"No," she agrees. “But the idea behind it wasn’t completely wrong."
"The FBI will disagree."
“I meant, I get why you did it. And you can fight them. Don't just roll over and confess to crimes you didn't commit."
"Someone has to pay, Lilly."
"Then let it be Williams. He's the one who took the bribe. He's the one who violated his oath." She stands, taking the bottle from my desk. "Or let it be Dad. He's dead. He can't be hurt by this anymore."
“Even if the government will accept Williams and Dad, the press will want a living Blackstone to pay.”
“Then we lawyer up. We show them that as soon as we discovered the violations, we acted immediately to fix them. We demonstrate good faith." She turns back to me. "We don't hand them a confession because you've decided you're the villain in this story."
"That's not what I'm doing."
"Isn't it?" She crosses back to the desk. “Don’t get me wrong, you did some shitty things over the years. But you've changed. You’ve also been punishing yourself for three years.” Her voice softens. "But Thorne, we don't need you to be perfect. We just need you to be honest. To stop shutting us out.”
“I’m trying. I told you about the FBI meeting.”
Her brows rise. “That’s happening tomorrow.”
That’s fair. “I’m trying, Lilly.”
“Try harder, big brother.”
I chuckle. “You sound like Mom.”
Lillianna sighs.“You should cancel that meeting. Wait for them to come to us.”
“I can’t.”
Her eyes widen. “You are infuriating. Why can’t you?”
“Sebastian is actually trying to do good. To make this company something we can be proud of. I won't let Dad's crimes destroy him."
"What about you?"
"I'm already destroyed." The truth of it settles heavier in my stomach than all the bourbon I've drunk since yesterday. I've ruined things between Sebastian and me. I've lost Ivy—or I will, as soon as Bill calls her. "This just makes it official."
“Don’t say that. We can fight this together. All of us. Sebastian, me, even Ivy—”
"Ivy won't be part of this."
Lillianna’s brows furrow. "Why not?"
The answer sticks in my throat. Because when Bill calls her—and he will—she'll find that I broke my promise to her.
"Because I fucked that up too."
"Thorne, what did you do?"
“I broke a promise.”
“So fix it.”
“This one can’t be fixed.”
Lillianna stares at me for a long moment. I can see her warring with herself over whether she should push harder or let it go. Finally, she steps back.
