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He was studying her, his dark eyes so damn kind that hers burned.
No more crying. Her aching head couldn’t take any more. “Van was ruthless in business and everything else. I knew that. He would do almost anything to win. But he wouldn’t steal. He wouldn’t sell drugs.”
The hand that held hers squeezed lightly. “Sandra told quite a story,” he murmured.
“I don’t want to believe any of it.”
He squeezed her hand again but said nothing.
“How could I not have seen this?” she asked, hearing her own desperation. “How could I have missed that my brother had... gone so wrong?”
“You wouldn’t be the first—if it’s true. Talk to your sister. Ask her. You might not feel better, but at least you’ll know.”
He was right and she was stalling. “Give me a minute.”
“As long as you need.”
Hands shaking, Val called Desmond’s new firm and, fearing what she’d hear, didn’t put it on speaker, pressing the phone to her ear instead. She didn’t want to get Desmond into any trouble or put Kaj in an awkward situation. “Desmond Aurelio, please,” she said when the receptionist answered, then held her breath as the seconds ticked by.
“Aurelio,” Desmond said. “How can I help you?”
“Des, it’s Ingrid again.”
“Hi,” he said cautiously. “What’s up?”
“I, um, I went to see Sandra Springfield. At the jail. She told me some things.”
“Oh.” The tone of his voice spoke volumes.
Val’s heart hurt. But she needed to know. “You said that Van did drugs at parties with Cassandra. She pressured him to do it, right?”
Desmond sighed. “Ingrid.”
“Des, please.”
He blew out a breath. “Other way around. Ivan got her to start using. He was... persuasive.” He hesitated. “What else did she tell you?”
Val shuddered, her eyes filling with new tears. Dammit. “Did Van embezzle, too?”
“Fucking hell,” Desmond muttered.
His response was as good as an actual confirmation.
“It’s true?” she asked hoarsely. She could feel Kaj watching her, his gaze a sad caress.
“From what I heard, yes,” Desmond admitted. “The official word was that he’d turned Aaron in, but watercooler gossip said he’d been caught, too. I also heard that he paid it all back, but it had to have been quite a lot. The partners didn’t want him to just pay back what he’d stolen. They charged him fines and penalties. Nearly doubled the amount he had to repay. Again, all this was rumor. I have no idea how he would have even gotten his hands on that kind of money.”
I do, Val thought. Now I do. “Did you ask him?”
A long pause. “No. I didn’t want to get involved in whatever he was doing. That’s when I left C&S. I’m sorry.”
Goddammit. So Desmond had believed the rumors. “No. You had a family. I get it. I really do.”
“Oh, Ingrid. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want you to know about any of this.”
“Did you notice...” She let the words trail off, unsure of what she wanted to ask. “Was Ivan... nice?”
“Nice?” Desmond echoed. He sounded cautious again. “What do you mean?”
