Wicked Love (Wicked White Series Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

been told I need a college degree for that.
    I don’t like the idea of leaving Dad in his current state. He’s been really depressed since everything’s gone down and is overly emotional. I let out a big sigh as I stand there looking at my room for the last time. This is totally heartbreaking. I’ve lost everything—my house, the people I used to think were my friends, and even my mom because of all this. She can’t take being poor. At least that’s what she told us when she left two months ago after Dad broke the news about what was happening to him at his job. Even though Dad explained that he wasn’t responsible for taking all the money that the investigators claimed was missing, he did confess to taking a little extra money off the top of his company’s profits. Dad was the CFO, so he controlled the money, and when the VP of the company discovered what Dad had done, he took millions of dollars from the company and set it up so that my dad would take the fall for all the missing money. Once my dad’s lawyers dug into everything, they were able to provide the court with a paper trail leading back to the VP, which is how my father escaped without any jail time.
    Even with that, the damage to his career was done. He says no other company will even consider hiring him after everything that’s happened.
    My mother couldn’t stomach the fact that she was married to a broke criminal, so she left, and hasn’t contacted either me or Dad since.
    Mom is now dating her plastic surgeon, according to her social media page.
    Money is a crazy thing. When you have it, people stick to you like glue. When you hit rock bottom, people scamper away and never look back.
    “You ready, kiddo?” Dad asks. “We have a long drive ahead of us.”
    “Yeah, I’m ready. I was just, you know . . .” I mumble.
    “I know,” he says softly, while giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “I am so sorry about all of this, Avery.”
    I pat his hand that’s resting on my shoulder. “I know, Dad. You don’t have to keep apologizing to me.”
    “But I do. I feel like I’ve ruined your life.”
    “It’s going to be okay, Dad. Me and you . . . we’re a team.”
    He gives me a small smile. “I’m so lucky to be your dad. Thank you for not giving up on me.”
    I turn and wrap my arms around him. “I’ll never give up.”
    It’s taken a couple months for me to forgive him for everything, and a small part of me hoped that Mom would come around like I did, but I’m not holding my breath for that to happen anymore.
    I put a lot of the blame for what’s happening to our family on her. If she wasn’t so greedy and hooked on impressing everyone, Dad probably wouldn’t have felt compelled to take money that wasn’t his to take in order to support Mom’s lavish lifestyle.
    Dad pulls back and frowns. “We should get going if we want to make it to Granny’s before dark.”
    I nod. “Okay. I’ll be right down.”
    As I watch Dad leave my room for the very last time, I think about how much has changed between us over the past couple of months.
    Dad’s always been the more nurturing parent, so I’m glad he’s the one here to comfort me. He may not say much—less is more with him—but I know he’s always there for me, which is why, right now, I need to be there for him. It’s safe to say we won’t be having an emotional therapy session during our drive to Granny’s because we’ve already had enough talks about the situation. We’ve become really close the last couple of months. He used to be one of those stereotypical workaholic guys before he lost his CFO job at McMullen’s Candy. I think he feels bad about not being around all those years, because lately he’s been trying pretty hard to spend all his time with me. I think he feels responsible for Mom leaving, but he shouldn’t take the blame for her walking out. That was her choice.
    When I called Granny a couple months ago to report the news that Mom had left, she