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“Go talk to her and I’ll get ready,” I murmur. “When you get back, we’ll go to ABC for brunch.”
“Sounds perfect.” He gives me a relieved smile and kisses me on the forehead. As he turns and makes his way to the door, I can’t help watching him. Even the way he moves is sexy, exuding a sense of confidence. I lie there for a moment still reveling in the warmth that he left behind. Vanessa is engaged to his brother, so there is nothing to worry about, I think in an attempt to reassure myself. Besides, I have a feeling that she is pregnant. She didn’t look well at the funeral and Tyler said she hasn’t been feeling good for the past few weeks. Sounds like morning sickness to me.
Trey
I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when I rang the doorbell. I could hear some scuffling inside as if someone was trying to straighten up things at the last possible minute. Vanessa looked flushed when she opened the door and she appeared to be wearing nothing but a robe and slippers.
“Are you okay?” I ask, feeling like there is something very wrong with this whole scenario.
“No. I’ve been up most of the night. Tyler went out after the confrontation with you yesterday. I still wasn’t feeling good, so I stayed home.” She rubs her hand in a circle over her stomach. “He never came home and when I call his phone it goes right to voicemail.”
“Hmm, have you called Mom?”
“No. I didn’t want to worry her. She has had enough on her mind lately.” Her hand shakes violently as she raises a glass of water to her lips.
“Come here.” I reach for her arm. “You’re shaking like a leaf.” I put my arm around her and guide her onto the couch. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” Tears instantly well up in her eyes. “I don’t even know where to begin.” She closes her eyes and hangs her head.
“Is it Tyler?” I struggle to keep from jumping to conclusions. “What has he done?”
“A few weeks ago he ran across a file in Victor’s desk. He had suspicions that he was restructuring his will, so we snuck into his office one night while Victor and Carly were at a fundraiser,” she admits.
“And he found out that he was getting cut out too?” I speculate.
“You both were taking a pretty big hit, but he wasn’t cutting either of you out completely. Tyler was livid when he saw that he was treating both of you equally,” she says, shaking her head from side to side recalling the moment. “Each of you were to receive fifty million dollars worth of stock, which I tried to convince him was generous.”
“Yeah, most billionaires leave the bulk of their money in a charitable trust or a foundation. They don’t leave billions to their kids,” I reply in agreement.
“What really sent him over the edge was the fact that he intended to carve out a chunk of stock for Tommy.” She bites down on her lip. “He actually broke down in tears when he read it.”
“I talked to Tommy the other night. He told me that Dad was trying to bring him onboard. Honestly, I think he might be a good fit. I can see why Tyler would be upset though, since you guys have history.”
“Tyler really thought that Victor would wait for him to get his MBA and would choose him, since you aren’t interested,” she replies with a crack in her voice. “He was so hurt.”
“It’s a multi-billion dollar business. Tyler isn’t qualified to run something like that, even if he gets an MBA. It would take me a decade or more before I would even be considered for the top seat,” I explain. “Tyler has totally unrealistic expectations.”
“I tried to talk to him about that, but he was so upset. He had already been acting really strange before that night, but that sent him off the deep end,” she whispers, trying to choke back tears. “I’m afraid he’s done something really bad.” She leans into me and lets go of everything that had been bottled up inside of her.
“Is that why he was accusing me? He’s trying to deflect the attention away from himself?” A light bulb clicks and everything suddenly begins to make sense. Holy shit, he killed Dad? How could he do something so fucking stupid?
As Vanessa continues to sob against my shoulder, I can’t help thinking back to the days after her breakup with Tommy. Apparently, I’m still the shoulder that she prefers to cry upon. For a brief moment my mind toys with the idea of her and I being together again. If Tyler really did murder our father, it will only be a matter of time before he is found out.
