Page 35 of By His Vow

I know exactly what he’s going to say. He called me in the middle of the night with his findings, wanting to know what we should do about it.

“Go on,” Dad says.

“What about the money?” Kian asks simply.

“What money?” Dad’s expression remains neutral, but he knows.

He knows everything.

“The money that has vanished from the company in the past few months. Did you not want to tell the board about that?”

Dad’s mouth opens and closes as he tries to figure out what to say.

“Jonathan ran into some unforeseen issues,” he explains.

“Is that right,” Kian mutters as I look between them and Miles shoots from his seat in shock.

“What money? What issues?” he demands.

Dad shakes his head. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“Nothing I need to… Michael, you can’t sit there and tell Kingston and me that we’re at the top here and not clue us in as to where a significant sum of money has gone.”

“It’s more than a significant sum,” Kian explains, much to Miles’s horror.

“How much?” Miles demands.

“You are wrong for keeping this to yourself after handing us control. But if that’s how you’re going to play this, then you might as well leave,” I tell Dad. “This is our business now, our decisions. If you feel there’s anything else we need to know, feel free to tell us.”

I dismiss him by turning my back to the man who’s taught me everything I know.

I get they want to protect us.

But how are they achieving that without giving us the full facts?

“Kingston,” Dad growls.

I don’t respond as I retake my seat and pull my cell out to check my emails.

“Well, you know where I am if you need me,” he mutters before leaving the room and closing the door a little harder than necessary behind him.

“What the fuck?” Miles fumes.

“Your father had a gambling problem,” Kian states.

“Since when?” Miles asks on a sigh as he falls back into his seat, both of us leaving the head of the table empty.

“Since forever, if what I looked at is to be believed, but he was always relatively lucky, it seems. Until about two years ago, that is.”

“How much has he lost?” Miles mutters.

Kian falls silent.

It’s all the answer Miles needs to know that this is bad.

“Enough to hand his company and daughter over,” he realizes. “Fucking hell.”

He slumps lower in his chair and lets his head fall back.