CHAPTER 140

ALESSANDRO

"You owe me!"

At this point, I'm pretty sure that Edward Whittle is going to have a heart attack right here in my office. He better not keel over and die before he gives me that damn confession.

I lift my eyebrows in surprise. "I don't owe you anything, Edward, and all I'm asking is for full disclosure of a company you expect me to pay twenty-three million dollars for. As you can imagine, that kind of money isn't just lying around."

Defeat crosses over Whittle's expression, and he walks over to the couch and sinks onto it, his head falling in his hands.

"What's really going on, Edward?" I prompt calmly, moving to sit next to him.

I rest my hand in comfort on his shoulder. My skin burns where it touches him, disgust for the high-class addict searing through me, but I breathe through it. This is what I have to do in order to keep my family safe.

"I fucked up." He starts sniffing, and I realize he's crying.

I squeeze his shoulder in the act of support when, in reality,