Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 131455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 526(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 526(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
“Please, it would be like losing my brother. You might not understand, but everything I did was for him, and for you.”
“No!” I bark. “You did it for yourself!! Don't you dare say you did it for me. You don't get to rewrite history now that you've been caught.”
“Please. I couldn't take it.” Throwing his arms out to the sides, he releases a choked cry filled with anguish. “What do I have to do? Do you want me to beg? I'll get on my knees and beg you. I'll do whatever you want. All I ask is that you don't tell him. He can never find out.”
“Even if it means finally getting closure, that's what he needs more than anything. He needs to be able to move on with his life. And he can't do that with the way things are now.”
“As I said, Ken, you need to go.” Callum tries to turn me away from Ken, and I know he wants to make this better. He wants to help, but this is something I'm going to have to do myself.
“Wait a second.” I look up at Callum. “Do I get to decide?”
“What do you mean?”
“You invited him over, so I guess this is between the two of you.”
“You do what you need to do. I was always going to leave it up to you after I broke the news.”
It's up to me. I'm not used to hearing that.
What should I do? How do I handle this? I know what I want to do. I can see myself spitting on him, kicking him, making him feel as small and as hopeless and friendless as my father has felt all this time, yet who would that help? What would it accomplish? It wouldn't make me feel any better in the long run. I would only end up feeling as small and pitiful as Dad has felt.
“I won't tell him,” I decide, ignoring the way Ken shudders with relief while his legs sag. “I'll let you live with that guilt for the rest of your life. What I am going to do is tell him what happened, because he deserves to know the truth.” More than that, he needs it.
“But you won't say anything about me?”
“I won't. You can live with the gnawing guilt.” Dropping my voice to a whisper, I add, “But if I were you, I would make it a point to stay away from me, because I don't know if I could hide how I feel about you in front of Dad.”
“I understand.” He looks to Callum, who nods, stepping aside.
“You heard her. Get out of here,” Callum orders. Ken gives me one last sorrowful look before leaving the room, Romero following close behind him.
At first, I can't move. All I can do is stare at the spot where Ken just stood and remember all the times he had the nerve to grieve beside my father. All the times he sat with him, talked with him. The way he wept at my mother's graveside on the day of the funeral.
He knew exactly what happened to her. All the time. He held the truth right in the palm of his hands, and he never told us.
“Now, will you please sit down?” I'm barely aware of Callum guiding me to a seated position on the sofa. I hardly feel the supple leather beneath my hands.
“Why did you ask him to come here? How much did you know?”
“It's complicated.”
That's not the answer I want to hear. Not after everything we've been through, not after discovering the truth.
“Can you just give me a fucking answer, Callum!! How much did you already know?”
“I promised I would find answers.” I nod, waiting. “Romero finally put it together when he noticed how it seemed like Sebastian recognized Ken the day he and your father came to the house. We dug a little deeper, and Sebastian confirmed Ken took money from his father years ago.”
“Why?”
Callum's voice is edged with hesitation. “Bianca... Are you sure you want to hear this?”
“For God's sake, I'm not a child, and just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm some delicate flower incapable of handling big emotions. Tell me.”
“Salvatore Costello paid Ken to keep your father out of our business. We were in the middle of working out our first deal at the time. He didn't want the extra complications. When Charlie wouldn't back down, Sal decided to get rid of him. I was completely unaware of it, I swear. I didn't know anything about you, your mother, or any of it. And for what it's worth, Ken probably did his best. You know how impossible it is to make your father listen.”
“Okay.” That's not true at all. I don't see a damn thing. “How long have you known?”
“I didn't want to tell you anything until I knew the whole story.”