Chapter 5 - The Father Who Sold Her Trust
Chloe returned to her parents’ home the following afternoon.
This time, Dominic came with her.
He wore a dark overcoat and carried no visible weapon, but Richard Bennett went pale when he opened the door.
“You cannot bring him into my house.”
Chloe stepped past her father. “Then we can have this conversation on the sidewalk where your neighbors can hear it.”
Diane stood near the fireplace, twisting her wedding ring.
Derek was gone.
Dominic remained beside the doorway, allowing Chloe to lead.
She placed the consulting agreement on the coffee table.
“Why did you give Derek the Starlight Hotel plans?”
Richard looked at the document. “It was a flooring bid.”
“It included service entrances and private security corridors.”
“I don’t read every attachment.”
“You signed it.”
“I trusted my future son-in-law.”
“You trusted him with information from my event.”
Her father’s patience broke. “I was trying to secure the biggest contract this company had seen in ten years.”
“And when the gala was attacked?”
Richard looked toward Diane.
That was enough.
“You knew,” Chloe whispered.
Her mother began crying. “Not before.”
“What did you know afterward?”
Diane sat down. “Derek came here the morning after the attack. He said some men he did business with had used the plans without his permission.”
“And you believed him?”
“He was terrified,” Richard said. “He said if anyone learned where the documents came from, my company would collapse.”
“People were shot.”
“No one died.”
Dominic’s voice entered the room for the first time.
“Three of my men died.”
Richard’s face drained of color.
Diane covered her mouth.
Chloe stared at her father. “You knew Derek helped them.”
“I knew he made a mistake.”
“No. He sold access to armed men.”
“We had forty employees depending on that company,” Richard snapped. “Families. Mortgages. Medical bills. I could not destroy all of them because Derek got involved with dangerous people.”
“So you helped him hide it.”
“I protected what I built.”
“You protected yourself.”
Diane reached for Chloe’s hand.
Chloe stepped back.
Her mother’s face crumpled. “We thought Derek would leave the city.”
“Instead, you encouraged me to marry him.”
“He knew things about your father,” Diane whispered. “He said if we turned against him, he would tell the police Richard provided the plans.”
The betrayal became painfully clear.
Her parents had pushed her toward Derek not because they believed he was good for her.
They wanted their daughter married to the man blackmailing them.
If Chloe became his wife, they hoped he would remain loyal.
“You offered me to him,” she said.
“No,” Diane whispered.
“Yes.”
Richard pointed toward Dominic. “And what are you doing now? Carrying another dangerous man’s child and pretending he is your rescue?”
Dominic’s face did not change.
Chloe answered before he could.
“Dominic told me the truth when it cost him something. You lied because honesty might cost you money.”
She placed her house key on the table.
Diane stared at it.
“What is that?”
“The last key you will ever have to my home.”
Chloe walked toward the door.
Her father called after her. “You’ll come back when you need us.”
She turned.
May you like
“I needed you at this table.”
Then she left with Dominic beside her—not leading her, not touching her, simply matching her pace.
