Page 157 of Theirs to Tempt: The Marriage Claim

Lucian reaches for me, but I shove away his hand and wrap my arms around myself protectively as I pace to the window.

Vegas is fully awake, and sunlight blazes across the glass towers as if nothing in the world has changed. And everything has.

My father shamelessly repurposed my name and credentials, and my mother was far less innocent in the family’s financial dealings than I ever imagined.

Heartbroken, I turn back toward Lucian and Caleb.

My husbands exchange glances but offer no reassuring words, and I appreciate that they don’t attempt to soften the truth.

Not wanting to know more, but needing to, I swipe away the moisture from my cheeks, take several breaths, then return to the desk.

There are dozens more files under my name, but I don’t need to open them all.

I know the pattern now. I’ve recognized it, so I don’t need every data point. I have enough to know this was intentional.

Compartmentalizing that so that I can be objective, I return to the financial directories and look at my father’s records.

The results are damning.

One loan becomes three. A lender sells a note to another company. Then a credit line he relied on is abruptly reduced.

Not surprisingly, another lender steps in, offering more expensive money. And six months later, that obligation changes hands too.

By the time I surface enough to notice my husbands again, Caleb is on yet another call. Lucian is working from his laptop at the dining table. They’ve given me space without leaving me alone.

I study the names of the companies, entities registered in different states and represented by different legal firms.

Looking for patterns, I keep clicking. There’s something bothering me about the timing.

I pull up another window. Then another.

A new source of money seems to appear whenever Dad is close to collapse.

Just enough to keep him moving. Then, when he might finally stabilize, another door closes.

It’s not a coincidence.

I continue following the money. Another loan, another transfer. And then one of the entities appears a second time. And again a year later.

Alder Strategic Holdings.

I click into the file to discover an organizational chart buried in the attachments.

Alder is at the top with two subsidiaries beneath it.

Puzzled, I lean forward and continue to scroll.

At the bottom of the page is a notation, and I know that it isn’t my father’s handwriting.

Also known as Hawthorne & Pierce.

My hand slips from the mouse.

Behind me, the room is completely silent.

Slowly I turn.

Caleb isn’t looking at me. He’s staring at the note.