and told me you refused the payment, that you quit Faux.
You weren’t planning to leave. You weren’t treating this like just another contract.
It was real for you, and I was too stupid and scared to see it. ”
I paused, trying to organize my thoughts.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for reading your messages. I was scared of getting hurt again and I ended up hurting both of us instead. You and Daisie. She misses you so much. She barely eats, barely talks. She’s heartbroken. And it’s my fault.”
My voice cracked slightly.
“Please call me back. Let me apologize properly. Let me fix this. I know I don’t deserve it, but please give me a chance to make this right.”
I ended the call and sat there staring at my phone, willing it to ring. It didn’t.
I tried calling again. Same result, straight to voicemail. I didn’t leave another message. I sent her a quick text asking her to call me. I wasn’t actually expecting her to answer, but again, I hoped like hell she would.
Maybe her phone was off. Maybe she was screening her calls.
But I wasn’t giving up. Not this time. Not when I finally figured out what I had lost.
I had spent the last week being miserable, convincing myself I’d done the right thing by ending it. I fell into my old way of thinking that it was better to be alone than to risk getting hurt.
But I had been hurt anyway. We all had. The pain I was feeling now was entirely my own fault. And I was going to fix it.
I didn’t know how yet. Didn’t know if Liza would forgive me or give me another chance. But I had to try.
Because a life without her wasn’t a life worth living. And I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.
Now, I just had to find her. I called Della back and tried to get information out of her, but she had nothing. Or rather she was choosing not to tell me. My bet was on the latter.