Wow, that was an image Leah hadn’t expected. She fought a smile. “Can I make anyone a drink?”
“Oh, that’d be lovely, thank you.” Hazel twinkled. “I’ll help you brew some tea.”
“I don’t need this right now, Jackson.” Alistair ignored them both. He pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes feverish and fatigued. “I have enough on my plate as it is.”
“And who’s fault is that, Dad?” Jax stood tall, unbowed and resolute.
His father’s mouth flapped. Somehow, he’d lost the upper hand while Leah wasn’t looking and she couldn’t be more delighted. If she wasn’t so hungover, she’d want popcorn instead of toast to accompany this drama.
“I’m not going to change my mind,” Jackson said firmly. “I’m resigning. I sent you an email confirmation this morning. And I’m not selling Amity Court.”
He dropped both bombshells as calmly as he might have discussed plans for the weekend. Leah whirled in the kitchen doorway, her socks sliding on the floorboards, to find Jax looking at her rather than his father. Her headache gone. Hazel’s tea forgotten.
“You are not resigning and you will sell this house.” His father dragged the words out as if each one was a dead weight.
“I am and I won’t,” said Jackson. “But this conversation is getting stupid.” His chest expanded and he rolled his shoulders. “I’ve realized how much I miss not working on the tools day to day. I don’t enjoy the management role. It’s time for a change. Hale Evolution has always been your obsession—it’s not mine. I need to find something that means more to me.”
Leah wanted to hug him for his bravery.
“Nothing should mean more than the family business!” Alistair spluttered.
“It’s your company, Dad. You’ll only ever treat it as your company. The mess we’re in is down to the unilateral decisions you made and I’m sick of dealing with the fallout.”
“I won’t let you do this. We’re on the verge of the big one.” Alistair was unraveling in front of their eyes. “The Kingswater deal is everything. It’ll be the project that makes us. The project that steals Addlestone-Black’s place in the market.”
“What do the Addlestone-Blacks have to do with anything?” Hazel stepped into no man’s land with fearless disregard for landmines. Her voice was sharp.
“You know them?” Jackson was confused.
There was a sudden charge in the air. Alistair, Celia, and Hazel exchanged loaded glances. And a bolt of understanding streaked through Leah’s memory. “RAB—of course. Richard Addlestone-Black.Hewas The Creep from Esther’s diary!”
“What?” Jackson’s head jerked back. “You’re kidding me.”
Alistair sat down heavily on the edge of the sofa, wiping his hands over his face. Celia’s eyes bounced between them like ping-pong balls. “Do we need to get into this now?” she asked. “Maybe we could talk it over at home.”
Leah’s focus remained on Hazel, whose shoulders were straight even though her eyes held whirlpools of emotion.
“What happened at the anniversary party?” The question escaped Leah before she could call it back.
“I don’t want—” Alistair tried interrupting, but Hazel cut him short with just a look.
“It’s time,” she said simply. “I’ve waited for you to explain but you haven’t. So now I will.” Crossing to the armchair, she sankdown onto the cushions and lifted her chin, directing her words to Leah. “The party took place just as I explained. I told you about Esther’s plan to leave early, didn’t I?”
Twisting the ring on her thumb, Leah nodded, frozen in the doorway.
“And that’s what we did, but we had no idea that Dickie followed. His pride was wounded by Esther’s disinterest. She said she never imagined for a moment he would be such a danger.” Hazel’s throat bobbed as she chose her words carefully and deliberately. “But he was indeed dangerous. An arrogant and egotistical young man, who believed strength and money allowed him to take whatever he wanted, even when it wasn’t freely given.”
Her hands clasped in her lap, the old lady took a shaky breath. Alistair and Celia radiated tension from the couch, while Jackson stood like a statue beside them.
“When the dust settled and we found there was to be a baby, Atherton stepped up, rock-steady and willing to support Esther with the parenting. He never wavered in his love for her and he was prepared to take on the role of father as if the baby was their own.” Hazel’s voice was strained and thin.
Leah rubbed at her chest, utterly heartsick.
“Esther was so strong, so resolute. She quietly married Atherton, with the blessing of her parents, and they raised Alistair together, making their own happiness the priority over any revenge. They never had any more children.”
Looking utterly blindsided, Jackson cleared his throat before he could speak, and turned to his dad. “Why didn’t you ever say anything? If Richard Addlestone-Black is your father, it doesn’t need to be kept a grubby secret. You could have talked to me, adult to adult.”
His dad stayed mute, his shoulders slumped. Hazel held herself taut beside Leah, her face unusually pale. Handyman Stan yawned, bored by the drama.
