Page 28 of The Hanging Dolls (Zoe Storm #1)
TWENTY-SEVEN
Regina poured herself a drink. It was never too early to drink. Not when you were running a campaign. She took a deep sip, letting the burn slide down her throat, steadying the tremor in her hands.
She leaned against the kitchen counter, staring out the window at the overcast sky.
The world outside seemed bleak. The waves crashed against the rocky shore, sending up sprays of mist. The sound of her phone buzzing on the counter snapped her out of her thoughts.
Regina ignored it, taking another long drink instead.
She was aware of the risks when she announced her candidacy.
There was one glaring, black spot on her otherwise clean life, and it was that bloody school for kids with special needs.
Opening her life up for Hicks to slice and dice, there was a chance that what she did would be unearthed.
Connor had been the one to plant the seed in her mind.
He’d always been so good at making her see the bigger picture, at pushing her toward decisions that were…
less than ethical but necessary, as he would say.
It only felt like yesterday when she made the worst decision of her life that helped her public image the most.
“Regina,” he had said, leaning back in his chair with that infuriatingly calm demeanor of his. “This school could be your legacy. Think about it—building a place where blind children can learn, can thrive. It’s a PR dream. The votes will come pouring in.”
“But the soil,” she had argued, her voice tight. “The reports say it’s unstable. There’s a reason that land’s been vacant for so long.”
Connor had dismissed her concern, his smile sly. “So we get a different report. One that says what we need it to say. You’re not going to let a little dirt stand in the way of something this big, are you?”
“ Connor .” She leaned forward across the table. “This is a school . For children . The report clearly states that it’s inadvisable to build something big on it.”
“And all I’m saying is that scientists and geologists are wrong all the time!” He raised his hands. “We’ll get another opinion?—”
“This was our second opinion. I think we know our answer.”
“Are you seriously going to let this stop you? You and your entire team—including myself—have slogged their asses off for months . Imagine the number of jobs this would create. Architects, contractors, teachers, accessibility consultants. We’ve involved lawyers, secured sponsorships?—”
“I know all that!” she snapped, jumping up. “I know a lot of work has already been done.”
“No, you don’t. You just sign the paperwork, Regina,” he said with an intensity she didn’t recognize.
Connor was usually flippant and dismissive.
Not that he didn’t care or didn’t work day and night, but he wasn’t one to display his passion.
“It wasn’t you who was working late hours, not going home, skipping their kids’ birthdays to make this project work.
We poured our blood and sweat into this?—”
“I understand.” She massaged her eyelids. “But there are some things we just cannot compromise. Safety is one of them.”
“Nothing will happen, Regina. The reports say that the risk is medium to low. Not even medium. But this opportunity will never come again. It’s too late for us to back out and not piss off a bunch of people who would not want to work with us ever again.
Not to mention, it will take us years to start from scratch and get all the approvals.
” He was almost begging her now. A rare sight.
“Regina, my future is also on the line. If I thought this was going to blow up in our face, then I would have backed out. But I’m in this. Because I know nothing will happen.”
Regina was so close to fulfilling her dream.
She could taste that victory. Finally, there was a project that was nearing completion after years of dealing with corporate and government red tape.
And maybe Connor was right—why would he take such a big risk if he didn’t have any confidence in it? The report said medium to low not high.
She’d known it was wrong, felt it deep in her gut.
But Connor had a way of making the wrong things seem right.
So she’d done it. She’d paid off that man.
The money had been enough to sway him, and just like that, the report had been changed.
The soil was suddenly perfect for construction, and the school had gone up without a hitch, fulfilling her lifelong dream and cementing her position as a leader in the community.
A gamble for the greater good.
Regina downed the rest of her drink, the glass clinking against the counter as she set it down harder than she intended.
The guilt had been easy enough to ignore at first, drowned out by the applause at the ribbon-cutting, the praise from the community, the boost in the polls.
But now, with reporters digging around, with that question hanging in the air… it was all starting to unravel.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that the ground beneath her was about to give way, taking everything she had built with it.
The door creaked open behind her, but she didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. With a sigh, she pushed the empty glass aside. “If this goes south, Connor, I’m not going down alone.”
When Connor didn’t reply, Regina turned around to find him standing still, his eyes cold. “Something has happened, Regina.”