I could stand on my own. But the way he kept showing up for me—without hesitation—broke something open deep inside my chest. Safe. And I loved him even more for it.
Edwardo’s hand flexed lightly against Mom’s waist while he absorbed the news. “That explains more than it should.”
I looked between them. “What do you mean?”
Before Edwardo could answer, Mom spoke quietly, “Darren used to talk to me about King Enterprises.”
Her fingers traced over Edwardo’s forearm, like she was following the memory through the quiet night.
“At first it was normal things. Long hours. Financial reports. Meetings with people he didn’t entirely trust.” She paused. “But toward the end… he worried about some things he’d come across.”
My stomach swirled. “What kind of things?”
Mom lifted her eyes to mine. “He said some of the numbers didn’t make sense. Money moving through places it shouldn’t. Accounts that didn’t match the reports being sent to the board.”
Luke’s shoulders tensed.
Mom continued. “He told me King Enterprises wasn’t the only company involved. That Dunn Industries had ties to some of the same financial channels.”
Edwardo nodded slightly. “That’s the part you told me about.”
I turned toward him. “You knew?”
“Only pieces,” Edwardo said carefully. “Adriana shared Darren’s concerns with me after she left Blackwood. I passed what little information she had to Dominick, my stepbrother. He has people who look into things when questions like that arise. And he’s even shared some with her FBI contact. One piece of information in particular.”
The night air seemed to grow heavier. “And that is?” I asked quietly.
“Dominick discovered a connection between Dunn Industries and a man named Victor Langley.”
Luke’s head lifted slightly. “Langley?”
Mr. Langley. I remembered overhearing Elise on the phone once when I’d been stuck serving on the gala fundraiser committee after school. The way her voice had changed whenshe spoke to him. The way she’d gone quiet afterward and done exactly what he told her—keeping me on the committee and making sure I didn’t make waves.
Edwardo gave a slight incline of his head. “He’s related to Darren. Distantly. But more importantly… he’s believed to be a silent partner behind portions of Dunn’s financial structure.”
Luke’s expression darkened beside me. “Like Lorne.”
Edwardo met his gaze. “Very much like Lorne.”
Mom’s gaze fixated on the flickering flames of the firepit. “Darren trusted his family.”
Luke spoke quietly beside me. “My guess was that he realized something wasn’t right.”
Mom’s hand tightened at her side. “He started digging.”
My stomach twisted. “And that’s why they killed him.” The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Mom lifted her eyes slowly to mine, something fierce burning behind them now. “He was going to try to do the right thing.”
“And that would have made him extremely dangerous to the wrong people.” Edwardo’s tone didn’t shift.
Luke’s arm came around my shoulders then. The movement came naturally—steady and grounding. I leaned into him without thinking. His palm brushed slowly against my arm, a quiet reminder that we were in this together.
The silence stretched around us.
Darren hadn’t died because of bad luck. He’d died from getting too close to the truth. And now that truth was surfacing.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
