Page 92 of His Two Hidden Masks

He nodded. “Yes. Strand played, and sometime during the show, Bex convinced one of the roadies to let her backstage. After the final curtain call, Strand walked -- I – walked backstage.

I opened my dressing room door. And Bex was there lying on the couch. I thought she was asleep for a moment, and I shouted at her to get out. She didn’t answer. She didn’t move. There were bottles of pills on the ground next to her. She was dead.”

I inhaled sharply and gripped his arm. “Dylan, I’m so sorry.”

“She killed herself because she loved Strand, and Strand no longer loved her back. She killed herself because I was a self-absorbed piece of shit, and I didn’t think she was serious.

“I didn’t listen when she threatened to hurt herself. She told me she was going to do this and I let it happen. I could have gotten her help. I should have helped her.

“I couldn’t sing anymore. It was done. Bex died, and so did the music inside me. My father passed away the same year. Strand retired and the family took me back into the fold.”

I reached over and pulled him to me, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. I didn’t want any distance between us. “I’m so sorry, Dylan.”

“Bella.” He gently pushed me away and sat up. He leaned up against the pillows and the headboard behind us. “I need to tell you more, Bella. You need to know the rest. All of it.”

“What do you mean, the rest?”

He looked down at me, a sad, crooked, smile crossing his face. “The night I met you was the sixth anniversary of Strand’s final concert, the day that Bex died.

The month of February is not easy for me. James insisted I come with him on this trip, because he worries what I will do when left alone.”

“Would you ever?” My voice trailed off.

“Hurt myself, no,” he said. “I’m too fucking self-absorbed to do that. In February, I regret everything. My music consumed me and a woman died as a result. I live on, without consequence.”

“But you are dealing with the consequences,” I said. “Clearly, it impacted you.”

“When Bex died, my family made the whole messy situation go away.”

“How?”

“The way people with money make everything disappear. They moved her body. We paid people. Her family was given another story about what happened.

They believe she was depressed and died alone in her apartment. I retired, and we’ve never spoken of it again. Bex should not have died. Strand became an obsession for so many people, not just her. When I realized what my music had done to her, it was over for me.”

“What were you supposed to do?”

“Have the courage to show my face? Have the courage to own my mistakes?” he said. “If I had really listened to her, I could have gotten her the help she needed.”

“You can’t blame yourself,” I said.

“Yes, I can. Bella, my family, this deal, you need to know who you are dealing with.”

“You mean, James?” I laughed. “He is an asshole. We’ve established that.”

“Yes, he is. But I mean all my family, including me.” He looked right at me. “James, Roberto, and I attended the same boarding school in Germany. We all knew each other growing up.”

I sat up, my heart skipping beats. I clutched the sheets to my chest.

“James and Roberto were good friends,” Dylan said. “They stayed in touch, and about a year ago, Roberto reached out about partnering with James on a take-over of Uzano Properties.”

“A take-over?”

“Roberto and James made a deal. Roberto’s job was to convince your father to go forward with the acquisition, no matter what, and Roberto was going to end up as a majority shareholder and force your whole family out. He said it would right a wrong.”

“That is what he said to me on the altar,” I said, remembering how confused I had been by his words that day. “We were still engaged a year ago. Why would Roberto want to do this to my family? We were going to run the business together.”

“Roberto used to talk about your sister, Sara, when we were in school together. He hated your father, Bella. He said he was a man without honor.”

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