Chapter 152: You Told Me to Do It

Dominic had expected a relatively peaceful recovery.

Apparently, that had been overly optimistic.

"What did you just say?"

The lawyer sitting across from him didn’t look particularly pleased to be delivering the news either.

"Andrew Callahan is claiming that you instructed him to destroy Alexander Vance’s workshop."

Dominic stared at him.

For several seconds, he genuinely couldn’t think of an appropriate response.

Then he found one.

"Bullshit."

His lawyer sighed.

"Yes, well, we’re going to need something more useful than that."

"I was hoping bullshit would cover it."

"Unfortunately not."

Dominic leaned back carefully against the sofa.

His incision still hurt if he moved the wrong way. He’d donated a kidney, spent days in the hospital, and had only recently returned home to continue recuperating.

Apparently, somewhere between taking medication and trying not to tear his stitches whenever he coughed, he’d also found the time to become an arson mastermind.

"When did I supposedly tell him to do this?"

"At the art gallery."

Dominic’s expression changed.

"The art gallery?"

"Yes."

"The same art gallery where he assaulted me?"

"That’s the one."

"The same incident that resulted in me calling the police?"

"Yes."

"And getting a restraining order against him?"

His lawyer nodded.

Dominic stared at him.

"This is somehow getting stupider."

Unfortunately, Andrew’s version wasn’t quite as stupid as Dominic would’ve preferred.

According to him, the confrontation at the gallery hadn’t been about Andrew refusing to accept the end of their relationship.

They had supposedly met to discuss Alexander.

Andrew claimed Dominic had been furious that Alexander was doing well after their failed wedding and wanted Second Life Workshop destroyed.

According to Andrew, the argument started because Andrew refused.

Dominic nearly laughed when his lawyer explained that part.

Nearly.

His abdomen reminded him that laughing remained a terrible idea.

"So let me understand this correctly. I supposedly told Andrew to burn down Alexander’s workshop. Andrew refused. We fought about it. I called the police on him, had him arrested, got a restraining order, stopped speaking to him, and then he burned down the workshop anyway?"

"That appears to be his version."

"That’s his defense?"

"It’s his accusation."

"It’s idiotic."

"It doesn’t have to be particularly intelligent for the police to ask questions."

Dominic closed his eyes.

Wonderful.

Andrew told the story differently.

"You told me to do it."

Dominic looked at him across the room.

The lawyers and investigators were probably the only reason Andrew was close enough for Dominic to hear him say that without violating the restraining order.

Dominic almost wished he hadn’t heard it.

"No, I didn’t."

"Yes, you did."

"When?"

"At the gallery."

Dominic laughed once, then immediately pressed a hand to his side.

Even that had been a mistake.

"You mean when you attacked me?"

"I didn’t attack you."

"You put your hands on me."

"Because we were arguing!"

"About you refusing to leave me alone."

Andrew shook his head.

"No. We were arguing about Alexander."

Dominic stared at him.

Andrew continued before he could respond.

"You were angry about the workshop. You said he’d humiliated you enough and you wanted it gone."

"I never said that."

"You told me to take care of it."

"No, I didn’t."

"You said you didn’t care how."

"Andrew."

"You wanted the workshop destroyed."

"Stop lying."

"I’m not lying!"

"Yes, you are!"

The room went quiet.

Dominic forced himself to lower his voice.

Getting worked up wasn’t helping his recovery, and it certainly wasn’t going to make Andrew suddenly develop a conscience.

Andrew leaned forward.

"You told me to burn it."

"No."

"You said Alexander cared about that place more than anything else."

"No."

"You said if I still loved you, I’d prove it."

Dominic’s jaw tightened.

That one was almost impressive.

Not because it was true.

Because Andrew was apparently willing to lie through every tooth in his head if it meant dragging Dominic down with him.

"And what did you supposedly say?" Dominic asked.

Andrew hesitated.

"I told you it was crazy."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"And that’s why we fought?"

"Yes."

Dominic nodded slowly.

"So you refused to commit arson for me."

"That’s what I’ve been saying."

"I called the police on you."

"Because we fought."

"I obtained a restraining order against you."

"You needed to make it look convincing."

Dominic actually stared at him.

There it was.

Every piece of evidence against Andrew’s story simply became another part of the conspiracy.

Apparently, Dominic had been very thorough.

"And after I supposedly went through all that trouble to make our disagreement look convincing, what happened next?"

Andrew’s expression hardened.

"You abandoned me."

"No. What happened with this supposed plan?"

"You still wanted it done."

"How would you know? I wasn’t speaking to you."

Andrew didn’t answer.

"I blocked you," Dominic continued. "I filed for a restraining order. We weren’t together. We hadn’t been together for quite some time. So when exactly did I tell you to go ahead with this brilliant plan?"

"You already gave the order."

"The order?"

"You told me what you wanted."

"At the gallery?"

"Yes."

"Before calling the police on you?"

"Yes."

Dominic looked toward his lawyer.

"Are we finished?"

Andrew abruptly stood.

"You told me to do it!"

"Sit down," someone ordered.

Andrew ignored him.

"You wanted Alexander to lose that workshop!"

Dominic’s patience finally snapped.

"I wanted you to leave me alone!"

Andrew went silent.

"So badly," Dominic continued, "that I called the police. So badly that I went to court and got an order legally requiring you to stay away from me. And somehow you’ve decided all of that means I secretly wanted you running errands for me?"

"You’re trying to save yourself."

"From what? Your imagination?"

"You used me!"

"No, Andrew. You’re trying to use me now."

That finally shut him up.

Dominic stared at the man he’d once defended against practically everyone.

It was almost difficult to reconcile that Andrew with this one.

Almost.

Then again, maybe Dominic had simply spent too much time seeing what he’d wanted to see.

His lawyer touched his arm.

"That’s enough."

Dominic agreed.

He had medical records establishing exactly where he’d been around the time of the fire. He had undergone surgery and was still recuperating when Andrew attacked the workshop.

More importantly, a documented history showed that Dominic had wanted Andrew out of his life.

Police involvement.

The gallery incident.

The restraining order.

The end of their relationship.

No calls arranging an attack.

No messages giving instructions.

No payments.

Nothing connecting Dominic to the fire except the word of the man caught on camera setting it.

Dominic slowly stood.

Andrew watched him.

"You’re just going to leave?"

"Yes."

"You can’t."

That almost made Dominic smile.

Apparently, Andrew still hadn’t learned.

"I already did."

"Dominic!"

He turned away.

"You told me to do it!"

Dominic stopped one last time.

He looked back.

"No, Andrew. I told you to stay away from me."

Then he left Andrew to explain the difference.