Scandal

by Nicole Elliot

  He shook his head. “It’s out of the country.”

  “Shit. What did you do?”

  “Nothing! And technically this place is owned by a United States company, it’s an asset. So if they wanted to come get me, they could.”

  “For what?”

  “The DA thinks I’m involved in money laundering. I was at the club to take a picture of him.”

  “Wait you’re blackmailing the district attorney of Chicago?”

  This wasn’t happening.

  “Sydney, it’s not like that.”

  “Like hell it isn’t. So what was the money for? What you paid for me?”

  “A show of power. I wanted the DA, and Lawson, to know I hold the power.”

  “Great, I’m a pawn. Why ask me to stay? Why include Declan in this mess?”

  His eyes became soft. “I am not fucking with your brother. I promise Sydney. I am doing that for him, for you. What I paid for you might have been a move, but getting you here, having you to myself? That’s because I want you.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I want to go back to the house,” I said grabbing my clothes and going into another room to change.

  Chapter 18

  Sydney

  As we got back to the house I was so annoyed with Owen I could barely look at him. How could he do this to me? To Declan.

  I was just another business arrangement to him, he’d made that clear. I had been such an idiot. Thinking some millionaire could fall for me so fast.

  I was dumb.

  But as I looked at my phone, all those thoughts disappeared. There were seven missed calls from the hospital! My hands shaking, thoughts rushing through my head, it took me a moment to hit redial. I waited, feeling as my face turned red. I had fucked up. Something had happened to Declan while I was out having fun! I prayed it was nothing serious, but of course they wouldn’t have called otherwise. I waited, counting the rings. Six, seven…

  “Hello? This is Sydney Mercer, calling about Declan Mercer. How is he?” I wanted to ask ten more questions and say sorry for having missed the calls, but the calm voice on the other end gave me a break.

  “Miss Mercer, I’m glad we could get a hold of you. Declan is sleeping right now. But his condition has gotten worse. We’re keeping an eye on him, and he is stable, but you should come to the hospital as soon as you can. He needs you.”

  Tears were streaming down my face. All the guilt I had been suppressing for the past few days suddenly rushed back in. This was on me. I should never have left him. Fallen into the stupid fantasy.

  “I’m on my way,” I said, and hung up. I had to get out of there.

  Thankfully, there wasn’t much to pack, so I got into my dress and hurried downstairs.

  Owen was waiting for me on the couch, but as soon as he saw me there, shaken up and crying, he jumped to his feet.

  “What is it? What happened?”

  “It’s Declan. They’ve hospitalized him, because he got worse. I should’ve been there for him!”

  He moved to touch me but I pulled away. “It’s not your fault Sydney.”

  “Is the plane here? I need to go back right now.”

  “The plane will be here in thirty minutes. I’ll make the call. Come on, let’s calm down a minute.”

  “Calm down? Are you kidding me? You’re running from the DA and IRS, my brother is about to die from the same illness that took my Mom, and I’m half way around the world! I am not calming down Owen!”

  “Fair enough. What exactly did they tell you? What do they need us to do?”

  He said us. Like we were a thing. But we weren’t. Declan’s hospitalization reminded me of that. Owen was some fairytale. I had made him that way in my mind, but now the truth was out.

  “They didn’t give any details,” I replied. “Just told me I should come ASAP. What if it’s something serious? How could I live with myself? I should’ve never left…”

  “Sydney, we’ll sort it out. I have texted the pilot, they’ll be here shortly and ready to go.”

  “I’ll sort it out. I know you’re not coming.”

  He sighed, looking genuinely sorry. “You’re right, I’m not. As soon as I get back to the city they’ll pull me in for questioning. My lawyers need to get a plan together. I can’t come with you.”

  “I’m not surprised. I’ve done this on my own a million times before. I can do it again.” I turned away from him.

  “I’ll drive you to the tarmac.”

  “Fine.”

  “And I’ll call the Mayo Clinic, I’m sure I can pull some strings.”

  “Owen, I don’t want your strings. I just want all this to be over.”

  It hurt me to say it, but I didn’t have a choice.

  This had to end.

  Time to go back to reality.

  Time to fix this mess I made.

  +++

  The moment I stepped out of the Uber, I felt like a deer in the headlights. I was scared, but the weight of the situation made my legs carry me forward, to the elevators and then up to the fifth floor. I could do it, I knew I could. Things were so bad that they could only get better, I decided.

  My legs felt heavy, everything did. Not only was Declan sick again, but I had shut down Owen, who could have been good for me.

  Maybe.

  The nurse at the reception desk was nice, and asked me to wait a moment while they checked up on Declan. She said there was nothing life-threatening for now, but that she had to make sure he would be able to take a visitor.

  “He has developed an infection,” she said. “Because of the therapy, his immune system is extremely fragile, so he developed an infection that moved quickly, too quick for us to catch it. It has harmed his respiratory system. He has trouble breathing, so don’t let him talk too much. He might get sleepy, but it’s natural with all the meds, so don’t worry. We’re monitoring his condition at all times.”

  “Thank you,” I said, thanking the nurse, as much as whatever higher power had been responsible for the whole mess.

  A minute later I was invited into the room, and the sight of Declan in the hospital bed, with tubes around his face and all sorts of blinking equipment around him made me tear up.

  “Declan!” I whispered as I leaned close. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here! How are you feeling?”

  “I’ve been better. Don’t worry, Julia told me you were out of town. Did you have fun?”

  It was an honest question, but I couldn’t help but hear reproach in his tone. I sniffed. “I’m so sorry, Declan, I shouldn’t have left! Yes, I had fun, but now I wish I had been here with you!”

  Declan mustered a small smile. He was visibly tired, too tired to even wave me off. When he spoke, it sounded like he had a sore throat. “It’s okay, sis. I don’t blame you. You can’t keep babysitting me. We– you are paying good money for other people to do that.”

  “Don’t say that. I’m responsible for you, remember? So, from now on, I’m not leaving you.” I sat on the chair next to the bed, dropping my handbag to the floor. “I’m going to stay here for as long as you are!”

  He turned to look at me. “You don’t have to, Syd. I’ll be up and running in no time. You know how I am.”

  She smiled. “I know, Declan. Rest now, okay? I will be here if you need me.”

  “P.S. Don’t think I’m going to ignore what you’re wearing.”

  Ugh I was still in the red bodycon dress. Awkward.

  He blinked a couple times, and then shut his eyes, falling asleep before he could roast me anymore.

  I exhaled. It was painful to see my brother like this, but I was glad to see him holding up. I texted Julia, saying that all was fine, and she was happy to hear it, but she also wanted details on Owen. I wasn’t ready for that yet.

  How could I have been so careless? What if Declan had collapsed somewhere in the street without anyone to identify him and get in touch with me? I was so stupid. The important thing was that I was there with him, and that his condition was stable and t
reatable. For now.

  Worn out by the stress and all the thoughts, I dozed off in the chair, listening to the rhythmic beeping of the monitoring equipment.

  When I came to, the moon was out in the sky, casting cold light into the room. I walked over to the window, yawning, and shut the blinds. The room got very dark, so I turned on the dim lamp next to the small table by the chair. Declan was still asleep, but moving around, uncomfortable, but too tired to change his position. I took his cool hand, and he opened his eyes.

  “Sorry. I woke you up,” I said.

  “I barely slept. My chest hurts a little. Every breath feels like my lungs are wrapped in barbed wire.”

  “That’s awful Declan.”

  “The drugs help.” He smiled a little. “So, tell me about him, your prince on a white horse. He better be treating you well!”

  “Do you really wanna know?” In all the years, we had barely shared any real detail about our relationships, even though we were very tight. I thought Declan might be interested because he wasn’t feeling well, so I said, “Well, he’s a nice guy… but things aren’t serious. So you don’t have to worry about anything.”

  I was the one who had to worry. I broke our deal, leaving him. Now I would have another huge hospital bill to contend with.

  “Hmm, not serious? And where did this guy take you, exactly? Seemed far for not serious.”

  I didn’t know where to begin. “Well, out of town, to his place out of town.”

  “As opposed to his place in Chicago?” he asked.

  “I suppose so,” I said, silently panicking about not having any cover story. “He’s got a house, and he lives in an apartment here in Chicago.”

  “Oh, big money then,” Declan said.

  Like you wouldn’t believe, I thought.

  “And you met him at work?”

  “Oh, yeah.” I knew how that sounded. I had never been good at lying to my brother, and even when sick, he was smart enough to keep the interrogation going.

  “Is there something you’re not telling me, Syd?”

  He knew, of course he did. I said, “Well, look, I’m sorry, I’m not trying to fool you.”

  “Yeah? Because Julia told me you met this guy at a club. Since when are you hot on nightlife, Syd? Come on, you can tell me, I’m on my deathbed here.” He said that with such cynicism that I was ready to cry.

  “Don’t you say that, Declan.”

  Declan smiled. “Go on then, lay it out for me. What, does he have some weird fetish? Why don’t you want to talk to me about him?”

  I guessed there was no way out of it. And to what end? My brother had every right to know what was going on.

  “Promise not to get angry.”

  He frowned, which was visibly hard for him. “I will try.” Pale as he was, I thought he was beginning to get red in the face already.

  Taking a deep breath, I told him exactly what had gone down. How Julia tipped me off about this club, and how it turned out to be an auction for rich men, and how there was a spark between Owen and me, and how I left the club with him…

  “Let me stop you right there,” he said, his voice sore. “He bought you at an auction?”

  “It’s not like that!”

  “If I’m honest, it fucking sounds exactly like that.” The equipment beeped faster as Declan’s heart began racing.

  “You need to calm down, Declan.”

  “Did you sleep with him?”

  Now it was my turn to blush. “It wasn’t because of the money.”

  He shut his eyes tight, as if he wanted to disappear. I felt the same way.

  When the silence got awkward, I said, “I really liked him Declan, and not to get money for me. I did it for you, Declan. I’ve been trying, but I just can’t do it on my own.”

  His eyes were still closed, but now there were tears at their corners. He coughed, then said, quietly, “I’m sorry, Syd. It’s all my fault.”

  “It isn’t!”

  “I want you to be happy.”

  “And I want you to be better. And we’re both getting what we want. I’m not selling myself into slavery, Declan. Besides, it’s over now.”

  “Why?”

  “We had a fight, or whatever. Anyway, he’s not coming back here anytime soon. We’re done.”

  “But you’re okay?” he asked, like I was the one who needed saving.

  “I’m fine. I’m with you, and that’s what’s best for everyone.”

  Chapter 19

  Owen

  I should have fucking followed her.

  Why was I sitting here, doing nothing on an island? Jesus Owen, what a fucking mess.

  As soon as the plane returned to the island, I said goodbye to paradise. I had to face my demons, and Sydney. I needed to win her back.

  Immediately after I stepped on the plane, I got out my phone and called the office. Even at this late hour, the key people were there, working with the legal team on fixing everything. Or so I hoped.

  Thankfully, my last phone call had been effective, and instead of describing more problems, my people offered solutions, most of which I approved of. It seemed like everyone was collected enough to handle it on their own, and I wouldn’t need to use my ace this time. I would keep that pretty little picture of the DA for another issue.

  My next call was to my personal lawyer, who reported on where they were regarding my own personal safety. It wasn’t a fruitful conversation – all the lawyer said was that I had to come home to discuss the matter in private.

  Which was exactly what I did. After I deplaned I had my driver take me all the way to my penthouse in River North. I was on the lookout for paparazzi. Even though I wasn’t a public person, the latest inquiries by the IRS had made their way to mass media – influencing the stock, while they were at it – and I knew there would be people eager to hear what I had to say.

  Thankfully, the parking garage was private territory, and I had to take just a few steps to the elevator that took me back home, without ever seeing another person.

  My lawyer was there, having a cup of coffee on the balcony, waiting.

  “Glad you decided to show up, Owen.”

  I spread my arms. “Time to face the music.”

  “Very well.” Baxter walked back inside and set his cup down. “Coffee?”

  I slid open the bar door. “Whiskey.”

  “Good choice, considering.”

  I poured three fingers and drank half of it. I knew the news wouldn’t be too good. “So?”

  “The good news is we were wise to be preparing for the worst, even though it isn’t exactly what happened.”

  “Get to the point, will you? I’m here, so let’s not sugarcoat it.”

  “Internal Revenue spooks are on your ass, Owen. That deal you made last fall raised all kinds of red flags. We managed some damage control, in that this particular deal has you in the clear, but after they did some digging, they decided to go back as far as 2006 to see what else you have been up to.”

  “But they have no proof, right? We’ve been covering all bases.” I was sure of it, because I had been personally double-checking everything.

  “Yes and no. They have no concrete facts, at least not until they get through ten years’ worth of paperwork all over the globe, but the amount of suspicious activity on its own is enough for them to get whatever clearance they want. And considering the money involved, they will want to dig deep.”

  I downed the rest of my drink. “So what? Let them dig. If we’re innocent until proven guilty, we can bury them under paperwork, just like I’ve told you already. We’ll start by giving them everything from ’06 and ’07. That’ll keep them occupied.”

  “Had we given it up voluntarily when it was first brought up, sure. Only they’re not stupid. They know we’ve buried something–”

  “A lot of things.”

  “You said it. They know we’ve buried something, so they will insist on arresting everything we have in the file room, and they’ll start fro
m yesterday’s files.”

  “I’ll call the office, see what they can come up with. Honestly, I don’t care about the files as much at the moment. What about me? You said I was clear?”

  “Technically, yes. If they were to look into you, they’d find nothing.”

  I felt there was a but, yet I said, “Does that mean I can relax?”

  “Not in the States. They will be following you, like they’ve been following Lawson, and a few of your other ex-partners. You’ll be a red flag for them. Better to lay low for a while. Full lockdown – no calls, no travel. Get somewhere and stay there. Understood?”

  I had to grin at the cruel irony. For the past few days, I’d been hiding away on an island, where nobody would reach me, and the moment I leave, I’m told to go right back.

  But this time – alone. I knew I couldn’t take Sydney away from her brother, and it wouldn’t be safe for her, anyway.

  “Fuck… Fuck!” I turned around and smashed the glass against the wall, startling my lawyer.

  “I know, Owen, it’s a shitty situation you’re in. But it won’t be for long. You’ll take a vacation, get yourself collected–”

  “I am collected! I have been for the past few days, until all this bullshit began!”

  Baxter didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Listen, this is how things are, and I’m telling you how they are going to be, but you have to listen to me. We will take care of it, you have my word. How long have I been working for you?”

  “Five years?”

  “Close enough. Six, actually. And in that time, how many times have I fucked up?”

  My silence was my reply.

  “Exactly. So, you have to listen to me, and do this. I understand that you have met someone. Sydney, is it?”

  I gazed at him.

  “It’s my job to know, if that’s what you’re wondering. Now, for Sydney’s sake, leave the country for a little while. I’ll give you call when the coast is clear. Oh, and I’ve made sure the money you send to the hospital go through as charity, so don’t worry about that.”

  The money, my money. It didn’t matter to me that Sydney was over our relationship. I was still holding up my end of the deal. It was only fair. Her brother didn’t deserve to get caught up in my mess.