Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“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.”