The Fallout

Jamie answered his phone on the fourth ring.

"Richard, I can explain—"

"Explain what? That you're screwing your son's girlfriend? The photos are pretty self-explanatory." The voice on speaker was sharp, furious. "The board wants you out. Today."

"You can't make that decision alone."

"I'm not alone. I've got seven votes already. Emergency meeting at nine. Don't bother showing up."

The line went dead.

Jamie's phone immediately rang again. He declined it.

"How bad is it?" I asked.

"Career-ending." He scrolled through his messages, face hardening with each one. "Half the board wants me removed. The other half wants a full investigation. Either way, I'm done."

"Can they actually fire you? You built that company."

"I'm CEO, not owner. And morality clauses exist for a reason." He looked at me. "They'll use this to push me out, install someone cheaper, claim they're protecting company values."

My phone wouldn't stop buzzing. Unknown numbers. News outlets. Someone had already leaked my name.

"We need to leave," Jamie said. "Now. Before the press finds us here."

"What about Aiden?"

"What about him? He wanted this. He gets to live with it."

I grabbed Jamie's arm. "We can't just leave him here."

"Watch me." He headed for the door.

I followed him downstairs. Aiden was in the kitchen making coffee like he hadn't just detonated both our lives.

"Going somewhere?" Aiden asked cheerfully.

"Get out of my way," Jamie said.

"It's not your cabin. It's technically Mom's. Part of the divorce settlement, remember?"

Jamie moved so fast I barely saw it. He had Aiden against the wall, forearm across his throat.

"You want to destroy me? Fine. But she's innocent in this."

Aiden's smile never wavered even as he struggled to breathe. "She stopped being innocent the second she spread her legs for you."

Jamie's fist pulled back.

"Stop!" I grabbed his arm. "He wants you to hit him. Don't give him that."

Jamie released Aiden slowly. Stepped back.

Aiden rubbed his throat, laughing. "Dad's right, Lilith. You are smarter than you look."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked. "If you knew from the beginning, why wait?"

"Because I wanted you to fall in love with him." Aiden's eyes were cold. "I wanted you to betray me so completely that you'd never forgive yourself. I wanted him to choose you over me. And then I wanted to take it all away."

"You're sick," Jamie said.

"I'm your son. What does that make you?" Aiden poured himself coffee. "The affair was bad enough. But you want to know what really sealed it? Last night at dinner, when you looked at her like she was the only person in the room. Like I didn't exist."

"Aiden—"

"I've spent my whole life invisible to you. Work was always more important. Money. Power. Everything came before me." His voice cracked. "The one time I find something that matters, you take it."

"I never meant—"

"I don't care what you meant. I care what you did." Aiden set down his cup. "Now you know how it feels. To lose everything that matters."

Jamie's phone rang again. He ignored it.

"What happens now?" I asked.

"Now you both suffer." Aiden pulled out his phone. "I've got more pictures, by the way. Time-stamped. Dated. I've been documenting everything since that first night. Every hotel room. Every lie. Every time you chose each other over me."

"You've been following us?" My voice cracked.

"Not personally. I hired someone. Cost me a fortune but worth every penny." He scrolled through his phone. "Should I send these to your university? Let them know their star psychology student is sleeping with a man twice her age?"

"Don't," Jamie said. "She has nothing to do with this. Punish me, not her."

"But hurting her hurts you more. That's the whole point."

I felt sick. "You never loved me, did you?"

"I loved the idea of you. The perfect girlfriend. Smart, beautiful, from nothing. Someone I could save." Aiden shrugged. "Then Dad looked at you and I realized you were just like everyone else. Drawn to power. To money. To him."

"That's not true—"

"Isn't it? You said you loved me. But the second he touched you, I stopped existing." He moved closer. "Tell me honestly, Lilith. Did you ever really want me? Or was I just convenient until someone better came along?"

The question hit like a slap because part of me wondered the same thing.

"I thought I loved you," I said quietly.

"Thought. Past tense." Aiden nodded. "At least you're honest now."

His phone buzzed. He checked it and smiled.

"Looks like TMZ just picked up the story. You're trending on social media, Dad. Congratulations."

Jamie grabbed my hand. "We're leaving."

"One more thing." Aiden's voice stopped us at the door. "Mom's on her way here. Should arrive in about an hour. Thought you'd want to know."

Jamie went pale. "You called Elena?"

"She called me. Saw the news. Wants to discuss how this affects my inheritance." He took another sip of coffee. "She's bringing her lawyer."

"Of course she is."

"You should probably leave before she gets here. You know how she gets when she's angry."

Jamie pulled me toward the door.

"Dad?" Aiden called out.

Jamie stopped but didn't turn around.

"I hope she was worth it."

We walked out into the morning. Jamie's hands were shaking as he unlocked his car.

"Where do we go?" I asked.

"I don't know. Anywhere but here."

We got in. He started the engine.

My phone rang. A number I didn't recognize.

I answered without thinking.

"Lilith Cole?" A woman's voice, professional and cold.

"Yes?"

"This is Detective Sarah Chen with the police department. We need you to come in for questioning regarding allegations of blackmail and harassment."

My stomach dropped. "What?"

"Aiden Whitmore filed a report this morning claiming you and James Whitmore have been threatening him. We need to hear your side of the story."

I looked at Jamie. He'd heard every word.

"He's lying," I said.

"Then you won't mind coming in to clear this up. Can you be at the station in two hours?"

"I—yes."

"Good. See you then."

She hung up.

Jamie's grip on the steering wheel turned his knuckles white.

"He's not just destroying our reputations," he said. "He's trying to put us in prison."