“You blackmailed her,” I say.
He flinches but nods. “Yes.”
I take a step back as if the ground shifted under me. “You used the worst moment of her life to corner her… over a piece of property.”
“I was desperate?—”
“You blackmailed her.” My voice is lower now. Controlled. Dangerous. “And you let me believe she was unstable. You let me believe she tried to murder someone.”
He swallows hard. “I thought if I applied pressure?—”
“You used me.”
That’s when he finally looks up.
“You didn’t just threaten her. You used me to do it. You knew I would react. You knew I would turn on her.”
His shoulders sag. “Yes.”
The word detonates in my chest.
“Why?” I demand.
“My business is collapsing!” he snaps, emotion finally breaking through. “We’re going under. That property is the only thing that can save us. It’s worthless to her. She has more money than she’ll ever need. I wasn’t going to actually release the photos. I just needed her to believe I would.”
My laugh is short and bitter. “She would’vegiven itto you if you’d just talked to her about it.”
He goes still.
“She said that to you,” I continue, the memory hitting me like a punch. “‘You could’ve just told me you needed it.’ That’s what she meant.”
His face crumples. “Yes.”
Tears slide down his cheeks now, unchecked.
“I love her,” I say, my voice cracking despite my effort to hold it steady. “I love her more than anything. And I betrayed her because of you.”
The truth tastes like blood.
“What else?” I press. “What else do you know about the hospital?”
He hesitates.
“The commitment was real,” he says carefully. “She attacked her foster father. But the circumstances were… questionable. His name’s redacted from every document, so he must be someone powerful. Someone with serious political connections. Anyone the investigator spoke to warned him to stop digging. Said it wasn’t safe.”
I stare at him, beyond simple disbelief at this point.
“You knew that?” I whisper.
“Yes.”
“You knew the incident wasn’t as clean cut as those documents made it seem… and you still showed me those pictures.”
“Yes.”
Silence falls heavy and final between us.
“I’m sorry,” he says hoarsely. “I love you. I love Andi. I hate myself for what I’ve done.”
