“So you redirected my messages and calls and intercepted Jared’s,” Sydney says.
Herman nods, leaning forward on his elbows. “I never wanted you to know any of this, princess. I tried to protect you and shield you from the truth. It was a mistake. I see that now. But you loved Gladys like a second mother, and you had already lost one. I thought as long as I kept you safe and worked to find evidence to put her away for your mother’s murder, I could protect you from the worst of the pain. I briefly considered telling you everything at eighteen, but you were out of control, and I was so concerned you’d kill yourself before Gladys ever had a chance to.”
“You should have told me. Everything would have been different if I’d known the truth. It actually would have helped.” She grips my arm tight. “Losing Jared sent me into a downward spiral. If I’d had him at my side, it would not have been the same.”
“Why didn’t you have her arrested for trying to kill Syd?”
“Son, you don’t walk into the cops in New York and claim hitmen are trying to take out your daughter. The mafia own most of the cops, and most of the hitmen are paid mafia guns for hire. I’d have put a glaring target on both our heads if I’d done that.”
“The mafia aren’t the only ones who were involved,” Xavier says from his cross-legged position on the floor. “The Elite have a lot of control in the major cities, and they had a hand in this.”
“The Elite?” I inquire, wondering if I’ve sleepwalked onto a movie set or something because shit is getting even weirder.
“The Elite are a powerful group of wealthy, well-connected men with their hands in tons of shit they shouldn’t. Killing people is a hobby for a lot of them,” Xavier adds.
“The less you know, the better,” Sawyer supplies.
“How were they involved?” I at least want to know that much.
“Dr. Mulligan was Elite,” Sawyer confirms, rising from his chair. “The only way Herman got away with murdering him and those other sick fucks was because my dad and Travis Lauder helped him to pull it off in a way it couldn’t be traced back.”
“What?” Sydney splutters. “Youkilled the doctor? You told me you didn’t believe me!”
Tears well in the old fucker’s eyes. “Of course, I believed you, princess,” he chokes out. “But I didn’t want you involved or tied to any retaliation, and I didn’t want you to remember. I thought if I convinced you it hadn’t happened you’d start believing it. Forget it and put it out of your mind. But it’s just another example of how I messed up.”
He gets up and walks to the couch, dropping onto his knees in front of my girlfriend. He takes her hands, and she lets him. “I failed you, sweet pea. I failed you, and I hate myself for it. I should have protected you from every horror, and I didn’t.” His gaze drifts between us. “I need you both to know that I didn’t sanction any abortion. I brought you to Dr. Mulligan, Sydney, as he came highly recommended. I wasn’t happy you were pregnant so young, and I was worried what Gladys would do if she found out, but I would never kill an innocent baby or take that decision away from you. I took you there to get the best prenatal care. I was prepared to support you even if you insisted on keeping the child. That bastard told me the baby was dead and he’d had to perform an emergency procedure. I didn’t doubt him when I should have. He should have asked my permission, and he didn’t. It’s no excuse, but I wasn’t in a good place back then. I was in a very dark place, enraged over Michelle’s affair and her murder and worried about you.”
“Daddy.” Tears stream down Sydney’s face, and I’m struggling to contain my emotions too.
“I’m so sorry for what they did to you.” Tears cascade down his cheeks, and there’s no doubting his sincerity. As much as I want to dismiss everything he’s said, I can’t. Sawyer and Xavier are saying it’s the truth, and it’s written all over Herman’s face. “I wished I could have tortured the bastards personally, but Hunt and Lauder told me I needed to stay out of it. They organized the fire at Mulligan’s building and hunted down the other men until they were all dead. They also helped me to set up a specialist top-secret team within Shaw Software, and we got all the videos down. We wiped them from existence.”
Nothing is ever really gone once it’s out there, but with his skill set, I trust it’s gone from the public domain. “You could have at least told Sydney that much,” I clip out. “It’s plagued her for years.”
“I should have put your mind at ease. Jared is right. I have no excuse except I made a lot of bad decisions. Decisions that caused me to lose you, and I’ve paid the highest price.” He breaks down sobbing, and it’s uncomfortable to watch. He may not be guilty of all the sins we thought him guilty of, but he’s still fucked up a lot, and I don’t know if there is ever any way to forgive him for making it worse for Sydney, no matter the motive. Maybe Syd will find it in her heart to forgive him before he dies, but that’s her call to make.
“I think this is a good point to bring our guest in,” Sawyer says, pressing something on his ear as he moves toward the closed door.
“What guest?” I ask as Sydney whispers with her dad.
“Knowing what we did, we couldn’t let you meet her alone,” Hunt says, opening the door.
“Get your fucking hands off me, asshole,” Mum shouts, thrashing around as two armed men, wearing head-to-toe black, grip her arms and escort her into the room.
ChapterThirty-Nine
Jared
“Jared, thank God.” Mum’s eyes find mine first in the room, and she has the audacity to smile at me. “Tell them to let me go. There’s been a mistake.”
“You’re lucky these men are honorable,” Herman says, climbing awkwardly to his feet. “If I had my way, I’d be pumping you full of bullets, setting fire to your rotten corpse, and putting you through a grinder before tossing your ashes into thin air.”
Wow. That’s an incredibly specific plan, and I can tell Herman has been dreaming about killing her for years. After what I’ve heard today, I can’t say I blame him.
Mum narrows her eyes at Herman. “Not if I beat you to it first,” she hisses, her face contorting into an ugly scowl.
“Did you really try to kill Sydney?” I ask even though I already know the answer. I need to hear her say it. I hold my girl tight as I scrutinize my mother’s face, watching for signs she’s lying.
This has been a shit show of a day, and Sydney and I are clinging to one another in matching shock, horror, and desperation.
