The skin on her cheek rubbed against his warm pec as she nodded. “I didn’t find out about what had happened until after the investigation went public, but apparently at some point, a few years before he was caught, Dad made some bad investments. He got himself into a pretty big bind and thought borrowing money from his client’s accounts to help cover his debts was a good idea.”
Her father had told her once, when she’d visited him in prison, that he never meant to let things get as far as they did. That the situation had somehow just snowballed out of control. He had no idea how it even happened.
Right.
Riley felt no sympathy for the man she’d once thought of as her hero. Not then, and certainly not now.
Because whether or not the intent was there—whether her fathermeantto swindle thousands of people out of billions of dollars, in turn ruining countless lives—meant nothing to her.
The fact was Robert York knew that what he was doing was wrong and he’d done it anyway. Not just the one time, either. No, he’dcontinuedto do it, over and over again.
Right up until the day he was caught.
“He was sentenced to one hundred and twenty-five years in prison. A few years less than the max sentencing for his crimes.”
“Damn, Riles.” Eric kissed the top of her head. “I’m so sorry.”
She shifted so she could look up at him. There was no pity or judgement in his gaze. Only sympathy for what she’d had to endure.
“Me, too.” Riley gave him a small smile. “What started out as something my father claimed was a necessity ended up becoming a greedy obsession. One that cost him everything, including his family and his freedom.”
“Do you ever visit him?”
“I did, once.” She nodded. “Not long after he went away.”
“How’d that go?”
“Awful.” Riley huffed out a breath. “He didn’t even apologize to me. Not for what he’d done. For what he put Mom and I through...what hisclientshad been forced to deal with.”
It had been three years, and she could still see her father’s face as he sat in the orange jumpsuit and made excuse after lame excuse.
“A couple of them committed suicide, Eric,” she spoke up again. “They’d lost everything...their money, their homes. All because of my dad. And they felt so hopeless afterward, that theykilledthemselves over it. And Dad...” Riley ground her teeth together. “He took zero responsibility for it. I swear, the man was like a stranger to me. All he could do was whine and complain about how horrible the conditions were, and how someone of his stature should be treated differently than the common criminal.”
Eric cringed. “What did you say back?”
“Nothing.” She’d been too dumfounded by the man her father had become to say a single word. “I simply hung up the phone and walked away.”
She could still see the shocked look on her father’s face as he’d hollered at her from behind the protective glass.
“And you haven’t seen him since?”
“Nope. I have no plans to, either. He didn’t care about my mom and me, so why should I care about him?”
Eric was quiet again before he said, “You know, if you ever do want to go see him again, I’d be happy to take you.”
Okay, that was actually kind of sweet.
But she shook her head. “Why would I go back? It’s not like he’s going to change who he is.”
“Never know. I mean, it’s been three years, sweetheart. That’s a long time for a man like your dad to spend in prison.”
He has a point.
“Maybe.” She traced a random pattern across his chest. “I don’t know. We’ll see. But either way, thanks for offering to take me.”
“If and when you’re ready, just say the word, and we’ll go.”
When she didn’t say more on the subject, Eric asked about her mom.
