Chapter 8 Uncovering The Past

"Kendrick," I remarked quietly, "why didn't you tell me about this?" He looked over at me, the flicker of worry showing on his face before he covered it with his usual calm. "It wasn't pertinent," he said, but I noticed the doubt in his gaze. I couldn't get rid of the impression that something was wrong. This was no longer only about commerce. It was private. Kendrick, you have hidden information from me, I said, my voice sharp with anger. "And now I learn about this tragedy... the one that's been haunting you for so long...

and it has everything to do with Blackwell Enterprises, right?" His expression stiffened and his jaw clenched as though he were struggling to control a more intense feeling. I didn't want you to be engaged in this. It's something of me I've attempted to bury. The flood of loathing inside me was unavoidable. Wasn't I only another pawn in his game? Like the rest of his life, a tool to enable his success. I ought to have been furious. I should have stormed out, but I sat there instead, my head spinning with the burden of what I had found. "Kendrick," I said softly, the words almost slipping from my mouth, "this is more than only you and me. Your family... they could be responsible for the catastrophe that altered everything for me. I saw the spark of shame in his eyes; at that point, everything changed. His voice was raspy. "What are you saying?" Kendrick, I believe you have been hiding things. Now it's all coming apart, I replied, my voice quaking with the reality I had just found. Kendrick stood with his back to me at the window while I absorbed all I had just learnt. The family he came from. The disaster. Everything about this chaos was connected, yet I still couldn't understand it. He had always been so far away, so cautious, but this? This was a betrayal deeper than I could conceive. Kendrick, I need responses, " I said, my voice growing in rage. "I can't just ignore this significance." His face turned to mine; it was impossible to read. For the first time since we began our cooperation, I noticed weakness in his eyes. "I never meant for you to learn like this," he remarked gently. I no longer knew what to feel. The man who had once been my friend, my love, was suddenly someone I wasn't sure I could trust. He was still attempting to defend his family, who had contributed to the ruin of my life. "You have always been so far away," I said, walking the room. Now I see why. You have been concealing this from me. Hiding all from me. Kendrick moved nearer, his voice just above a whisper. I didn't want to put you in this world. But Sofia, you were never only a component of my existence. You were always supposed to be in it. His remarks broke my heart, but the gravity of the treachery made it hard to cling to the feelings I previously felt for him. "This is all connected," he said quietly, almost as if he hadn't meant to say it out loud. What do you mean? I said, my breath catching. "The tragedy... Blackwell Enterprises... everything," he said, his voice breaking with the weight of the admission. Running from it for years, attempting to correct things, I have But it has never been sufficient. As I attempted to digest everything, Kendrick's comments rang in my head. I had always knew there was more to him, more to Blackwell Enterprises, but this. This was beyond what I had envisioned. Softly, I murmured, "You have been running from your past for so long," the truth dawning on me. "But I can't keep pretending that we're not walking down a perilous path." Kendrick looked at me, his dark eyes brimming with remorse. Sofia, I never meant for you to view me like this. I believed I could remedy everything, but... I've erred. My hands trembled as I struggled to find the appropriate words. Kendrick, you don't get to just repair things by telling me to trust you once more. That is insufficient for me. I have to know whether I can still trust you. Stepping closer, he confessed, "I've done everything wrong," the sadness in his voice piercing the distance between us. "Sofia, you're the one I need, though. Only you can enable me to correct this, Sofia. His words drew me in, his appeal's gravity struck me, but the barriers surrounding my heart were rising. I said, "I don't know whether I can continue doing this." Trusting you is something I doubt. Taking another step forward, Kendrick's hand out for mine and his features softened. Though I know I've wounded you, I can't keep pretending it doesn't plague me. Sofia, I want you. Certainly. Everything Kendrick and I had found out loomed between us like an iron curtain. Facing one another in his office, we stood with only the quiet hum of the air conditioning to occupy the void. Though it was only a tiny portion of something significantly darker, the mole was closer than we had thought. Staring down at the papers in front of him, Kendrick's jaw tight and his palm clutched the table's edge. "Sofia," he started, his voice quiet, "this mole, it's worse than I imagined. The motives underlying this treachery are more profound than anything we have witnessed thus far. I nodded, attempting to digest the data. "But why now?" What does this individual want from you? Kendrick did not respond right away. His eyes were slanted as though he was fighting with his own ideas, his attention fixed on the paper in front of him. At last, he raised his gaze to me; the intensity of his expression was clear. "It's someone I trusted," he continued, his voice strained. Someone I never imagined would betray me. Now all I have created is under danger. A cold ran down my back. Betrayal was one thing; betrayal from someone so near, someone Kendrick had worked with, trusted, and maybe even called friend, was another. "But why didn't you let me know about this sooner?" I enquired, the words escaping my lips before I could prevent it. He didn't flinch, but the ensuing quiet was profound. Every day had been a rollercoaster of discoveries, each one more devastating than the last. When it came to Kendrick, I had come to anticipate the unanticipated; but, this? This was unique. He added softly, "I didn't want to involve you into it." Sofia, you're already in it. But now we must confront reality. The mole's motivations are only the beginning. My stomach turned and I gulped. Could you clarify? Kendrick's gaze connected with mine, and I saw the gloom. There is more. So considerably more. It might ruin everything, too. The revelation hovered between us like a choking cloud. I had knew Kendrick had secrets, but I hadn't anticipated them to be so intertwined with the destiny of his empire, and my own. As though the weight of everything was now settling in, he reclined in his chair and rubbed his temples with his fingers. What now then? I said softly but resolutely. "How can we prevent this?" Kendrick's eyes turned to mine; the tension was still there, but something more remained as well. A weakness. A terror I had never witnessed in him before. "I'm doing all I can to correct this," he added, nearly whispering. "But stopping the mole isn't all there is. Sofia, there is a conspiracy. One that transcends mere commerce. It's... personal. My heart pounding, I moved closer to him. "Personal?" The term seemed strange in my mouth, so I spoke it again. "Yes," he answered, turning away as though the words themselves hurt. This mole is not operating alone. Their participation in Blackwell Enterprises is only one component of a far bigger jigsaw. There are somebody out there who have been exploiting me, exploiting all of us. His remarks made me feel heavy in my chest. The truth appeared to become more elusive with every passing second for all the enquiries I had asked, for all the responses Kendrick had provided. Kendrick, his voice rising, added, "Sofia, I'm not going to let them ruin us." Though I need you to believe me. I want you now more than ever. I gazed at him, the guy who had once been so confident of everything, now standing before me exposed and unsure. I wished to trust him. I wanted to believe him, but the secrets he had kept concealed from me, the fragments of his history, made it so much more difficult. Just tell me the truth. Tell me all. As if collecting the fortitude to speak what had been left untold for too long, he shut his eyes for a minute. I never wanted you to learn this way. But this... it's more than simply us. And it's coming for all we have created.