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Euess You stole her wallet before ‘finding’ it”

It was an assu by Wayne’s half-s downhill and barely turning a profit It was like no one cared aboutmoney” He shook his head “I took over, did what needed to be done, and turned the co withoutdisdain fill his face “And once I’d built this spectacular new life and amassed a sizeable fortune—your father appeared and demanded a part of it”

Her mouth dropped open She wanted to defend her father, but she seemed too shocked to find the words Or maybe, deep down in her heart, she knew there was a kernel of truth to what he’d just revealed

“David hadhow should we say it?” Wayne lifted a hand like he’d pluck the word froot s I needed, and in return, I paid him enormous sums of money”

Her back went rigid as she sat up straighter “What? That’s not true We were—”

“Broke?” he lobbed at her “Yes That tends to happen when you gamble all your money away By the time he approached ot sick, that made it worse”

Her eyes were glassy, but the tears riot cancer and you turned hiht have helped? God, he was your own fucking brother!”

He tensed, and his expression turned angry “That wasn’t oing to help hi that, and despite how he’d threatened to expose me,” his hand clenched into a fist, “I still tried I did everything in et him on the list, but I wasn’t the CEO at the time I was overruled”

Whatever eht have had, he crushed it back, and the ruthless version of Wayne Lambert reappeared

“When he broke into my home,” he said, “that was the final straw I had to protect what I’d built, and I’d be da away from me a second time He went to prison, and for his silence, I paid off his debts so his bookies wouldn’t come after you or your mother”

Her hand flew to her asp

Maybe she’d only gotten one version of the story—the version her father had told, which left out several key details and put all the bla her father, so perhaps she’d only reood and had been unable to see his flaws