Page 94 of Earned Husband

“I have to go back to Chicago,” he said after a beat. “Immediately.”

The room seemed to tilt. The ring on my finger instantly felt a hundred pounds heavier. I still didn’t know what was going on, but I knew now that it was definitely serious.

CHAPTER 39

COLIN

Ever since I’d left Chicago, my family’s legal troubles had been the furthest thing from my mind. There had just been so many other things going on that I’d chosen to focus on the engagement and the merger rather than investigations and court cases that were outside of my control.

Between the FBI and the actual legal professionals we’d hired, I’d figured we had things covered on that front. It turned out I’d been wrong. The crimes my father had been convicted of had beenfinancialand any evidence that would exonerate him or put Mallory in that cell beside his was financial too.

That was where I shone—and it was also why I should’ve been paying attention instead of falling in love with my fiancée and a foreign culture.Fuck, I really dropped the ball on this one.

“Colin?” Deja asked, prompting me to lift my gaze back to hers. “What do you mean, you have to go back to Chicago? Is it just for, like, a meeting or?—”

“No.” I raked my fingers through my hair, then mentally grabbed my balls, took her hand, and guided her over to the couch. I’d thought I could protect her from all this, but at this point, I was just going to have to bleed my family’s trauma allover her and hope she stuck around while I tried to stem the tide. “I’m not sure how long I’m going to be there, Deja.”

She sat down, tucked her feet underneath her, and turned her entire body to face me as I sat down beside her. I drew in a deep breath, appreciating that she’d been patient with me so far, but it was time to just talk.

“When my father was arrested, my family lost almost everything,” I started slowly, stroking my thumb along the side of her hand I was still holding. “Obviously, we still had the company, but its reputation was in tatters. Technically, it still existed, but we lost most of our clients, the contracts we’d been about to sign, and even the projects we were already attached to.”

Deja’s gaze remained steady on mine, but she didn’t say a word to interrupt.

“In our personal capacity, we were allowed to keep our family home. Most of my brothers were still minors and Jane was the only one who’d already gained access to her trust fund, so she used that money to keep us afloat as far as she could, but the expense of keeping a seven-person family afloat took its toll.”

I inhaled another deep breath, feeling like I was flaying open the very deepest parts of myself right now, but I was too numb with the news I’d gotten to be embarrassed or to hurt too much. “I was already working for Thayer at the time and my salary package was structured by my father before his arrest, so I earned good money, but most of that went to helping Jane maintain the family as well.”

“It took us both ages before we were able to start saving,” I admitted. “We also both stayed with our mom and our brothers at home so we weren’t wasting money on rent or utilities, but all along, neither of us believed that my father had committed these crimes.”

“I remember,” she said softly. “There was a woman, right?”

“Yeah, Mallory.” I felt my face tighten as I said her name. “She’s a big part of the reason I have to go home. Investigations into where all the Thayer money went have been ongoing for years, which is why none of our trusts have been restored, but recently, the authorities found an offshore account.”

Her eyes widened. “Is that where the money went? Did they nail her?”

“I don’t know, but if I had to guess, I’d say that account is where the stolen money went.” I adjusted my grip on her hand and folded it into my lap. “They’ve been searching for Mallory for a long time and they’ve finally found her. She’d been arrested in Germany and they’re extraditing her back to Chicago.”

“So that’s why you have to go?”

I nodded. “The discovery of that account is causing my family some major legal issues. It’s not in any of our names, but they’ve linked at least some of the Thayer money to it. If I can help our legal team prove thatMallorywas the person responsible for funneling our family’s money to it, she won’t get away with it.”

“I’ll come with you,” Deja said without even skipping a beat. “I fully agree that you should be there and that you should help prove she’s the responsible party. You’re brilliant, Colin. If anyone is going to find the evidence you need, it’s you.”

My heart nearly broke when I shook my head. “Thank you for the offer, but no. I’m not taking you away from your family to drag you into the hell my father left for me, Deja.”

Her face fell. “We’re getting married, so why would you do this alone?”

Because I know what it’s like when everything catches fire, federal investigators marching in and out of our home while reporters accost us outside of the office. Legal briefings that last until midnight and endless speculation whenever we turn on the TV.

I didn’t know how to explain any of that to her, though. No one who hadn’t been through it could know what it felt like to be caught up in the raids, the headlines, or the fear of what tomorrow would bring.

“I don’t want to do it alone, but I have to,” I said firmly. “Your family is here and we’re nowhere near you needing to be in the States to start your operations there.”

All of which was true, but not really the reason I didn’t want her coming with me. She’d met me after my family had already clawed our way back to being part of civilized society. There was no way she could understand what was waiting for me back there, carrying a last name that had become synonymous with scandal.

A last name that’s about to become hers.

That was the part I hated the most. The Saads were respected. Honest. Everywhere they went, people knew their names and they spoke of them with reverence, clearly holding their family in high esteem. I detested the fact that I couldn’t offer her that.