Page 138 of The Sinner: James

He lets go of me.

“I’m listening... Make it short. I don’t have time for you.”

“I heard the news on TV this evening. My dad said you had contacted him before the City Council’s session, asking for his vote.”

He shrugs.

“So? He voted against it, and as it turned out, I didn’t need his vote.”

“What did you say to him, James?”

He narrows his eyes at me, his gaze scorching me.

“What do you want from me, Rain?”

“It was more than asking him, wasn’t it?”

His eyes bore into mine defiantly.

He says nothing.

“Is this what I was for you? Some sort of leverage for your business?” I murmur.

The room feels dark and cold, like his eyes.

I keep talking.

“Is that what you’ve been doing? Collecting information on people and using it at your convenience when you needed a favor, a little nudge here and there, a proposal to get passed, financing to get approved, or a permit to be released? Is that what Red’s is?” I ask, pointing to the mirror wall and the crowd inside.

A mask of stone sets on his face.

“Did you use me?” I ask softly, a cascade of tears breaking through my voice. “All those women you have taken at the Dark House were not only beautiful. Their fathers are or were influential people. Many of these women left town or broke up with their men after you took them there,” I say.

He says nothing for a few moments as if pondering.

“Talk to me,” I shout.

His jaw clenches, his eyes throwing flames.

“You want the truth, Rain?”

“Yes. I want the fucking truth.”

He walks around the desk, unlocks a drawer, fumbles through a few boxes, and pulls out a memory stick.

He plops it into my hand.

“Here. This is the fucking truth.”

“What’s this?”

“Your dad, your sister, your brother-in-law. Take it home, watch it, and do whatever the hell you want with it if you’re so invested in discovering the truth.”

My mouth drops open.

“I needed your dad’s vote. It was a desperate situation, and he was my last chance. He didn’t change his position, and you know why? He acted like someone who had nothing to lose. The only time men do that is when they’d rather see everything crumble than fix their mess. This way, they can free themselves from a life they no longer care for. He didn’t give a damn that your mom would find out. When he said no to me, I was convinced I'd lose the whole damn thing. He said he’d vote against me and turn more people against me, so I’d never get enough votes. He wasn’t an option for me from the get-go. I didn’t want to approach him. And you know why? Because I didn’t want to destroy your family. And then I realized… I couldn’t ruin something that was already in shambles. I could merely shine a light on it. All the information that I have on everybody else... I didn’t use it once. I didn’t have to. People liked to do me a favor because they figured I might have something on them, but using it has always been the last resort. I wined and dined everyone I needed to get things done and sold the shit out of every business idea. And yes, I do have information on pretty much everyone in town. Call it market research for all I care. The women we fucked at the Dark House came to us. We coaxed no one. We merely picked the ones that we liked. It was clean, consenting sex. We had enough shit on their dads. We didn’t need their tribulations. They left and changed their lives because they had a fucking epiphany, which I hope you’ll have one day too.”

I look at him, thunderstruck.

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