“You knew the whole time we in Vegas together?”she whispered, her voice trembling as memories flashed in her eyes—the intimacy we’d shared, the connection we’d built.“All those moments…the dates, the nights…you were keeping this from me?”
“I knew something was wrong with the accounting,” I said, pushing my fingers through my hair.“But I didn’t know it was Parker until now.I swear, I wanted to tell you.I hated holding back.But I needed proof first, to protect everyone, including you.”
“But you didn’t tell me,” she said in a flat tone.“This company is my life, Liam.And you didn’t trust me enough to let me in.Now you expect me to just take your word that Parker is embezzling money?Why should I?”
I understood her point.I’d known keeping this from her was a betrayal, but I’d done it anyway, prioritizing the investigation over us.I stood there feeling helpless, searching for words to make this right, but none came.There was no defense that would soften this blow for her.
She walked over to the apartment door and opened it.“I want you to go.”
I didn’t miss the glisten of tears in her eyes, and panic rose in my chest.“Morgan, I can’t leave like this.”The thought of walking out terrified me because I knew this could end us.I couldn’t lose her.Not now, not after realizing how much she meant to me.
I thought about telling her that I loved her, but that felt too much like emotional manipulation right now.It wasn’t the time or the place, and this situation was not how I wanted her to hear those words for the first time.And my biggest fear was that she’d reject them, anyway.
“I don’t have anything else to say to you right now,” she said, her voice breaking on the words, her sadness palpable.“I just need…space.I need you togo.”
The emotional plea in her eyes broke me.I couldn’t push her, not when she looked so fragile, so vulnerable.Slowly, I walked toward her, my steps as heavy as my heart.Stopping beside her, I cupped her cheek gently, brushing away a stray tear with my thumb when she didn’t pull away.
“I’ll go for now,” I told her, holding her gaze.“But this isn’t over, sweetheart.Not the conversation and definitely not us.”
I forced myself to walk out.I had to believe we could fix this.Work through the hurt, the secrets I’d kept…it was the only thing that kept me moving as I heard the door shut behind me, solid and final.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Morgan
Iwas probablylucky to have made it through twenty-six years of life without ever experiencing a betrayal like the one tearing me apart now, but that didn’t make the rest of the night any easier.I tossed and turned, my dreams a messy, confusing mix of wanting Liam, yelling at him, and watching him walk away from me for good, leaving me alone with nothing but the echo of his accusations.
By morning, I was a grumpy disaster, nursing a too-strong cup of coffee in a kitchen that still smelled faintly of the garlic bread I’d made for our dinner.I’d planned on a simple night with Liam.A nice meal, maybe a movie, definitely ending the evening tangled up together in my bed.
So much for my best-laid plans.Instead, Liam had dropped a bomb that had left me gutted, furious, and impossibly confused.And in the warm morning light, nothing felt less painful.If anything, the hurt burrowed deeper.
I was devastated that he kept the money discrepancies from me while we were in Vegas.That trip meant something to me.It felt like we’d grown closer in a real way.I’d opened myself up to him, trusted him, and believed he’d trusted me in return.Now, I couldn’t help but look back on those days through the lens of deceit.The whole time, he’d been keeping something huge from me.
Then there was Parker.No matter what Liam said, I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of my stepbrother stealing from us.Parker could do it, sure.He was brilliant with computers and anything tech related.If anyone could get away with embezzling, it was him.But why would he do such a thing?Unless…unless there was some reason I didn’t know about.Something that had made him desperate enough to—
No.I couldn’t think like that.
Frustrated with my spiraling thoughts, I finished my coffee and dressed for work.Thanks to not sleeping, I arrived even earlier than usual.The office was quiet, lights dimmed, the hallways hushed.
I headed toward my office like I would any other morning.But when I reached the door, I stopped.My gaze drifted further down the hall to Parker’s office.
I knew he kept it locked.But I also knew my father had spare keys in his desk to every office, just in case anyone got locked out.
Don’t do this.
I told myself to just go into my own office and stick to my conviction that Parker was innocent.I could talk to Dad about Liam’s accusations today, and he’d know how to handle the situation.There was no need to snoop through my stepbrother’s things like some kind of paranoid detective.
But I still lingered in the hallway, biting my lip, staring at that closed door, while more intrusive thoughts found their way into my conscience.How Becca’s credit card had been denied the night of my birthday.How Parker told her to scale back on Christmas gifts for Gracie and he’d had Becca cancel their babymoon.How he’d reacted that night when we’d been at my parents for dinner and Becca had mentioned them buying a bigger house to accommodate their growing family.
No matter how much I tried to talk myself out of it, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to look.Truthfully, the doubt that Liam had planted was already taking root, whispering at the back of my mind in tortuous ways, and I knew I’d spend the entire day wondering.I knew I could ask Liam to view the reports from the forensic accountant, but I wanted to do this on my own.Cold, hard numbers wouldn’t make as much sense to me as looking around Parker’s office for a reason why.
I told myself no one had to know.I could take a quick look around, confirm that there was nothing incriminating to find, and leave, my conscience clear.
Five minutes later, spare key in hand, I let myself into Parker’s office.
Everything was neat and organized, as always.His shelves were lined with Lego sets he’d built, little shrines to his nerdy hobbies.Two monitors sat on his desk beside neat stacks of papers.A filing cabinet stood behind it, topped with framed photos of Becca and Gracie.
Exhaling a deep breath, I moved to the filing cabinet first.I flicked through the folders, hating that I was betraying Parker’s trust just by being in here, going through his things.By letting Liam’s accusation create enough doubt to make me search for evidence I desperately hoped didn’t exist.
