He’s staring at my scar through the small opening in my bathrobe. I’m tempted to hide it, but I don’t want to stop the flow.
“What type of business deal?” I ask.
“They often had a bet on who makes more money through gross production during that month.”
“That seems normal.”
His eyes draw a hole through my surgery scar as he speaks. “Jonathan had inside info that Ethan’s gross production would surpass his, and Jonathan doesn’t lose. He had an insider at Steel Factories disrupt production. It was supposed to be a fire in the middle of the night, but the insider messed up. Steel’s coal factory caught fire during the day when many workers were there. There were many human casualties and catastrophic damage to the factory.”
“That sounds familiar…” I gasp. “The great Birmingham fire.”
He nods.
“But, when I read about it in the article, no one mentioned that the factory belonged to Steel. Even the article about the domestic fire made it seem like my parents were unimportant. They didn’t mention that my father owned factories. Grante
d, I didn’t read the entire article, but still.”
“That would be Jonathan. He controls media in any way he wants to. Besides, Ethan Steel was a very private man. He didn’t get off on attention like Jonathan.”
“Why would your father bury my parents’ death like it was nothing? Wait...” I watch him with wide eyes. “D-did he have anything to do with it?”
He remains calm as he shakes his head. “Jonathan is many things, but he’s not a murderer.”
“Then why did he bury the fire?”
“Because it relates directly to the great Birmingham fire. He didn’t want his name mentioned in a nation-scale tragedy.” He releases a long breath. “Since Steel’s productions were handicapped, Jonathan won that month, but he lost more than money.”
“Like what?”
Aiden’s eyes finally meet mine and they appear glassed over like something is completely dead inside.
“Like Alicia.”
My heart aches at the mention of her name. She was just another pawn in Jonathan and Ethan’s game.
Just like Ma.
Just like Aiden.
Just like me.
I raise a hand and stroke his cheek right beneath the mole. “Do you miss her?”
“No.” His facial expression doesn’t change. “What’s the point of missing someone who’ll never return?”
Ouch.
As much as mentally unwell Alicia was, something tells me Aiden looked up to her. She was the break of pattern between him and Jonathan.
Since her death, Aiden took after his father’s steps.
“She used to sit me beside her as she read her philosophy and psychology books,” he says in a distant voice. “I was her only audience.”
“Aiden…”
“She should’ve died.” His jaw tightens. “She was too fragile and wouldn’t have survived in a world filled by the likes of Jonathan King and Ethan Steel.”
“Is that why you became like Jonathan?”