Page 52 of The Sexy Ex's Brother
I look up.
“Your father.”
The words fall like a weight between us.
“I haven’t spoken to him in a while,” I admit.
Sienna tilts her head. “Since you left Derek?”
I nod. “He supported me, back then. Said he understood. Said he was proud I walked away from something toxic.”
“So what happened?” Dawson asks.
I glance out the window. “He asked me to make peace with the Wilsons. Said business needed stability. That families like ours had to preserve alliances. I told him that maybe I wasn’t part of the family business anymore.”
Sienna whistles low. “Well. That explains the silence.”
Dawson is already typing something into his laptop. “I’ll loop him into the legal fallout, anonymously. If he still cares, he’ll make moves to protect you quietly.”
“I don’t want protection,” I say. “I want Derek stopped.”
Sienna lifts her coffee in a mock toast. “Then let’s finish what we started.”
Dawson stands. “We’re moving in two hours. Final brief at five. Then we go public.”
The room clears slowly. Sienna squeezes my shoulder on her way out. Dawson nods.
I stay seated. For just one moment longer, I close my eyes and picture Jack, standing at his window, jaw clenched, waiting for a storm he doesn’t know he’s already in. Hold on, I think. Just a little longer. We’re almost free.
An hour later, the air in the townhouse feels electric with motion. Sienna returns with an armful of printouts and herlaptop, spreading them across the table like a general mapping a war. Dawson’s on a secure line with Talia, finalizing details of the press drop.
“We’ve got three confirmed outlets ready to publish within ten minutes of the embargo lift,” Sienna reports. “The SEC contact flagged Derek’s offshore transfers. There’s a chance this will open a formal investigation.”
Dawson nods. “Good. We need the fire to catch fast.”
I scan one of the printouts, Derek’s communication records, timestamped and annotated. My stomach turns when I see one labeled, simply, ‘Threat: Ivy.’
A chill runs up my spine. I grip the edge of the paper tighter, knuckles blanching. For a second, I can’t breathe. The page blurs. My name is there, bold and damning, a target.
“What about the board?” I ask, throat tight. “The Foundation?”
Sienna glances up. “They’ve already started distancing themselves. Someone leaked internal memos about ethical concerns. My money’s on Jack planting them.”
The mention of him sparks another pang in my chest. “He’s close,” I whisper.
Dawson looks over. “Close to finding you?”
I nod. “He won’t stop.”
Sienna smiles. “Good. Maybe when this is done, you won’t have to hide.”
There’s a pause.
“Once the drop happens,” Dawson says, “the backlash will be immediate. Derek will try to counter. But we’ve lined it all up, the outlets, the evidence, the whistleblower trail. If Jack gets to him at the same time, though I don’t know what he’s planning or where he is now, the thought gives me hope...”
“Then Derek doesn’t stand a chance,” I finish.
“Exactly.”
