No Good News
1973 Words
Lana’s POV
“Lana.”
Damon stood the second I walked into the holding room.
For one stupid second, relief hit me so hard I almost forgot where we were.
Then I saw the cuffs.
The gray walls, the officer standing by the door and the defeated look on my brother’s face.
I pulled out the chair across from him slowly. “Sit down.”
He obeyed immediately.
That scared me more than anything else.
Usually Damon argued first.
Usually there was a joke. A grin. Some stupid comment meant to distract me long enough for him to escape the conversation.
Today, there was nothing.
Just silence stretching between us while dull lights buzzed overhead.
I set my bag on the table carefully. “Talk to me.”
Damon rubbed his hands together once before clasping them tightly. “You look tired.”
“I haven’t slept.”
His jaw tightened slightly at that.
At least he felt guilty.
“What happened?” I asked.
He stared at the metal table instead of me. “You already know what happened.”
“No. I know you were arrested. I know the company is under investigation. I know you somehow ended up in a holding cell before sunrise.” My voice stayed calm. Barely. “Everything else is still a mystery.”
He leaned back slowly and laughed under his breath.
“You always sound so put together even when everything’s falling apart.”
“Damon.”
His eyes lifted to mine finally.
And there it was again.
That guilt.
Heavy enough it practically sat between us.
“They found transfers,” he said quietly. “Money tied to gambling accounts.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
Some part of me had already started putting it together yesterday.
“The money came from the company?”
He didn’t answer fast enough.
I closed my eyes briefly.
“Damon—-”
“I was going to fix it.”
I laughed once and rubbed a hand over my forehead. “That’s your defense?”
“No.”
“Good because it’s terrible.”
“I know.”
Silence filled the room again.
Damon looked awful.
Wrinkled shirt with bloodshot eyes and dark circles under them like he hadn’t slept properly in weeks.
Months maybe.
How the hell had I missed this?
“How long?” I asked quietly.
His fingers tightened together.
“A while.”
“Damon.”
“A year.”
I stared at him.
A whole year.
A year of me trying to save the company while my own brother quietly bled it dry behind my back.
I leaned back in the chair slowly because suddenly I felt lightheaded.
“A year,” I repeated.
“I didn’t mean for it to get this bad.”
“But it did.”
He nodded once.
I looked away before the anger could fully reach my face.
I needed answers first.
“How much?”
His silence lasted too long.
Then—
“Over a million—”
The number hit me like a punch. “You gambled over a million dollars of my parents company?”
I let out a slow breath through my nose. “You’re unbelievable.”
“I know.”
“No, I genuinely don’t think you do.”
That finally got a reaction out of him.
His head snapped up slightly. “What was I supposed to do?”
I stared at him in disbelief. “Not gamble company money would’ve been a fantastic start.”
“You think I wanted this?”
“I think you’re sitting in jail because you made incredibly stupid decisions.”
His jaw tightened hard enough I saw the muscle jump.
For a second, I thought he’d argue again.
Instead he just looked down at the table and said quietly—
“I’m sorry.”
And just like that…
My anger melted.
Damn him.
Damn him for still being my little brother underneath all this mess.
I looked at his hands resting on the table.
Hands that used to grab mine crossing the street when he was little because he thought he was protecting me.
Hands that shook now.
God.
I reached forward before I could stop myself and wrapped my fingers around his.
Damon looked up immediately.
His eyes reddened slightly.
Mine probably did too.
“I’m going to get you out,” I said.
“Lana—”
“I said I will.”
“You don’t even know if bail’s possible yet.”
“Then I’ll figure it out.”
“That’s not how this works.”
“It is for me.”
He stared at me for a long second before shaking his head weakly.
“You shouldn’t have to keep fixing my disasters.”
I almost laughed at that.
“Bit late for that conversation.”
A tiny smile pulled at the corner of his mouth before disappearing again.
The officer knocked once against the doorway. “Time.”
Damon’s shoulders dropped immediately.
I stood slowly and picked up my bag.
Then paused beside him.
“When I get back,” I said, “you’re telling me everything.”
He looked away again.
“Damon.”
“I know.”
No.
He didn’t.
But I didn’t have time to deal with that yet.
I walked out of the holding room already reaching for my phone.
After all I had the best lawyers in New York.
~~~
“Miss Siegel, I’m very sorry, but my firm won’t be able to continue representing your brother.”
I stopped outside the prison entrance and tightened my grip on the phone.
“What?”
People moved around me while cold morning air cut through my clothes.
The lawyer on the other end lowered his voice slightly. “There are complications attached to the investigation.”
“You were willing to represent him last night.”
“Yes, well…” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Circumstances have changed.”
I stared out at the prison parking lot.
“Did someone get to you?”
Silence.
Then: “I think it’s best if you seek alternative counsel.”
The call ended thirty seconds later.
The second lawyer never answered.
The third finally called back while I sat on a concrete bench outside the prison entrance holding cold coffee I hadn’t touched.
“I can refer you elsewhere,” he said carefully, “but my office can’t be directly involved.”
“Why?”
Another pause.
“I’m sorry, Miss Siegel.”
Click.
I lowered the phone slowly.
Every conversation sounded the same.
Like someone had already warned them away from me before I even called.
My phone buzzed again.
Rachel.
I answered immediately. “Tell me you have good news.”
“I don’t.”
I leaned forward and pressed my fingers against my forehead.
“The company accounts are temporarily frozen pending investigation review.”
“Temporary meaning what exactly?”
“I don’t know yet.”
I laughed softly under my breath.
“What about the backup lines?”
“Tied up too.”
“Private assets?”
“Some are being reviewed.”
Some.
Not all.
Yet.
I looked up at the gray morning sky and suddenly realized I was still wearing yesterday’s clothes.
I smelled like stress, coffee, and prison air.
Fantastic.
“Bail?” I asked quietly.
Rachel hesitated.
That hesitation told me enough already.
“The judge denied it this morning.”
I closed my eyes.
“The prosecution’s arguing financial fraud tied directly to the ongoing hotel investigation,” she continued carefully. “The paper trail is… extensive.”
Too extensive.
Like someone built it deliberately.
That thought hit me hard enough I sat up straighter.
No.
No, this wasn’t random anymore.
Someone was moving pieces.
Inside my company.
Inside Damon’s life.
Inside everything.
And I still couldn’t see their face.
“Lana?”
I realized Rachel was still talking.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “I’m here.”
“What do you want me to do?”
For the first time in years…
I genuinely had no answer, and it terrified me more than loosing the company
The call ended a few minutes later.
I stayed sitting there anyway with cold coffee between my hands.
No sleep.
No money.
No lawyer.
No plan.
What the hell do I do?
“Damn,” Maya’s voice came softly behind me, startling me a bit.“You look worse somehow.”
I looked up too tired to even react properly.
She walked over carrying two coffees and sat beside me without asking permission.
Of course she did.
That was Maya.
“You came.”
“You really thought I wouldn’t?”
I took the coffee from her carefully. “I didn’t call.”
“You didn’t have to.”
For a second neither of us spoke.
Cars moved slowly through the parking lot ahead of us while morning traffic started building somewhere beyond the prison gates.
Normal people were heading to work.
Meanwhile my life was imploding before breakfast.
Maya studied my face quietly. “How bad is it?”
I stared down at the coffee cup.
“Bail was denied.”
Her expression shifted immediately.
“The lawyers are backing out too.” My voice sounded flat even to me. “Every single one.”
“What?”
“Someone got to them first.”
Maya frowned. “You sure?”
“I’m not stupid.”
“No one said you were.”
I leaned back against the bench slowly.
“The accounts are frozen. Damon’s tied directly to the investigation. Every contact I have suddenly sounds terrified to speak to me for more than thirty seconds.” I laughed weakly. “Honestly? At this point I’m waiting for someone to tell me the building’s on fire too.”
Maya stayed quiet while I spoke.
Just listening. She was always good at that.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” I admitted finally.
Maya stared ahead for a long moment before speaking carefully.
“There might be one person who can help.”
I already knew the name before she said it.
My grip tightened around the coffee cup immediately.
“No.”
Maya exhaled softly. “Lana—”
“No.”
“You haven’t even let me finish.”
“I don’t need you to.”
Because there was only one man in New York powerful enough to make lawyers disappear overnight.
Only one man connected enough to cut through financial investigations like they were nothing.
Only one man I hated enough to rather drown than owe again.
Zade Forbes
Maya watched my face carefully.
“You said every other option is gone.”
“I’ll find another one.”
“How?”
I stood immediately, nearly spilling the coffee over my hand.
“I said no.”
Maya stood too, calm in a way that somehow made me angrier.
“Okay.”
That stopped me.
I expected arguing.
She adjusted the sleeve of her coat slightly before speaking again.
“Then what’s the plan?”
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
Maya’s voice stayed gentle.
“Damon stays here?”
I looked away.
“The investigation keeps growing?”
Silence.
“You lose the company anyway?”
“Stop.”
She did immediately and somehow that felt worse.
I remained silent considering my options. I could take a loan and hire a good lawyer..
But I didn't have any collateral and I doubt the bank would want to lend a dying company a single dollar.
And even if I did manage to get the money, no lawyer would want to work with us anyway.
Tsk… I hated the thought more than I admit it.
I had to go see my goddamn ex.
- Writer
