Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 59827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Riiing.
The sound of his phone shattered the moment, Arkane turning his back on the camera as he answered the call, and just like that, Krizette’s last hope of catching the billionaire’s attention crumbled into nothing.
Unaware of his effect on the videographer, Arkane was already slipping out of the workshop, the phone pressed to his ear. By the time he reached his office and closed the door behind him, his father’s voice was filling the silence.
“Can you take a video call? Your mother and I need to speak with you.”
No small talk, no pleasantries, and that alone told Arkane this was serious.
“Give me a moment.”
He settled behind his desk and pulled up Zoom on his laptop. His parents’ faces appeared on screen within seconds—his mother Joy, still striking in her sixties with her silver-blonde hair swept back, and beside her, Aldrich Lim. Silver-haired. Steady-eyed. Wearing his customary plaid shirt and the quiet authority that had steadied their family through more than one storm.
“We’ve already spoken to the others,” Aldrich relayed. “They’re in the city, so it was easier to meet in person. But since you’re out in the hills...”
Arkane only nodded. His family had long accepted that he preferred solitude over proximity. They never tried to change him for it. It was one of the many reasons he loved them.
“I’ll get straight to the point.” Aldrich’s gaze held his through the screen. “My contacts have confirmed that the hospital fire was arson.”
Arkane’s jaw tightened.
“And Lana?”
“Still under investigation. But there’s enough circumstantial evidence to suggest she may be connected.”
Arkane thought of his brother Benedict. Proud. Private. The kind of man who would rather bleed out in silence than admit he needed help. And Lana—the wife who had made Benedict’s life a living hell for five years—was now potentially tied to arson.
He wasn’t even surprised.
“Until we know more,” Aldrich continued, “I want everyone to be vigilant. We don’t yet know the full scope of what we’re dealing with, or who else might be involved.” A pause. “The Youngs have weathered many storms. We’ll weather this one too. But not through carelessness.”
It was his mother who spoke next.
“Benedict has enough to contend with, especially with Lana’s confinement being extended for another month.” Joy’s voice was soft, but Arkane heard the steel beneath it—the same steel that had held their family together through their father’s abuse and everything that came after. “He shouldn’t have to fight the vultures as well.”
Arkane understood what she wasn’t saying.
Benedict would never ask for help. He would sooner chew glass than admit that his marriage to Lana was the one mistake he couldn’t outmaneuver. But that didn’t mean his family would stand by and watch him drown.
“So we run interference,” Arkane said.
“Yes.” Joy’s copper eyes—the same copper eyes she had passed to most of her children, though not to him—flickered with something fierce. “Keep the press occupied. Redirect their attention. Give your brother the space he needs to handle this.”
“Consider it done.”
But his mother wasn’t finished.
“There’s something else.” Joy glanced at Aldrich, and something in that glance told Arkane this part had been discussed between them beforehand. Carefully. “Have you been following the press around Foxtown lately?”
He hadn’t. But the shift in his mother’s tone made him pay closer attention.
“There’s been a gossip piece making the rounds,” Joy said. “About how the last several high-profile weddings at Foxtown all involved brides who’d recently ended previous relationships. The implication being that Foxtown is where women go to rebound. To make impulsive decisions. To trade up.”
Arkane’s lip curled. Typical of the press. He was not surprised at all.
“First it was Lucius and Tassy’s wedding, and more recently, Veil’s bride was also in a similar situation with Tassy.”
“She also had a jerk for an ex?”
“Let’s just say they weren’t meant to be,” Joy said prudently.
“How are the Foxes handling the situation?” Arkane asked.
“We’ve spoken to them.” Aldrich was the one to answer this time. “If there’s slander or libel, they’ll act decisively. But otherwise, they’re choosing not to respond.”
The tone of his father’s voice was what gave Arkane a glimmer of what his parents were leading to with all of this.
“You feel partly responsible about what happened,” he guessed, “and you also want to redirect attention away from Benedict.” And since he knew his parents pretty well, and how efficient they were when it came to protecting their family and its reputation—
Arkane leaned back against his seat. “You’ve already thought of a solution, haven’t you?”
His mother suddenly looked all too innocent, and that had Arkane’s gaze narrowing. There was only one thing he could think of that would require his involvement in fixing this mess. Or rather, make that one person—
Aldrich started to cough, the way his father often did when he was about to say something...unpopular, and Aldrich’s lips tightened.
“The girl you dated—”