chapter 105

Alana’s point of view.

After our passionate encounter in the garage, we finally made our way back into the house. Alec, still holding me, carried me straight to our bathroom. He offered to draw me a bath, but I was more inclined to opt for a quick shower and some cozy cuddling. It was safe to say that he had truly worn me out. We now stood beneath the warm water, my hair carefully pinned up to avoid getting wet.

Alec reached for the loofah and a bottle of the body gel I used, applying a generous amount to the loofah. Gently, he took my arm and began to rub it into my skin, and I had no intention of protesting. The sensation was too delightful to put into words.

Once we were both dressed in our pajamas, we settled on the couch, and Alec ordered some food since neither of us had any plans to cook that night. We opted for pizza, wings, and breadsticks. I was definitely looking forward to it since our earlier activities had worked up quite an appetite.

"Alana, I've been thinking, and I don't want any secrets between us," Alec said, lowering the volume on the TV.

"Okay? I'm not keeping any more secrets from you," I replied confidently, unable to think of anything I might be concealing from him.

"I know, I'm talking about myself," Alec revealed, and I fell silent immediately. My gaze fixated on him, and I could feel my heart racing. What was he about to unveil to me?

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to conceal my internal anxiety.

"I want you to first understand why I did what I did," Alec began to explain. "Please understand that I didn't tell you this sooner because I didn't want to burden you with stress," he added, further intensifying my nerves. Where was this conversation headed?

"Alec, you're scaring me. Please tell me what it is," I confessed.

"I know, I'm sorry for drawing this out," he quickly apologized, then cleared his throat and continued, "You remember how I didn't like Daniel?"

"Yes. What did you do?" I asked, my brow furrowing. Had he taken some action against Daniel? This could spell trouble, especially since one of them was my husband, and the other was my ex.

"I decided to dig up some information on him. I didn't think I'd find anything too serious, just some minor things, but that changed drastically," Alec revealed, and I let out a relieved breath. Okay, maybe it wasn't as dire as I had feared.

"What exactly did you find?" I inquired, curious to know the extent of what he had uncovered. How bad could it truly be?

"Well, Killian and I gathered some evidence on him. Do you remember the Max Svensson's case?" Alec asked, his tone laden with gravity, sending a shiver down my spine. Max Svensson's case was infamous, and its dark notoriety cast a long shadow. I had an unsettling encounter with Max once on a movie set during my summer job. At that time, no one knew I was Richard Jordan's daughter, and I witnessed firsthand how creepy Max behaved with the female staff. The accusations against him might have been dismissed due to a lack of concrete evidence, but deep down, I knew he must have been involved somehow.

"Yeah, he's a despicable creep, regardless of what the court said," I scoffed.

"Well, Daniel has been receiving money from him since the beginning of the case," Alec began, his eyes never leaving mine, searching for my reaction.

"I don't understand."

"Neither did we, so we did some more digging. It turns out that Daniel was there, at the very scene. He was a witness and could have testified against Max, but instead, he lied and claimed he hadn't been there," Alec explained, and an ominous feeling settled in my stomach. "This happened at two of those private parties. Daniel's lies helped Max get away with it."

"He willingly lied in court?" I frowned, understanding the grave implications of such actions.

"Yes, because there was no concrete evidence to prove his presence, or so they thought."

"You found proof?" I inquired, sensing that there was more to this story.

"More like Killian and your father," Alec admitted, revealing the involvement of unexpected allies.

"My father? He's involved in this?" I had no idea my dad was connected to all of this.

"I needed his help," Alec confessed.

"What does all of this mean?" I wondered, feeling that the talk of the Max case and Daniel's lies hinted at something much bigger and darker.

"It doesn't end there," Alec sighed, retrieving his laptop from the coffee table and logging in. He then placed the laptop on my lap, inviting me to delve deeper into this unsettling truth. As I started to examine the evidence he presented, my heart ached when I read about a little girl named Maya, her mother's tragic fate, and a person named Conrad. It was horrifying to discover how far Daniel's deception had reached, and how he had fooled everyone around him.

"Are you kidding me? He met me just a month after parting ways with Destiny. I can't believe he did all of this," I exclaimed. To think that shortly after these heinous actions, he had pursued a relationship with me. "Is Deidra okay now?"

"We offered her a job in a new city, where no one would know her past or judge her for it," Alec replied.

"And Conrad? How did he manage to cover that up?"

"Corruption. He had enough money back then, thanks to his numerous roles," Alec sighed, closing the laptop, bringing an unsettling chapter to a close.

"And he's still making monthly payments?" I wondered, grappling with the depth of Daniel's corruption. It was unsettling to think about how his sinister web extended to Max Svensson and the sordid history that now unraveled before us.

"His well is drying up; that's why he's clinging onto every role he can get," he explained, shedding light on Daniel's precarious financial situation. The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place, unveiling the intricate web of deceit that Daniel had constructed over the years. "Alana, do you understand what this means?"

"If all this comes to light, I'll have an enormous amount of work to do," I sighed, realizing that the PR team would need to be vigilant to ensure the movie's success. The movie was more than just a project; it was a passion, a dream that had come crashing down due to Daniel's actions. "What if they blame me for enabling him? They might think I knew about it," I worried, apprehension gnawing at my thoughts, fearing the tarnished reputation that could ensnare me.

"You just have to fire him, make sure you don't stand by him in any way or shape," he advised.

"Fire him? That's going to be tough," I sighed, considering the binding nature of the contract and my aversion to paying him a cent. The conundrum of starting the casting process from scratch weighed heavily on my mind.

"Not if he gets into legal trouble, which he will. Your contract states you can fire him under those circumstances," Alec revealed. The legal ramifications of Daniel's actions provided a path to extricate him from the movie.

"And I can fire him..." I said, excitement coursing through me, but then a shadow of concern crossed my mind. "But damn, the movie. I'll have to start all over again," I muttered, recognizing that while Daniel had faltered in some scenes, it meant we had to begin the casting process anew, a daunting prospect.

"I know, I'm sorry—I wish I hadn't delved into his life, but at the same time, I'm glad his actions will come to light," Alec said, offering solace as he squeezed my hand and pressed a gentle kiss to my knuckles. "He's caused too much harm to enjoy his own life."

"No, I completely agree," I admitted, proud of my husband, father, and Killian for their relentless efforts to bring justice to those wronged by Daniel. The enormity of the situation was daunting, but the pursuit of justice was a noble endeavor, one that would ultimately serve to cleanse the tarnished legacy Daniel had left behind.