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Holly has no words.
“As a kid, I never bought the whole evil stepmom thing in fairy tales. But then I met you.” Graham shakes his head. “All you ever cared about was being dad’s protégée. The center of his universe. Of course, Nate put up with your selfish bullshit because he gets enough attention on his own. He loves everyone, and everyone loves him. But not me. I always saw right through you. You never had two seconds for me. Treated me like a failure and a disappointment from day one. Always wedging yourself between me and Dad. You’re so fucking needy.”
“I’m the issue?” Despite how unsafe and exposed she feels, Holly can’t contain herself. “All the toxicity that swirls around you. Do you ever hold yourself accountable for any of it? Do you ever recognize yourself as the common denominator?”
“You poisoned Dad against me!”
“As if!” she snaps. “If you’re having trouble with your dad, it’s only because he finally woke up to the truth. I’m happy to hear it, actually. That Aaron is no longer deluding himself about what a disappointing, entitled brat you are. It’s been staring him in the face for years. Don’t you see it? You cause chaos and destruction wherever you go. And then you act like you’re the victim. You’re nothing more than an emotional arsonist.”
His face reddens. “I’m not my dad. I don’t fall for your manipulative bullshit. And talk about chaos. Will any of your clients survive your treatment?”
She yanks the door open. “I’m done with you. And your father.”
“You better fucking well be!”
“Or what?”
“You’re gonna get hurt,” he growls. “Badly.”
Still holding the pepper spray, Holly drops into her car seat and slams the door shut. Hands trembling, she jerks the car into gear and hits the accelerator, screeching the tires and forcing Graham to jump aside as the vehicle hurls forward.
CHAPTER 56
Saturday, April 27
Holly gives up on attempts at further sleep and crawls out of bed just after six a.m. She didn’t think she’d slept a wink overnight, but when she consults the app connected to her watch, it tells her she managed to bank about two hours, though it rates both the quality of her slumber and her daytime readiness as “poor.” Which sounds right to her.
Her altercation with Graham loops in her head. It gnaws at her. She’s still incensed that he thought he could blackmail her. But ironically, she’s more than willing to comply with his demand to cut ties with his father. She’s only surprised that he didn’t demand money to keep quiet about her clients’ deaths. At least the nasty encounter clarified one thing: that it was Graham, not Aaron, who broke into her car. But that doesn’t absolve her husband of anything else. Or make him any less guilty for trying to intimidate JJ or Liisa.
After Holly showers and dresses, she heads down to her car with the intention of driving to her office early to prepare for the videoconference her editor requested. She hasn’t been able to focus on her manuscript in weeks. Besides, how can she write a book about the power of psychedelic therapy now? What a hypocrite and a fraud she would be. Holly would willingly return her six-figure advance to the publisher, but she knows that would devastate her sweet, sensitive editor, who has such high hopes for the book. Stalling is her only option.
As Holly drives, she thinks about all the ways Aaron has manipulated and betrayed her. Her outrage intensifies, and she can’t stop herself from heading over to his house. She unlocks the front door with her old key, half-hoping Graham will be there. She’s ready to blast him again, too.
Holly finds Aaron alone in the kitchen, sitting at the counter in his black robe with a coffee cup in front of him. His cheeks are unshaven, his hair is a bird’s nest, and his eyes are sunken. The resignation in his face makes him look a decade older. But he doesn’t appear the least surprised to see her.
“I’m sorry, Holly,” he says with a weak smile.
Multiple possible retorts come to mind, but she opts to let him do the heavy lifting. “For what this time?”
“Where to start?” He sighs a laugh. “How about for not telling you about JJ?”
She shrugs. “Probably just slipped your mind that you threatened one of my clients.”
He sighs. “I didn’t threaten her.”
She stands by the door, keys still in hand, unwilling to move an inch closer to him. “No? What did you do then, Aaron?”
“I reasoned with her. Or at least, I tried to.”
Holly only glares at him, making no effort to hide her contempt.
He shrugs. “You have no reason to believe me, but it’s true.”
“Why? Why the fuck would you track JJ down like that?”
“You were so distraught, Holl,” he mutters. “When you thought JJ was going to report you. After what happened with Elaine… I was worried. I thought…”
“What did you think, Aaron? I’m curious.”
