“Yes.” His tone carried no hesitation. “The financial records Darren collected made the case straightforward.”
“And Dunn?”
“His network took damage.” Drew lifted his glass. “Victor Langley’s connections are under review. Several shell companies have already collapsed.”
The quiet certainty in his voice told me everything I needed to know. The storm that had consumed Blackwood for years was finally burning itself out. “Dad handling it okay?” I asked.
Drew shrugged lightly. “Dad has never enjoyed losing control of a situation.”
“And Mom?”
“She’s mediating.”
That almost made me laugh. “Of course she is.”
Silence stretched between us while the noise of the bar filled the space.
Then Drew spoke again. “Darren never should’ve forced that meeting.”
Pressure built in my chest. I kept my expression neutral. “What meeting?”
Drew took a slow drink before answering. “The one in the parking lot.”
My mind moved through the details automatically. That information had never been released publicly. Not in court. Not in the investigation. Drew was the only one in the room who shouldn’t have known it.
Drew’s gaze held mine calmly across the table. Then he leaned back slightly.
“Sometimes things happen in a room that can’t be undone.” The statement carried no explanation. His fingers turned the glass slowly on the table, the amber liquid catching the dim bar lights. “You remember when everything went sideways for me a few years ago.”
It wasn’t a question. I leaned back slightly. “Hard to forget.”
The stretch of months when Drew had nearly destroyed himself still sat heavy in my memory. The drinking. The disappearing for days at a time. The quiet calls Claire used to make when she didn’t know where he’d gone.
At the time, none of it had made sense.
Drew had always been the controlled one. The brother who carried the expectations the rest of us tried to avoid.
His mouth curved faintly, but there was no humor in it. “I didn’t tell anyone why.”
“Claire knew pieces. She always does. But the rest of it… I kept to myself.” He looked toward the window, where the lake stretched black beneath the night sky. “I found out something that year.” A pause. “About the family.”
I didn’t interrupt.
Drew’s voice stayed steady. “Our father isn’t my father.”
I just looked at him. “What?”
Drew took a slow breath. “Our mother had an affair.” He didn’t soften it. “With Lorne.”
The noise of the bar seemed to fade behind the words. “That’s not?—”
“It is.” His gaze returned to mine. “I confirmed it.”
A hundred memories rearranged themselves in my head. Lorne’s attention toward Drew. The way he’d always treated him differently than the rest of us. “You’re saying Lorne?—”
“Is my biological father.” Drew’s tone remained calm. “Yes.”
The statement carried none of the shock I felt. “Does Dad know?”
