33. Thirty-Three

Thirty-Three

Kendrick

The beach house is eerily quiet, the rhythmic crash of the waves outside the only sound in the stillness of the night. Cassidy’s soft breathing drifts down the hallway, her sleep undisturbed, as I sit on the couch, staring at the half-empty glass of water in my hand.

The events of the past few hours swirl in my mind—Cass’s heartfelt confession on live TV about Cassidy, the way his voice trembled with pride as he called her his daughter. It should have been a moment of relief, a weight finally lifted. Instead, a feeling of fear grips me tighter when I think about how Derrick will take the public announcement.

My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of tires crunching against the gravel driveway. My chest tightens. It’s late—too late for visitors. I glance at the clock—3:17 a.m.

The headlights switch off, plunging the driveway into darkness again. I stand, setting my glass down, and move toward the window, careful not to make a sound. A figure steps out of the car, tall and imposing. My breath catches.

Derrick.

My stomach drops. What could he possibly want at this hour?

A loud, aggressive knock shatters the stillness. I hesitate, my pulse pounding in my ears. The knock comes again, harder this time, insistent. I glance toward Cassidy’s room upstairs, hoping her door is still closed. Whatever happens next, I’ll protect her from it.

I steel myself and open the door. Derrick stands there, his tailored suit looking out of place against the casual beach backdrop. His expression is cold, his jaw tight, and his eyes glint with something between anger and loathing.

“Derrick?” I ask, keeping my voice low, not wanting to wake Cassidy. “What are you doing here?”

He doesn’t bother with pleasantries, pushing past me into the house. “We need to talk,” he says sharply.

“I don’t think we do,” I counter, shutting the door and stepping into the living room, where he’s already pacing like a caged predator. “Whatever it is, it can wait until morning.”

“No, Kendrick, it can’t,” Derrick snaps, his voice low but venomous. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

I cross my arms, narrowing my eyes. “What I’ve done? I haven’t done anything, Derrick.”

He spins to face me, his movements abrupt and aggressive. “You and your daughter—this little family fantasy you’ve cooked up with Cass—it’s ruining everything.”

I take a step back, refusing to allow his heated accusation to break my composure. “Ruining what, exactly? Cass finally knows the truth–about Cassidy. That’s what matters.”

“The truth?” Derrick scoffs, his laugh sharp and humorless. “The truth is you should have stayed gone. You and Cassidy don’t belong in Cass’s life. You’ll destroy him.”

My jaw tightens. “That’s not your decision to make.”

“It was,” he hisses, stepping closer. “Do you think he’d be where he is now if you’d stuck around with your baby in tow? No, Kendrick. You’d have dragged him down.”

His words strike a nerve, but I refuse to let him see how much they hurt. “You don’t know what would have happened, Derrick. You don’t know anything about us.”

“Oh, I know plenty,” he sneers, his face inches from mine now. “You left because I made sure of it. No way Cass figured out the truth on his own. You told him about Cassidy, didn’t you?”

I shake my head, refusing to give him the satisfaction. “I didn’t tell him anything.”

“Liar,” Derrick spits, his voice rising. “You’ve been biding your time, waiting for the right moment to weasel your way back into his life.”

“I didn’t tell him!” I snap, my voice shaking now. “He figured it out himself. He’s not stupid, Derrick. He put the pieces together.”

His eyes narrow, studying me as though trying to determine if I’m lying. Then he lets out a bitter laugh. “It doesn’t matter how he found out. What matters is that you’re here now, undoing years of work.”

“Years of work?” I echo, my voice incredulous. “Is that all you care about? His career? His image? He’s a person, Derrick. A father. He deserved to know that he had a daughter.”

Derrick’s expression hardens, his voice dropping to a dangerous level. “I was going to fix it, you know. The paternity test. I had it handled until some idiot lab tech told Cass when he called.”

My stomach twists, bile rising in my throat. “You were going to tamper with a paternity test?” My voice is barely above a whisper, disbelief mingling with fury.

Derrick smirks, unrepentant. “Of course. Cass didn’t need to know the truth. I was protecting him.”

“Protecting him?” I repeat, my voice rising. “You were protecting yourself. Your paycheck.”

Derrick takes a step closer, his towering presence suffocating. “You should have stayed gone, Kendrick. I gave you enough money to raise that kid on your own. You had no business coming back.”

My breath catches, memories of that day flashing before my eyes—the coldness in his voice, the contract he shoved in my face, the check he handed over like I was some charity case.

“I did what I thought was best for Cass,” I say, my voice trembling. “But I’m not leaving again. Not now. Not ever.”

Derrick’s face contorts with rage, and for a moment, I think he might actually hit me. But before he can say or do anything, another voice cuts through the tension like a knife.

“Derrick, what the hell are you doing here?”

I whirl around to see Cass standing in the doorway, his expression dark, his fists clenched at his sides. His gaze shifts from me to Derrick, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

“Cass,” Derrick begins, his tone shifting to something almost placating. “You’re back.”

“Yeah, I live here,” Cass says coldly, stepping further into the room. “Now, answer my question because it looks like you were threatening Kendrick.”

Derrick stubbornly closes his mouth, his lips thinning. Cass turns his attention to me, his eyes softening. “Kendrick, what’s going on here?”

I hesitate, my throat tightening under the weight of the truth. “Cass... Derrick was the one–”

Derrick cuts me off as he turns to Cass. “You made a mistake, Cass. I’m here to correct it.”

“Firing you was not a mistake, Derrick,” Cass says, and I gasp at the news.

Cass towers over his manager, his voice calm but ice-cold. “For too long, I’ve let you call the shots. That’s over. You don’t control me anymore.”

“Cass. You need to reconsider,” Derrick demands. “You’re nothing without me. I made you.”

“You didn’t make me! My success came from my talent and my hard work—not from you.”

Derrick lets out a bitter laugh, his eyes narrowing dangerously. “That’s what you think. Let me tell you something, Cass. I’m the one who made you a star.”

Cass folds his arms across his chest, unwilling to rise to the bait.

Derrick’s laugh deepens, taking on a sinister edge. “You really have no idea, do you? No idea what I’ve done for you. What I’ve sacrificed to keep you on track.” He points his finger at me as he steps closer to Cass, his face twisted with a mix of anger and smug satisfaction. “You think Kendrick left because she wanted to? Wrong. She left because of me.”

The air shifts, heavy with his confession, his words slicing through Cass and me like a blade. My breath hitches at Derrick’s words, and my eyes flick to Cass as he gives a confused shake of his head, not understanding. With a fierce frown, he leans menacingly toward Derrick. “What are you talking about?”

Derrick grins, clearly relishing the moment. “When I found out Kendrick was pregnant, I knew she’d ruin everything. A baby? You were on the brink of greatness, Cass, and she was going to drag you down. So, I did what I had to do.” His finger still pointing at me in accusation.

Cass stands frozen as if rooted in place. “What you had to do? What the hell does that mean, Derrick?” He demands harshly.

“It means I made her leave,” Derrick says coldly, his tone as sharp as glass–no remorse. “I had Kendrick sign an NDA, gave her enough money to make her understand how serious I was, and made it crystal clear that if she told you about the baby, your career would be over before it even started.”

For a moment, Cass looks like he can’t breathe. His eyes narrow as Derrick’s words sink in.

Cass turns to look at me. Seeing the truth in my sorrow-filled eyes, his features twist harshly. All those years of pain, of wondering why I left without a word, seem to come rushing back in a tidal wave of anger and betrayal.

He turns furious eyes on Derrick. “You… you forced her to leave?” Cass’s voice is low–dangerous, barely recognizable as his.

“I did what needed to be done,” Derrick snaps, his bravado faltering under Cass’s glare. “You should be thanking me. I saved your career. I made you who you are.”

Cass takes a step forward, and Derrick instinctively backs up, his confidence finally cracking. “You didn’t save anything,” he growls, his voice shaking with rage. “You destroyed the best thing that ever happened to me. You stole years from us.”

Derrick opens his mouth to respond, but Cass cuts him off, his fury boiling over. “Get out. Get out, and don’t ever come near us again. You lied to me. If you ever come near my family, I swear—“

“You’re making a mistake,” Derrick snaps, his voice rising, desperate now. “You’ll regret this, Cass. Just wait—you’ll see.”

Cass points to the door, his hand trembling with pent-up anger. “The only thing I regret is not firing you sooner.”

For a moment, Derrick just stares at him, his face pale and drawn. Then, he turns to me, his eyes filled with so much hatred that I shudder. Without another word, he storms out, slamming the door behind him.

The silence that follows is deafening. Cass turns to me, his expression crumbling as he steps closer. “Kendrick... I’m so sorry. For everything.”

Tears spill down my cheeks as I shake my head. “It wasn’t your fault, Cass. You didn’t know.”

He pulls me into his arms, holding me tightly as if afraid to let go. “I know now,” he murmurs, his voice thick with emotion. “And I’m not letting anyone take you or Cassidy away from me again.”

I cling to him, the weight of the past finally lifting as we stand together in the quiet of the night, stronger than ever. At least now, Cass knows what really happened.