Page 37 of Fallen Angel
“What the hell,” Angel snapped. “How could he get away with it again?”
“The law doesn’t favor the little guy,” Ethan told her. “If a contract case goes to court, the most the contractor can win is what was promised originally, but they still have to pay for their own legal fees. So even if they do win, they still lose money, which is why they almost always settle for whatever the owner offers to pay, especially if they’re a small company.”
“Yeah, but shouldn’t the owner be held accountable for trying to cheat the contractor?” Angel insisted.
Liam leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “You can’t file for punitive damages in a contract case. No matter what, the owner walks, paying no more than what he originally promised.”
“Then contractors must get screwed all the time,” Angel said in disgust.
Ethan shook his head. “Only dirt bags take advantage of the law.” He looked at Liam. “Sorry, man.”
A sad smiled curved Liam’s lips. “You’re right. My father was a dirt bag, but he was a hell of a lot worse than either of you know.” Liam slumped back in his chair. “When everything went down, I told my professor. I thought maybe Lockwood Luxury was in the red or something and didn’t have the money to pay the guy, and my dad just didn’t want to admit it. Together, my professor and I went through the company records to see if there was anything we could do to strengthen profits.” He shook his head. “Instead, we discovered Dad had embezzled millions from the company.” His eyes shifted to the window. “And he had connections to the mafia,” he said quietly.
“Are you serious?” Angel blurted, sitting up straight.
Liam looked at her, his eyes hard. “Angel, he did shit you don’t want to know about.”
Ethan squeezed Angel’s hand before he stood and crossed to the sideboard and poured three snifters of brandy.
“Thank you,” Liam muttered when Ethan offered him one of the glasses.
“You were right, Angel.” Liam said before downing the amber liquid. “I didn’t believe you when you said Dad was a crook, but you were right.”
Ethan could feel Liam’s fury and heartbreak. He poured him another drink.
“Thank you,” Liam said again to Ethan. Then he looked at Angel. “After you left, he told me you had it all wrong, and I ate it up, all his lies.”
“You were just a kid,” Angel said softly.
Liam snorted, a look of disgust twisting his features, disgust clearly aimed at himself. “So were you.” He shook his head. “I can only imagine how hard life has been for you, all alone. And I did nothing to help you.”
Tears stung Angel’s eyes. “It wasn’t your fault, Liam.”
Ethan’s fury reached new heights as he looked at Angel’s glistening eyes. Knowing that she had also suffered at the hand of Stanley Lockwood made him madder than he’d ever been before. But he took a deep breath to calm down. He had one question that Liam had yet to answer. “What did you do when you found out the truth?”
Liam looked up at him helplessly. He downed his drink. Then he slumped forward, resting his head in his hands. “I did the only thing I could. I handed everything over to the police.” Liam sat back and stared out the window for several moments. Then at length, he continued, his voice bitter. “It was pretty clear that he was going to do hard time. In the end, Dad chose not to go to prison.” He shook his head and set his empty glass down on the table.
Angel stood, crossed to her brother’s side and wrapped her arms around him. “You did the right thing, Liam.”
“My brain knows that,” Liam said. He pressed his lips together, fighting back tears. “Now, my heart just needs to catch up.”
She held him close. “I am so sorry, Liam.” Then she pulled away and met Ethan’s gaze. “I’m sorry about all of this. I’m sorry about your father. I sorry about—”
Ethan pulled her toward him and gently pressed a finger to her lips. “Angel Sullivan, you owe no one an apology, least of all me.”
