I turned to walk away and she called after me, "I'm sure it will be cleared up, Mrs. Hawthorn."
I turned my head, but kept walking. No, no it wouldn't. Oh God. "Yes, I'm sure. Thank you."
I walked briskly to my car, my skin cold and prickly, and once I was seated behind the wheel, I pulled my phone out, dialing my father's number.
He answered on the third ring. "What have you done?"
Pause. "Kira."
"My gram's money," I burst out. "What have you done?"
I heard his deep sigh and then he seemed to put his hand over the receiver as he spoke to someone in the background. I thought I heard a door close before he came back. "He's not right for you, Kira. He's a criminal."
"You bastard," I swore. "You did do this. Why?" My voice cracked, sorrow and rage overwhelming me. "Do you really hate me that much?" The words sounded familiar. Hadn't I just asked that question about Grayson and his own father?
"Of course I don't hate you, Kira. I just don't want you making choices for your life that will lead you in the wrong direction."
"It's my life!" I yelled. "I'm a grown woman. You had no right to do this. And now you've put his business in jeopardy, too—he has employees who count on him."
"If your husband counts on your money for his success, then he's no man at all." His voice was tight, unrelenting.
"You have no right—no leg to stand on. That money is legally mine. My gram left it to me."
"Yes, perhaps, but I can tie it up in court until you see the logic of my position and the folly of your choices. I'm doing this for your own good, Kira. I'm your father. I can't let you ruin your life."
Shock and horror slithered up my spine and tears slid down my cheeks. "You're doing this for your own good," I hissed. "You've never given my happiness a moment's consideration. You're doing this because of your own pride—you can't bear to see me do anything that doesn't work into some agenda of your own making. You can't bear the thought that I'm not under your thumb just like everyone else in your world."
He sighed. "Kira—"
"Haven't you done enough to him?" I asked, realizing there was nothing to lose now if we discussed it. He'd already done what I'd feared most. "I remember, you know. I was there when the judge in his case came to your office. I heard your advice. I heard you tell him to throw the book at Grayson, to make an example of him. And that's just what he did."
"I give a lot of people counsel. There's no law against it. And if that boy got the book thrown at him, it's because it's what he deserved."
He remembered. The quickness of his reply gave him away. He hadn't when we'd gone to him in San Francisco, though, I was sure of it. He'd looked more closely at Grayson at some point after that. I knew it in my gut. Whether it was before or after he'd offered him the bribe money, I didn't know.
My dad had taken part in screwing Grayson and all along—not only had Grayson's crime been an accident, but it had been based on valiant reasons—he'd been trying to protect someone.
For a moment, the only sound was my harsh breathing as I attempted to swallow the sobs desperate to escape my chest. "That counsel you give affects lives, Daddy. Real live, breathing humans who have hopes and dreams. Like the advice you gave Cooper on how to handle the situation with me. You crushed me. Did you know that? You crushed Grayson, too. Please, please don't do this. Just put a stop to whatever you've done and let us be happy. You've done enough. Please." I did sob then, a harsh, gasping sound.
"I'm sorry, Kira. This is for your own good, and Cooper's too, yes. But you'll see the wisdom in my vision someday. As for your current husband, I've made him a very generous offer to walk away from you. I suggest he take it if he doesn't want his business to fail."
"And what strings are attached to that?" I spit out.
"Not many. He's receiving a significant amount of money for very little sacrifice. I asked only that he walk away from you permanently, and go along with the story that he took advantage of you—a troubled girl with a significant trust fund."
Very. Little. Sacrifice. Me. That’s what he thinks of me.
My blood turned to ice water, not at the fact that my father would throw me under the bus again, but at the realization that he had no qualms about ruining Grayson's life, too. Again. "He's just beginning to earn back his reputation. And now you're asking him to lie and have people look at him like a pariah again? How do you expect him to make a life for himself in a place where people have no respect for him?"
"That's not my problem. With the money I'm offering, he can make a life anywhere."
He saw himself as some sort of hero. His ego so colossal, he truly viewed himself as an agent of justice. He was truly delusional.
"Is that why you married him?" he asked. "Another charity case to you?"
"No. I love him," I said simply and truthfully. There was no reason to try to convince him of anything anymore.
I suddenly felt numb. He would never leave me alone. I'd spend the remainder of my life being his pawn in some form or another. Staring unseeing out the windshield, I ended the call without another word.
I didn't remember the drive back home. Home. Another sob threatened to choke me as tears slid down my cheeks, one faster than the next. "You're okay," I assured myself. "Everything will be okay. Grayson and I will work this out together. He said he'd take care of me now." Oh God, but neither one of us had a cent to our name once again.