Page 251 of Damaged Mogul

The flash of sadness that glints in her eyes makes me want to slay monsters for her, even if the monster is her own father.

Asshole.

“He also made it a point to let me know he was expecting me in the Hamptons.”

I shift on the couch, lifting a leg on the cushion so I can face her.

She mimics my move.

“I hope you’re not going to go.”

She shakes her head. “I made a firm decision before leaving New York. I even told him as much. If he wants to disown me, that’s his prerogative. If he has to dictate all aspects of my lifefor him to feel I’m worthy, I want no part of that fucked up relationship.”

She’s coming into her own. Good for her.

“Not to mention, the event is taking place in three days. Even if I was tempted to give in, after finding out my father tricked me with this video”—she waves her phone—“no way am I showing my face at the little party he’s having for Chandler. I need a respite from him and his undermining and manipulative ways.”

“The distance might prompt your father to wake up.”

“I’m not even sure a nuclear bomb would do that, but that’s the only arsenal in my toolbox.”

I nod.

“You said you were going to Stockholm and South Korea alone… that’s why it was so easy for me to fall for my father’s deception.” She bites on her lower lip.

“My plans changed at the last minute when I found out my sister’s husband was a cheating asshole.”

“Oh.”

“A few days before a business trip, Sara will drop by my place or invite me over to hers for dinner. My sister is a workaholic, but she knew I was about to leave LA for three weeks. On the day of my departure, it hit me. I hadn’t heard from Sara in two days. I called her phone. No answer. Worried, I called the hospital. I was told she had been on sick leave for two days.”

Lily tilts her head to the side.

“I called Sara’s husband, but a woman who spoke two words of English answered. She passed the phone to a man who informed me his mom got a new phone number that morning. Why would Danny change his phone number out of the blue?” I let out a breath. “I can’t tell you how panicked I was. I drove up to my sister’s place and let myself into her house with the spare key. When I stepped inside, it was a war zone?—”

“Did she get burglarized?”

“That’s what I thought at first,” I say. “The place had been ransacked. My sister is a neat freak and she has a cleaning lady come in once a week. It was so chaotic, even with a gun, I wouldn’t have chanced it. I got the hell out of there. Once outside, I called the police and waited. When they showed up, they entered Sara’s house and searched for the bad guys or dead bodies. There were no signs of danger. An officer called me in. Sara was in her bedroom. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her hair––the crown and glory she takes so much pride in––was like a bird’s nest. She was unrecognizable. The police stepped outside until I was able to calm her down. That’s when she told me the whole story.”

Concerned blue eyes stare at me. “What happened?”

“Sara was in a meeting at the hospital when a receptionist paged her. Something about an urgent matter involving her husband. Since Danny was at a conference in Denver, she thought something had happened to him.”

“Oh, no.”

“Danny wasn’t in danger,” I say. “When she arrived at the welcome desk, there was a woman she didn’t recognize waiting for her?—”

“The other woman.”

My nostrils flare. “She’s a waitress from Vegas and she was holding a kid in her arms.”

“Shit.”

“My sister’s fifty-year-old husband of ten years knocked up a twenty-year-old.” I sneer. “Sara said the little boy couldn’t have been more than a year and a half old, so the baby mama was only eighteen when she got pregnant.”

“She was a teenager?—”

“And Danny was a grown ass man,” I say. “Here’s the joke. He didn’t want kids. He’s as much of a workaholic as my sister.Sara was okay being childless until three years ago. She tried to get Danny to reconsider his position because she desperately wanted a baby, but he wouldn’t budge, reminding her he hated everything about babies.”