Page 155 of The Grand Ruin: Lance & Scarlet-Part One

My legs seem to become weaker the further away I walk, my chest burning. I could have spent the past year with Scarlet. I wanted to. But did I deserve to fall back into her whilst her brother lost everything at my hands?

No.

My guilt would never allow it.

Some days I can forget—even convince myself that it wasn’t my fault.

Today isn’t one of those days.

“I have something I need to chase up. Tell the others I’ll catch up with them on the weekend.”

“Sullivan.” Charlie grabs my bicep as I turn to head back to the elevators.

My head’s a mess.

Such a fucking mess.

“You can talk to me. Anything…”

I nod, pulling my arm free as I leave.

No, I can’t.

I don’t like to rely on gut feelings. I like facts and happen to be able to obtain those facts easily.

It’s why I’m at home on a Friday night with files spread out on my bed.

The invoices.

Nina’s name on bank statements.

Money. So much money taken.

It should validate everything.

My gut tells me it doesn’t.

Jasmine showing up has stirred up a shitstorm. Old wounds for Nina and Mason opened up. Painful memories for them both. And yet it might just be the thing that brings them back together.

At first, that wasn’t what I wanted, but I didn’t know Nina then. I never gave her a chance.

Would the truth fix this mess? Fucking maybe. But if I tell Mason the truth about what I did, he’ll know what Nina did too, and I can’t help but feel like she’s already paid enough.

I pick up the original bank statements, the ones I found myself—nameless.

Then the ones Ben found—the ones initialled NA.

Then the ones he brought to me that day when I already knew it was her—Nina’s name on the account.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. I need to speak to Ben and find out how and where he found Jasmine that night.

Lance: Are you with my sister?

Ben: What do you want, Sullivan?

I was raging when I fired Ben. He did what I asked him to do, but at the time, I couldn’t stand to hear someone tell me I’d done the right thing. I blame Ben just as much as I blame myself and Nina for this mess.

Lance: Are you at the house?

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