Page 91 of Call it Fate

I knew my father could be cold, but I couldn’t believe he was so heartless about this. “Well,Dad,” I said, using the informal term he hated so much, “I certainly can blameyou.You knew and kept it a secret from me. And because of that, I’ve missed out on over six years of my son’s life.” I scoffed. “But I guess you wouldn’t care about that, would you, since you’ve never been involved in mine?”

My father lost some of his composure. “Of course, I have! I’ve given you the best of everything, the best schools, the best opportunities. But you threw it all away for some…some hussy who had your dick wrapped around her little finger.” He turned up his nose. “She must be some kind of good lay,” he muttered.

I reared at my father, who shrank back into his chair. “Call her that again and your secretary will need to call an ambulance rather than security,” I growled, taking great satisfaction in seeing him cower. So much for his “real power.”

I smoothed my hands down my shirt. “We’re done. Don’t ever contact me again. Don’t contact Emalee or anything associated with her. And if you happen to see me out in town, I suggest you run the other way.”

I was halfway to the door when he called to me. “Before you go, look at this. If you still think your precious little Emalee is so great, then it’s on you. But you should know everything before you make that final determination.”

“I already know everything about her.”

“Are you so sure, Zachary?” He gestured to the file he’d thrown onto the coffee table earlier. “Go on. Have a look at your precious Emalee.”

A sick feeling grew in my stomach. “What’s that?” I looked at it like it was a trap because that’s exactly what I was afraid of.

“Just some information I’ve put together. Regardless of your feelings, I’ve looked out for you.”

I snatched it up. Inside were papers with briefings on Emalee, her mother, and The Dogtrot B&B. There was a brief bio of each and some income to debt ratios on the inn. I raised an eyebrow at my father. “You have a fucking file on her? This is just sick. Come near us again and I’ll file a complaint with the state Committee of Legal Ethics.”

I stormed out of the office, pushing past the guy in a uniform. Just as I stepped into the elevator, I heard my father call out from his office door.

“How much is your son worth to you? I know exactly how much he is to your slut.”

He was lucky the elevator doors shut. Not even that security guard could have saved him.

CHAPTER40

Zach

Isat on my back patio, hoping the night air would cool my anger. If it didn’t, then maybe the bourbon in my glass would.

I knew my father wanted me to follow in his footsteps and join his firm.

I knew it had upset him when I told him I was changing my graduate school plans and transferring.

I knew he could be ruthless.

I didn’t know he would go to such lengths to punish me.

And in punishing me, he’d also hurt Emalee and Iain. That was unforgivable. And now, he seemed to think he’d done the right thing, the evidence in the folder my father had given me. It sat on the table next to me like a snake coiled and ready to strike.

I hadn’t called Emalee at our usual time. I didn’t want her or Iain to see how upset I was. I’d received several texts, but I’d let them all go unread.

The folder continued to taunt me by its mere presence. I knew I should just shove it into a drawer and forget about it, but that would never happen. Maybe it was best to see what was in there so it could be put in the past permanently. I couldn’t imagine Em was keeping any more secrets, not after the last revelation.

Still, a sense of doubt niggled at me. Em had kept the secret about my father. She tried to justify it, but she still hadn’t been up front about it. Could there be something else? Something she thought she was protecting me from? If so, how could it be more damning than what I found out about my father?

I finished my bourbon in one gulp and snatched up the file. As I’d seen before, there were several financial papers from my father nosing around in Em and her mother’s business. Nothing that alarmed me. I breathed a sigh of relief until I flipped over the last paper. There was a check, one that was made out to Emalee Dawson, dated around the same month she said she’d tried to find me. It was for five hundred thousand dollars, a drop in the bucket for dear ol’ dad but a fortune for Emalee. The back of it showed it had been deposited not long after Iain had been born.

How much is your son worth to you? I know how much he is to your…I couldn’t repeat the word my father used, but his words returned to me as I stared at the piece of paper.

A half a million dollars. Was my father trying to say he paid Emalee off to keep silent about the baby? That’s how much her silence was worth? I poured more bourbon into my glass and drank it. Then I dialed a number I thought to never call again.

“Son. I’ve been waiting for your call.”

“What does this prove?” I challenged, even as I knew I’d hate his answer.

“We offered your Emalee money if she never showed her face again and left you alone. As you can see, she made her choice. Still think I’m wrong about her?”

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