“Don’t…” Raymond shook his head back and forth. “If you interfere in any way, they’ll put a pair of handcuffs on you too.”
“I don’t understand.” Fresh tears started to stream down my face. “How did this happen? My father has always done things the right way—this is impossible.”
“I wish I knew.” Raymond sighed. “They claim to have evidence, and they wouldn’t be this vicious if they didn’t already believe he was guilty.”
“I’ve known Hugo Cabot for years!” Mr. Hawthorne gritted his teeth as he spoke. “He’s the straightest arrow in the world.”
“Someone doesn’t think so…” Raymond sighed again. “I’ve got more bad news too—they’re seizing Cabot Estate.”
“What does that mean?” I wiped away a tear and looked at him in confusion.
“You have a week to vacate the property.” He looked at Maria and Henry. “That goes for the help, too.”
“Oh my god.” My jaw trembled, and I found out that there were more sobs left inside me. “They’re throwing me out of my home?”
“You can’t take anything when you go except the clothes on your back—consider yourself lucky that they’re even letting you keep those.” Raymond winced. “This is serious shit. If they are able to charge him with treason, then…”
“Life imprisonment.” Mr. Hawthorne exhaled sharply. “I need to go.”
“What?” I looked up at him.
“I’m sorry—I..” He stumbled over his words. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, I should go too.” Annie stood to her feet. “My mother saw this on the news and she won’t stop texting me.”
I watched as Mr. Hawthorne left and Annie followed him out the door. I felt like they were abandoning me in the hour of my greatest need, but I began to understand why once Raymond explained that anyone who had done business with my father could end up in handcuffs if it looked like they were complicit in what he had done. Annie’s father was an investor in Cabot Enterprises. Mr. Hawthorne was one of my father’s biggest clients. I had fallen from grace in an instant—from the socialite daughter of a well-respected man—to a pariah people were afraid to sit in the same room with.FourDevlin2 years ago“What the fuck is wrong with you today, man?”
I turned in the direction of the voice, taking my eyes off the target.
“Nothing,” I muttered. “I guess I’m just distracted with business shit.”
“Always talking about work,” Calvin rolled his eyes, passing the joint he was holding to the guy next to him who took a long drag. “Fuck, I remember the times when you knew how to have fun, Windsor.”
I didn’t take the bait, my eyes going back to the guy I’d been watching like a hawk.
“What’s the obsession with my kid brother?” Calvin piped up again. “Does it bother you that he’s here? I can ask him to leave.”
And there he was, the eternal fucking kiss-ass. He knew I was at the top of the food chain, and he didn’t dare question what I did.
“What’s he doing at a party like this, anyway?” I asked through gritted teeth. “Isn’t he in kindergarten?”
“Senior in high school,” Calvin laughed out loud, taking the joint back from the stoned guy next to him and taking a long drag himself. “I hooked him up with Preston, you know the preppy guy from Harvard. I heard he got some dope stuff this spring.”
“Dope stuff?” I raised my eyes, shifting my attention back to Calvin. “You mean drugs?”
“Yeah,” Calvin grinned at me conspiratorially, looking around to make sure nobody was listening and then leaning in to mutter something. “He’s got this shitty high school prom he’s going to. And he scored a date with the ice princess. Hugo Cabot’s daughter.”
I saw red.
“Hey, doesn’t your dad work with him?” Calvin asked, still fucking clueless about what he was doing to me.
What I was going to do to his kid brother.
“What kind of drugs is he getting then?” I asked, sipping at my drink as if I didn’t have a care in the world. “Pot, I’m guessing?”
“I bet his innocent little date won’t even smoke a bit of weed,” Calvin grinned at me. “From what he’s told me about her, she’s a frigid little bitch.”
My hand tightened around the glass so much I thought I’d crack it.
“So, what then?” I questioned him, trying to remain calm. “Pills?”
“Yeah,” Calvin replied. “Rohypnol. He’s slipping something in her drink. I mean, that’s probably the only way he’ll get to that tight little virgin cunt. Who can blame him? The girl’s only sixteen, but I’d fuck her in a heartbeat.”
I ground my teeth together while he gave me a curious look.
“Hey, didn’t you use to hang out with her a lot when you were kids?”
I ignored his questions, and he shrugged, going back to his conversation with the stoned kid.
For the rest of the night, I watched Calvin’s kid brother’s every move.