He brought us into a private room, where Tisch threw herself at me.
“Tisch, it will be okay.” I patted her back.
She wailed uncontrollably. “I can’t live without him, Bentley. What am I going to do?”
“Tisch, it will be all right.”
“Why don’t I get you something to drink,” Melody said, letting go of my hand.
“He’s gone!” she sobbed.
I pushed her back. “What did you say?”
All the makeup that ran down her face looked like a horror mask.
“He died on impact,” she whispered.
I felt my knees go weak. Melody grabbed hold of me as I straightened.
“He died? You knew this?”
Her black-stained eyes looked at me. “I found out when I arrived. I wanted to tell you in person.”
My chest tightened as I gasped for breath. My father was gone.
“I want to see him.” I looked at the nurse.
“The doctor will be in soon.”
“Now!” I walked past him and out of the room.
“Umm... yes sir, this way.”
I looked back at Melody, holding up my hand.
I needed to see him alone.
I remembered everything that happened the moment I found out my mother died. I could remember what the room smelled like. How the tears felt and how my dad looked.
Now, I felt numb.
There was something inside that lifted me up and carried me through those moments after I saw my father.
I listened to what happened from the officers. Spoke to the doctors. Coordinated extra security for the hospital. Contacted my father’s attorney—our attorney. Tried Gianna, several times. Contacted my father’s assistant, Randall, and told my uncle his brother died.
I had everything done in less than thirty minutes after seeing my father.
When I returned to the waiting room, Melody was consoling Tisch. Her bodyguard was standing in the corner. Tisch seemed more concerned with what was going to happen to her than the fact my father had died. Her meal ticket was over, but I wouldn’t let her go hungry.
Melody walked over to me. “Is there anything you need?”
I wrapped my arms around her. “I called Randall, and he’s taking care of everything. Tisch, have George take you home.”
“I wasn’t able to get a hold of Gianna,” she sobbed.
“I’ll stop over there.”
She nodded.
“Don’t worry about anything.” I gave her a hug. “I will take care of everything.”
She wiped her eyes, looking relieved. “Okay, Bentley.”
“Get some rest,” Melody said, hugging her.
As she walked out, George followed behind her, but I grabbed hold of his arm.
“Make sure everything is secure at the house and tell Rose to give her something to settle her nerves.”
“Yes, sir.”
My father’s housekeeper would make sure everything was taken care of there.
I continued to run everything that needed to be done through my mind as quickly as possible.
“Hey, why don’t you head home. I’m sure you can take care of everything tomorrow. You need some time to absorb what’s happened,” Melody said.
I ran my hand across my Songbird’s face.
“Where is Tisch?” my sister asked from behind me.
I took a deep breath, knowing the next moment would be my most difficult.
I stared at my sister and Melody.
The two women in the world I loved the most.
I would have wanted them to meet under a different set of circumstances, but life wasn’t always fair.
Melody had waited on Gianna hand and foot since she arrived. My sister hated it, but she allowed Melody to help her. She was still processing what had happened to our father.
The coroner was still examining my father’s body, but the toxicology report came back clean, and the preliminary report of the autopsy would take another twenty-four hours. As far as the officers could tell, my dad lost control of the car. They gave several reasons why that could be; however, I couldn’t help entertaining the suspicions that popped into my head. My father had security for a reason.
We left the hospital shortly after speaking to the officers. The paparazzi had grown outside, and things needed to be handled before the media found out. I had Scott call one of the guys to pick up Gianna. She had a car specially made for her, and I didn’t want her driving home. She would be staying the night at my father’s, our childhood home, where she could find comfort with Tisch.
Melody urged me to go with her, but the last thing I could do at the moment was step into that house.
I had work to do, and Gianna knew exactly what was thrust upon me.
Chapter Nineteen
Melody
Seeing Ben that way wasn’t how I expected. He had been in his home office all night. When he asked me to come home with him, I was hesitant, but sometimes, people didn’t want to be alone after a loss. However, he hadn’t come to bed. It was almost four in the morning, and he had been in his office all night. At first, I figured he wanted someone in the house. Then when he kissed me goodnight and told me to grab one of his t-shirts to sleep in, I was surprised.
Almost as surprised at all the attention he received at the hospital. It was when we left, things turned from strange to beyond weird.
The news trucks rushed in, followed by reporters asking him for a statement. Someone must have leaked the information about his father’s death. They didn’t bother Gianna, only Ben. Gianna was his father’s number three. When his uncle came out, I was sure they would tackle him, but they stayed questioning Ben.
It wasn’t the time to ask why, but I decided to do something I hadn’t done before—check Google for information on my boyfriend. It felt like a violation, but there were numerous results on Ben, and I couldn’t stop reading.
First, I looked at images. Seeing him with gorgeous women only caused a storm to brew inside my head. Then I scanned articles with his name. All the recent ones were from his current position, had something to do with sales, or were interviews with him and Graham. The older articles mentioned a man named Liam and his company Gainesworth Investments. Somehow, Ben was involved with the company before the founder died. There were pictures of him at the funeral. Why would paparazzi need to be at a funeral? I couldn’t imagine that level of disrespect.
When I passed by Harper Group, I noted Ben’s name was on the Board of Directors, along with Graham’s, but what I didn’t understand was why. I googled Harper Group and dug in until all the answers finally came together.
Peter was the founder of Harper Group, and Ben used to work for him as counsel. Ben was an attorney and never mentioned it. Apparently, it was a family business along with his sister, uncle, and cousins. It was also a multibillion-dollar company. That was when I got up to splash cold water on my face.
Ben was worth billions.
Nothing made sense.
The man worked for Graham.
He was an attorney or was at one time, and he was worth an obscene amount of money.
I texted Genesis to call me as soon as she could. She was already done with her shift and was either in bed or out partying.