A cold wind seemed to move through the room, though every window was closed.
“What happened after?” Ryan asked, though the answer churned in his stomach.
Carter flipped to another page. “Leah was furious. She demanded your father fire him on the spot.”
Ryan blinked slowly, pressing the anger down, down, down until it burned.
“And did he?” he asked.
“No,” Carter said. “Jonathan refused.”
Tevin shrugged. “Apparently Steven had been too useful for too long. Your father wouldn’t get rid of him.”
Ryan leaned back slightly, eyes darkening as he pieced the information together.
“So my mother hated him.”
“From that moment on,” Tevin confirmed. “There was tension in the house. Steven started pulling back from certain tasks. He became… distant.”
Carter continued, “Two years later, he resig
