Page 79 of Defending Love
“Do you have proof that someone paid for his murder?”
“No,” I admitted.
“When you get it, take it to the fucking police. Let them do their job.” He turned on Eli. “Your job was to keep my sister safe and defend her from danger, not fill her head with unfounded ideas.” His blue eyes were back on me. “Do you think I could or would have anything to do with Dad’s murder?”
Tears prickled the back of my eyes. “I don’t want to.”
“I loved Dad. I fucking respected him. It’s one of the reasons I wouldn’t bring up Preston Ayers to him. I knew he’d freak out.”
“Why would he freak out?”
Damien took a deep breath. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
My brother ran his hand over his dark-blond hair. “I didn’t ask questions. Dad said it was better that way.”
“Shit, Damien. What are you talking about? This could be why Dad is dead.”
“No,” he said adamantly. “What I’m referring to happened too long ago. Johnathon and Ella are working on the connection to our products. There’s a pending wrongful death case in Georgia. The family claims their 82-year-old father died from an allergic reaction to Sinclair Pharmaceuticals’ saline during surgery.”
“Saline allergies are rare.”
Damien nodded. “I called the Sumter County Sheriff’s Department yesterday with the information. They’re going to look into it.”
“If the patient had an allergy, it was up to them to disclose it. The anesthesiologist would be responsible, not Sinclair.”
“I know that,” Damien said. “Stephen said the same thing. People want to turn tragedy into a payday.”
“What didn’t you ask questions about?” Eli asked, stepping into the conversation.
My brother’s shoulders slouched. “Fine. I was the one who discovered the research for Propanolol. The dean of the university wanted to raise money to fund the ongoing research.”
“Eric Olsen?” I asked.
“No, his name was Oaks. Olsen was the dean of the research department. There were positive early results. I offered to buy their research, and my offer was turned down. I even tried to hire their scientists. When that didn’t work, I told Dad about it. It was when Darius was busy shitting all over Sinclair. Dad was intrigued with the uniqueness of the formula. Things got complicated after the university shut down the research.”
“Eric Olsen was killed, shot in broad daylight like Dad,” I said.
Damien nodded. “The university wasn’t giving up their results or even the formulas. The two main scientists disappeared. That’s when I found David Carpenter. He knew about the research because he was Eric Olsen’s son-in-law and had access to his personal notes.”
My voice quivered with trepidation. “Did Dad do something illegal to encourage David to work for Sinclair?”
“Dani, this was over five years ago, hell, eight at this point. I don’t know exactly what Dad did, but David recreated the formula. Our research was fast-tracked, and now Sinclair is a world competitor in the pharmaceutical world.”
The pieces were falling into place. “Preston Ayers was the dean of research in ’18. He’s who made a deal with Dad, and you say Dad didn’t like him. Why are we even considering adding him to the board?”
“Dad didn’t include me in on the agreement for the research. I don’t know what Dad’s beef was with him.”
“Stephen would know,” I said. “Wouldn’t he?”
“I don’t think we should rehash any of this. If anything came out, it could reflect poorly on Sinclair.”
I raised my voice. “It could find Dad’s killer.”
“Or,” Eli said, “it could get the two of you killed.” He looked at Damien. “Why haven’t you hired yourself a bodyguard?”
Damien stood taller. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”
