Aaron couldn't help but commend himself on his acting skills. Gray seemed utterly unsuspicious about where the evidence against him came from. He wouldn't have acted the way he did on the phone otherwise.
He and Keeley had discussed this possibility. As a worst case scenario, even if a good lawyer managed to reduce his sentence, there was no way Gray would be able to get off completely. Not being found near the scene of the crime without a valid alibi anymore.
He sincerely hoped the police would be able to prove it had been premeditated. Then Gray would be out of their hair for a minimum of 20 years. After that…well, they would cross that bridge when they got to it.
He had already contacted Neal Ashley and told him the simple version of the situation. It wouldn't do for the lawyer to know more than Aaron supposedly did when he showed up at the precinct. He passed on exactly what Gray had said over the phone and nothing more.
They had gotten an arrest but it could take a while to get a conviction; especially if this went to trial. Knowing his brother, Aaron doubted it would. He would know he was cornered and most likely plead guilty in the attempt to get a lighter sentence.
So now what?
All of Aaron's enemies had been dealt with so he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. Lacy was dead. His father was so humiliated it would be a miracle if he ever showed his face in public again. Gray was going to be in jail for a long, long time.
He supposed there were still Max Lynch and Dr. Rothman to contend with. But Max hadn't been involved in any of Lacy's schemes since the drugging incident in high school; Aiden had checked. And he was a shell of his former self now that she was dead. Perhaps he had been punished enough.
As for Dr. Rothman…the malpractice suit got covered up in this life but not expunged. All Aaron had to do was force it back into the spotlight and he would probably be fired from the prestigious hospital he worked at and have a hard time finding a new job.
Was it enough of a punishment? No, but Aaron was feeling merciful these days. It was probably because he was so happy.
Brann Knighton's only child was dead. He didn't need any further punishment either.
Aaron wasn't even sure what to do with himself now. Aside from his earlier idea to have Aiden spearhead a new side project for the company, there weren't any other major changes he could think of implementing right now. The global expansion was already well underway.
He hadn't become the CEO for another six years in his first life. How much more growth could he implement in that time?
The problem was that doing things too differently earlier could throw the entire progression of the company off. He knew certain major events in the finance world that were coming but how could he act on them accordingly if the situation had changed?
Aaron would have to plan carefully before proceeding from here. Hale Investments had gone through a huge boom in the 2020s and 2030s. There had to be things he could do now that wouldn't negatively affect that but would still benefit the company.
Keeley was right; he was a workaholic. He was a lot better than he used to be but he still thrived off of challenges in business. It was all he really knew.
Waiting things out without actively working toward the expansion for another six years would get awfully dull. There had to be something he could do without affecting future events too much.
Unfortunately, by the end of the workday Aaron still didn't have any ideas. He pushed those concerns out of his mind. Right now it was family time.
Keeley was in the middle of making dinner when he arrived home. He snuck up behind her and grabbed her, spinning her around. At first she shrieked in protest but then she started to laugh.
"Don't scare me like that," she scolded. "Why do you always have to sneak up on me?"
"Because it's fun," he said with a grin.
Aaron hadn't felt free enough to fully enjoy his wife's company in their first life but now there was nothing holding him back. He could be as goofy or lovesick as he wanted and there was no one there to stop him.
Besides, it was fun getting a reaction out of her. When she rolled her eyes at him the light would reflect off her irises, revealing specks of gold. So beautiful.
He set her down before giving her a long kiss that she eagerly responded to for a couple minutes before pushing him off.
"I'd like to eat sometime today," Keeley said with a smirk. "If you had your way, dinner would never get done."
Aaron couldn't deny it. But what could he say? He really loved kissing his wife.
He headed to the living room and picked up both of the babies, bringing them into the kitchen so he could have all of his family surrounding him at once. They seemed happy to see him and immediately began to giggle.
"So, tell me about your day," he said as he walked over to the edge of the counter, still bouncing the twins in his arms.
Keeley shrugged. "It was like any other day, really. Lots of diaper changes. Kaleb was pretty fussy all day. I think he might be teething. I ended up taking them outside to go buy some teething rings and then he calmed down a little."
"You didn't get mobbed again, did you?"
"Oddly enough, no. I guess the gossip finally did move onto something else."
Aaron was pretty sure he knew what. News of Gray's arrest had reached him before he had gotten the phone call. Apparently he got taken away in the middle of a restaurant and a ton of people eating there had posted about it. Graydon Meyer was trending.
Yet another thing to be oddly grateful to that terrifying man for. Keeley finally got some peace. After everything that happened in both of their lives, he could finally consider them even. It was all over now.
Well, not completely over. Gray would probably expect Aaron to visit him in prison now and then. It would be annoying but less bothersome than having a bad relationship if he ever got released. He wanted to stay on the man's good side no matter what.