Chapter 5

After reading the message, Mason tried to call Lindsay again, but her phone was already turned off. He tucked his phone away and set the things he'd brought down in front of Landon's headstone.

It was Remembrance Day, and the graveyard was crowded. People knelt in front of their loved ones' graves, pouring out their grief. The air was punctuated by quiet sobs.

Mason leaned down and gently brushed the dust from the headstone, forcing a smile. "Landon, I know your biggest wish was for your mother to finally see you and say something to you. I tried, I really did, but I just can't make it happen…

"Let's stop liking your mother from now on, okay? Whatever you want, I'll buy it and bring it to you. It's okay if you don't have your mother's love. I'll give you twice as much to make up for it. I… I really miss you…"

Mason slowly crouched beside the headstone and leaned against it, pouring out all the longing he'd carried for Landon these past few days. In truth, this headstone was merely one that Mason had put up in memory of Landon because he couldn't just waltz into the Statham family's memorial hall whenever he missed him.

A light drizzle began to fall. People who'd come to pay their respects either opened umbrellas or hurried away. Mason, however, sat on the ground as if he didn't feel a thing. He stayed there until he was soaked through, and at some point, he blacked out.

He ran a high fever all night. When he opened his eyes the next day, he found himself lying in a bed at Statham Manor. This room wasn't the cramped one meant for the help, though. He was in a spacious bedroom on the second floor with floor-to-ceiling windows.

He pushed himself up, pressing a hand to his throbbing head. Just then, his phone started ringing. The call was from a coworker at the newspaper.

"Mason, there's trouble. The feature you prepped got scooped—another outlet pushed it out first, and it's blowing up! Is someone targeting you? The editor-in-chief and I checked, and the byline over there is a guy named Harry Gardner.

"He's supposedly some rich kid who studied journalism overseas. Look, if it comes down to it, maybe your wife can pull some strings and help you fight this…"

While the coworker was still talking, Lindsay pushed the door open and walked in. She seemed to already know what was going on. As soon as Mason hung up and started to get out of bed, she placed a hand on his shoulder and stopped him.

"I'm the one who gave your article to Harry," she said.

He faltered. "What?"

"The groundskeeper found you passed out at the cemetery last night. When I went to bring you home, Harry came along. He saw the draft on your laptop and said he wanted to use it."

Mason stared at her in disbelief. "So… You just handed it over?"

Lindsay frowned slightly and nodded. "Harry has just returned to the country and needs to prove himself. It wasn't right for him to take your work, but he's been spoiled since he was a kid, and his heart condition doesn't help.

"Besides, you're the one who did him wrong back then. So… If he took the piece, then he took it. Let it go. I'll make it up to you in other ways."

Mason let out a short, incredulous laugh. Even now—when Lindsay already knew he'd been innocent, that this whole mess was a result of the Gardners setting him up—she was still dragging up the past to guilt-trip him just so she could protect Harry.

All that nonsense about her being reasonable, fair, and principled was utter bullshit. She would easily throw every last principle out the window when the person she truly cared about was involved.

"…Fine, then. How are you planning to make it up to me? Are you gonna threaten me this time, or bribe me?"

Lindsay's gaze darkened with annoyance when she heard the bite in his voice. She yanked open the collar of her blouse, then abruptly wrapped her arms around Mason's neck and leaned in to kiss him.

He jerked back and shoved her away in shock. "What the hell are you doing?"

She staggered back, just as stunned as him. She forced down her temper and frowned at him. "You've been a mess ever since Landon died, so I'll give you another kid. Doesn't that count as making it up to you?"

Mason's nails dug into his palm. His heart hurt so badly that he could almost feel it breaking. He'd already known that Lindsay didn't care about him or Landon, but he hadn't expected Landon's death to be something that meant so little to her.

To her, it was something she could brush aside with the careless offer to give him another child.

In the end, he couldn't keep his emotions in check. He swept everything within reach off the nightstand, sending them crashing to the floor. His eyes reddened as he hissed, "My heart breaks for Landon. He deserved so much better than this."

It was the first time Lindsay had ever seen Mason on the verge of tears.

In her mind, he'd always been a shameless freeloader who used Landon as an excuse to cling to the Statham family. No matter how much she hated or resented him, he'd always forced a smile and begged her to go see Landon. It was as though he'd never learned what it meant to give up or be afraid. But now…

Her chest tightened painfully. She lifted a hand to comfort him, only to stop herself. "I didn't mean anything else by it. I really do want to make things right…"