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“I’m glad you didn’t give up on her,” Liam murmurs when I take a seat next to him. We stare at the painting on the wall in front of us.

The deep azure of the ocean, the waves lapping on to the golden sand. Seashells scattered along the shoreline. Beautiful mansions and cottages in the distance.

The Hamptons.

“There were days when I wanted to,” I whisper. “I thought I was keeping her hooked up on machines because I was too selfish to let her go, which would be in line with what you probably think of me.”

Liam sighs and out of the corner of my eye, I see him adjusting the sleeves of his jacket, his silver rings gleaming on his fingers. “Charles, I don’t think you’re selfish. If anything, the selfish one was me.”

The heavy regret in his voice causes me to turn toward him. Emotions flit across his face as he looks down at his hands. “I could’ve gone to her that day. I knew you were busy—I mean, a CEO for a large company had to be busy. But I was looking forward to my trip, and we were almost at the airport when she called. I knew you were much closer to her than I was. I…I just…”

He clears his throat, his nostrils flaring. “I shouldn’t have pinned it on you. She called me first.”

“But I was the one who forgot about her that day.” Regret slices through me as I reflect on my actions for a thousandth time, wishing I could turn back time and make a different choice. Things would’ve turned out differently. She wouldn’t have gotten injured. Liam and I wouldn’t have had this rift.

All these years wasted.

“I was just angry. I hated myself for not listening to Firefly that day. That self-loathing was poisonous, and I wanted to blame everyone other than myself. I know you took on a lot for us. Mom and Dad are a joke,” Liam scoffs.

“You were always the one looking out for us growing up. The mature one. The serious one. The one who followed the rules. The one with all the responsibilities. But if you didn’t do that, who was Grandma going to rely on? We’d have to share the burdens. I know that.”

The backs of my eyes burn as I listen to Liam’s raspy words, sentiments I’ve ached to hear for the better part of this decade. Understanding. Compassion. Forgiveness.

But then, I haven’t been honest with him either.

My voice is thick as I reply, “I should’ve talked to you more, Liam. Maybe if I shared my problems with you, we would’ve understood each other better. There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t regret not dropping everything to find Firefly. It’s a miracle she’s awake right now. We all know the statistics. The odds aren’t in our favor. I can’t help but wonder, if you and I just talked to each other more, if I didn’t think I had to shield everything from you guys, if that would’ve made a difference.”

Closing my eyes, I continue, “Maybe we would’ve made the same choices that day. Maybe Firefly would’ve ended up in that damn car accident no matter what we did. But at least we could’ve grieved together instead of…” A ball is stuck in my throat.

“Turning on each other,” Liam finishes.

He reaches over and grabs my wrist, giving it a squeeze. “Taylor was right when she yelled at us in the hospital last time. The way I saw you that day, your walls down, I knew I was hurting you and your pain didn’t make me feel better. It made me feel worse.”

Liam heaves out a deep breath. “Forgive me, brother?”

A bittersweet ache sits on my chest—the pain of the past colliding with the warmth in the present. Opening my eyes, I stare at my brother—his tousled hair, his tattoos, the grittiness in his eyes—he’s a different man than the one from almost eight years ago, but I recognize the teasing guy who chased Firefly around the grounds of our vacation home ten years ago.

He’ll always be my little brother. We’ve both fucked up and we’re given a second chance.

“Only if you’ll forgive me.” I stretch out my hand, palm up. Liam’s lips tilt up in a half smirk as he puts his hand on top of mine and pulls me in for a hug, followed by a hard slap on my back.

A few minutes later, we are staring at the painting again, this time, a small smile on my lips. I think back to that day ten years ago, right before I ascended the throne as Bank of Columbia’s CEO. The joyful laughter and shrieking from Firefly and Liam, the lightness in my soul. The way she was running after him, holding clothing scraps in her hands.

“What did you do to her that day? Why was she chasing you?”

Liam chuckles. Apparently, he knows exactly what I’m referring to. “I messed with her Sugar Plum Fairy costume. Stapled a bunch of dried plums to it. She was so fucking mad. She kept screaming how there were no plums in the Sugar Plum Fairy costume.” He leans back and sighs. “It was because she carved her name on my guitar the week before.”

I snort and shake my head. “You two.”

We stare at the painting some more. Someday, we’ll go back there. Maybe, this time, I’ll get to run on the grounds with them. Liam and I spend the next half hour catching up on the milestones we’ve missed in each other’s lives. There is anguish. There is laughter.

My phone buzzes, and I take it out.

Elias

Camden Murphy. Currently single. Went back to school after quitting ballet. Lives in Brooklyn but works in Manhattan as a financial analyst.

He sends me an address.

Elias

A little bird tells me he’s currently eating lunch with his boss here.

I curl my hand into a fist, grinding my teeth together.

“Charles? What’s wrong?” Liam asks.

I look at him and take in his whole bad boy getup. “Want to go on a field trip with me?” I tell him about Camden and what he did to Taylor back then.

Liam’s eyes take on a dangerous glint. “Let’s go.”

You fucking motherfucker, I’m coming to get you.

Twenty minutes later, Liam and I walk into Giuliani’s in the Financial District. I spot the asshole right away based on a photo Elias sent me. Camden is laughing with an older man—his boss, Gerard Matthews from Matthews Investments, a small as fuck boutique firm I can put out of business in my sleep.

Liam and I yank out the two open chairs at their table before taking a seat.

“What on earth?” Camden asks, looking bewildered. “Do we know you?”

I hold up my hand and flag a waiter to bring over two whiskeys for Liam and me.

Turning toward Gerard, I smile. “Gerard, how is business treating you? Tim Riordan still letting you play with his money?” Based on my quick check on the way over here, Riordan, a mid-level millionaire, is their main client.

Gerard’s eyes widen, and he lets out a nervous laugh. “Charles Vaughn, I don’t think we’ve met before. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

A waiter comes by with our drinks and I take a sip, watching as Liam does the same.

I shrug. “Just a friendly visit to remind you to do a better background check before hiring people.”

“What do you mean?”

Arching my brow, I motion to the asshole next to me, not even bothering to look at him. “Do you know there’s a lot to be said about one’s character, or lack thereof, when a man abandons his girlfriend after she was brutally raped? And then he had the gall to blame her for it?”

I hear Camden’s breath hitching.

Keeping my eyes on Gerard, I swirl my whiskey in front of me. “I wonder how Tim would feel to know his money is being handled by a firm that employs such dubious characters.”

Gerard swallows, a muscle twitching on his forehead. His gaze darts to Camden, then to me, and his expression hardens. “My firm would never knowingly employ such people.”

I smile and sit back. “Glad to hear it.” I raise my glass and watch his hand tremble as he clinks his against it. We take a sip of our drinks. “I think we’re on the same page. Now, do you mind excusing us? We have some unfinished business with Camden over here.”

He nods, quickly pushes out his chair, and takes out his credit card. I shake my head. “On my tab, because you answered correctly today.”

Gerard expels a nervous breath before he addresses Camden. “Don’t bother coming back to work.” He turns around and leaves.

A small thrill sifts through me as I turn to the sputtering idiot.

“I don’t care who the fuck you are. That’s illegal, what you did there. He had no grounds to term—” Camden abruptly silences when I haul his chair over and set him next to me.

“You hurt my woman. You betrayed her at the darkest time of her life. What I did was the bare minimum of what you deserve.” I can barely keep the fury out of my voice.

I lean into him and whisper, “Now, you’re going to pack your bags and move out of this state. Your name is as good as animal shit in the financial circles in this city. You’ll never get a job here. And you’re going to write Taylor a nice apology or else I’ll blacklist you everywhere else in the country.”

Camden pales, his lips twitching. “Y-You can’t do that.”

I smile and watch him tremble. “Watch. Me.”

I take out my wallet and toss a few hundreds on the table, more than enough to take care of the bill.

Suddenly, I hear Camden howling loudly, his body bowled over in pain. He’s covering his groin, his face flushed as he struggles to catch his breath.

I look at Liam, finding him glaring at Camden. He glances at me and shrugs. “I think the statement needed a kick to the balls for impact.”

Barking out a laugh, I stand up and watch Liam lean over Camden and slowly roll up his sleeves, displaying his tattoos. “Better listen to my brother, and don’t let me see you around.” He cracks his knuckles. “Or else, the kick to the balls is only an appetizer.”

I hide a smirk. Looks like Liam’s love for The Godfather has paid off.

Just then, my phone buzzes again.

Taylor

I found something. Can you come to ABTC? I’m at the rooftop studio. Bring a laptop.