Now that Andrew had broken that damn, it all came spilling out. The anger, the hatred, and the reporter just sat there and let him speak. She'd closed her folder and everything.
"You know what? I didn't even know his damn name the whole time. I didn't know who he was, what he was to society until the Beckett's Christmas party just passed. I never cared to know. That's how little he meant to me. What do you mean that I have half of that man's dna in me? What a damn waste. Thank everything holy that I don't look like a carbon copy of him completely. I am so grateful I got my Mom's hair out of it. This isn't dyed. This is my natural hair." Andrew confirmed and she nodded, watching him.
Andrew could tell he was worked up, but the words wouldn't stop.
"My Mom worked herself to the bone to make sure his family knew they were excluded, and exactly why. What they had done was unforgivable, what they continue to do is unforgivable? How in the world are true alphas superior to other alphas? So what about the fact that you can bite several omegas? That just tells me you have commitment issues built in. Do better. It disgusts me that he took away my chance to have a fucking normal relationship with the man I love. And also, if you're going to have a lot of kids, at least show that you care about them after the age that they are supposed to manifest. Don't be a fucking rapist and a deadbeat." Andrew was completely off the handle.
Someone was giggling and Andrew hoped it was Kim. Or Jenny. Hell, even Luis. The reporter was being so professional that Andrew almost felt bad, but she nodded, encouraging him.
"My Mom was such a badass woman. She pivoted from being a florist into building her own fucking empire, and didn't tell me. Not once did she tell me that she was worth a small fortune. She predicted trends, built trends, and began to manage everyone's money. But theirs. She made it a point of pride to have your money managed by her company, and rejected his family over and over. Excluded them from leases, everything. She wouldn't let them near me. Wouldn't let them even know. Hid everything, so that they felt like they were going crazy. She then named the company after us." Andrew gestured broadly to where they were. "The A & D Firm? Stands for Andrew and Dianna Firm. She named this company after us. Not after them. Him, or anyone else. Sorry Kim." Andrew apologised and Kim let out a strangled sound.
"It's…okay Andy. Don't worry about me." Kim said and Andrew nodded.
"Mom and I never used the money they sent us. Never. Ever. Even in our worst moments before everything took off, we would rather starve than take a single damn cent from him." Andrew felt a little bit better getting that off of his chest. He took a few deep breaths, and then pushed his hair back, sitting back in the chair. "Despite what I've just said, my Mom never tried to influence me about my father. She let me come to my conclusions on my own. I thought the man was a piece of shit all on my own." Andrew told the reporter and she nodded.
"Well, that answers a few of the questions I had. So, from the moment you…manifested as a beta until now, you've had no contact with your father?" Andrew nodded.
"That's correct."
"And your Mom was Dianna Knox of the A & D Firm, which your Aunt, Kim Proctor, now runs as the sole CEO and founder?" Andrew nodded at her question.
"That's correct."
"I feel like, with all the information that you've given me, it wouldn't be a far fetched guess to suggest that your father is…Dennis Abraham. Is that correct?" Andrew gave a shrug.
"Sure. I refuse to learn his name." Andrew told her calmly and the reporter nodded.
"Well, it's the Abraham family that is making some claims about one of their grandchildren getting engaged over the weekend. Given that it was announced that you and your fiancé, Maxwell Beckett got engaged this weekend, that would be a safe assumption." Andrew nodded at her words. He shrugged.
"Sure. I think I've heard of the Abraham family before. They're a true alpha family, right?" Andrew wasn't meaning to be an asshole. He was genuinely asking the question. The reporter's lips twitched.
"Dr. Knox, are you being serious?" She asked and Andrew felt his eyes widen.
"Yes, I am. Did that sound sarcastic? I really meant that. I only know that the Proctor family is a true alpha family because of my aunt." Andrew confirmed and the reporter smirked, turning to her folder, flipping it open again.
"Well, let's ask a few more questions along the lines of what people want to know. When did you and your fiancé meet?" She asked and Andrew felt his shoulders relax.
"Ah. We met about a year ago. Max moved into the house next to my apartment and my Mom didn't raise a complete degenerate, so I brought over a casserole to welcome him to the family." Andrew told her and she nodded.
"That's fun. Did you two hit it off right away?" She asked and Andrew looked a little sheepish.
"Uh, as friends, yes. I was in a relationship when Max and I first met." That had the reporter stopping.
"You…" She seemed surprised and Andrew cleared it up right away.
"We did nothing, weren't even flirting with each other. Max respected that I was in a relationship. We spoke about it recently, before the engagement. He would have been happy just having me in his life if I continued dating her. But…she uh…" Andrew felt his face warm. "She accused me of using her clearance at work to tamper with a project she was working on and got me basically fired from my job so…we broke up." Andrew said and the reporter blinked.
"What? Please tell me more about this." Andrew was more awkward speaking about this than he was about anything else. He shifted nervously in his seat. Speaking about his father was easier than speaking about this.
"Well, my ex-girlfriend and I met when I worked at a…particular company. I am technically still employed there since they didn't fire me, just put me on…leave while they examined the case." Andrew said carefully and the reporter looked shocked, and not in a good way.
"What?"
"It's fine, I think. Max got really mad for me over this whole thing, but it's fine. She just…dragged my name through my field of employment and called me a bunch of names, and also denied our two year relationship in front of a room of our bosses, and also said I was an alpha when at the time I was absolutely not. I was still a beta. She used everyone's prejudices against me to get the people who knew me for five years to turn against me." Now that Andrew said it out loud, he realised that it was absolutely not fine.
The reporter shifted in her seat, her eyes lighting up.
"She did what? That's…that's incredibly…" She trailed off, upset and Andrew gave a toothy smile.
"It's fine. Max said he would handle it, and I believe him. I also found out she has a terrible history in the same field, and the only reason she got hired there was because of her aunt. She's been caught doing experiments on other betas." Andrew realised he'd made a slip up. The reporter went pale.
"Other betas? Did she experiment on you?" Andrew's mouth dropped open and he shook his head. Luis came running over.
"Nope. We're not talking about that. That could jeopardize the case. Please cut that part out." She declared, reaching over and cupping Andrew's face with her hands, forcing him to look at her. "Don't even go there. You don't need to. Stay here, Andy." Luis was speaking as if Andrew was about to go into shock.
He appreciated that she was ready to drag him out of it, but Andrew wasn't pale because he was back in that cold, cement room. He was pale for the same reason that Luis had said. He didn't want to jeopardize anything related to getting revenge on her.
The reporter made a cutting motion and the camera turned off. She got up, coming to stand next to Andrew's chair, her face contemplative as she watched Luis fuss over him.
"Off the record, since I never want to break something so horrifying, did she experiment on you, Dr. Knox?" She asked softly and Andrew wouldn't meet her gaze. Luis was furious. Like a spitting cat.
"You cannot-"
"This could endanger others, Luis. It's okay." Andrew spoke softly, holding onto the hands on his face. Luis swallowed thickly, still pissed. Andrew was kind of impressed that Jenny and Kim weren't as angry as she was. Luis, able to sense where his gaze was going, sighed.
"They had to go to a meeting, so they aren't here right now. They are going to be pissed hearing this." Luis muttered. Andrew gave one soft chuckle.
"Max is going to be more mad." Andrew countered and Luis' lips twitched.
"He will be." She agreed and Andrew finally worked up enough courage to turn to the reporter.
"I need no one to speak about this. Really. I mean it. We're pursuing legal action about this, but are still looking for some of the people involved." Andrew said and the reporter straightened, looking at her team.
"If any of them speak of it, they know who exactly will be dealing with them." She agreed. Andrew let out a shaky sigh.
"I was forced to manifest by my ex-girlfriend. She held me hostage with other medical professionals and pumped me full of a hormone cocktail that made me manifest." Andrew let out a shaky breath. "She lured me in with a laptop, drugged me at a cafe, kidnapped me and held me hostage for I think a week? It's a little blurry, honestly. It feels like a lifetime ago." Andrew told her and watched as the horror of the situation washed over her face. Andrew gave her a pitying smile.
"She's a monster." The reporter whispered and Andrew gave a loud laugh.
"I couldn't agree more. Max doesn't like when I speak her name, so sorry, but I can't tell you verbally. Maybe written, but," Andrew shrugged "it doesn't matter to me. I know that Max's got it handled." Andrew told her.
The reporter covered her mouth, horror written all over her face. Andrew slid his gaze to the others, curious about their reactions as Luis held his face still. Andrew felt his heart jerk in his chest at the sheer shock on some of their faces, and how some of them looked ill.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Someone muttered before rushing out of the room to do just that. Andrew blinked, then he felt his lips curl slightly. Right. It wasn't normal to be so chill about being kidnapped. Another thing to add to his therapy list.