Scandalous

The third installment in L.J. Shen's Sinners of Saint contemporary romance series is set in the affluent fictional town of Todos Santos, California, and alternates between the perspectives of its two protagonists: Edie Van Der Zee, an eighteen-year-old high school senior from a wealthy family, and Trent Rexroth, a thirty-three-year-old single father and self-made millionaire.

The novel opens with Edie disguised in a black hoodie on the Todos Santos promenade, pickpocketing wealthy passersby because she desperately needs cash. She snatches a designer bag from an older woman but is caught and pinned against a wall by the woman's son, Trent Rexroth. Trent is a business partner of Edie's father, Jordan Van Der Zee, at Fiscal Heights Holdings (FHH), an investment firm they co-own with three other partners. Rather than turning Edie in, Trent tells her he will hold this as leverage, calling her a "potential sacrifice" useful for keeping Jordan in line. Edie drives off shaken, hating Trent but feeling intensely alive in his presence.

Trent's personal life centers on his four-year-old daughter, Luna, who has not spoken a word since around age two despite having no physical impediment. Luna's mother, Val (Valenciana Vasquez), abandoned the family when Luna was one year old. Trent has hired a private investigator, Amanda Campbell, to locate Val so he can secure full legal custody. Despite his resources, Trent feels helpless as a father: Luna has never smiled at him.

Jordan orders Edie to work at FHH, threatening to send away "Theodore," a person whose identity remains withheld but who holds enormous sway over Edie. Edie has burned her Ivy League acceptance letters to stay in California near this person. Trent initially opposes Edie's hiring but reverses his vote after witnessing Luna respond warmly to Edie in the break room, smiling and nodding in ways she rarely does with anyone. Jordan then blackmails Edie into spying on Trent, demanding she find his electronic devices, schedules, and a safe. If Edie refuses, Jordan will transfer Theodore to a distant facility and cut off medication for Edie's mother, Lydia, who has a severe mental health condition and is consumed by paranoia about Jordan's affairs. Edie reluctantly agrees.

Physical tension between Trent and Edie escalates through a series of charged encounters. He catches her at an old reservoir with Bane (Roman Protsenko), her sometime boyfriend, and forces her into his car, telling her she must remain celibate while spending time with Luna. Later, Edie walks in on Trent having sex with Luna's therapist, Sonya, in his office. Their mutual jealousy sharpens.

Trent asks Edie to babysit Luna one Friday. Edie breaks all of Trent's strict rules, ordering pizza and giving Luna soda. At bedtime, Luna speaks two words to Edie: "Me, too." This breakthrough transforms Trent's feelings. He gives Edie $12,000 in cash, the exact monthly amount she needs, without asking why.

In the FHH mail room, they negotiate terms for a sexual arrangement: no kissing, no relationship, no Saturdays, and Trent must attend sign language classes with Luna. In exchange for $12,000 monthly, Edie will stop stealing from him. Each warns the other that betrayal remains possible. Their relationship intensifies over subsequent weeks, and Trent ends his casual arrangement with Sonya. Meanwhile, Edie continues passing stolen items to Jordan, who reveals he plans to take over FHH and destroy Trent.

Jordan demands the flash drive containing Trent's sensitive business information with renewed urgency. Edie makes a counter-deal: She will retrieve the flash drive if Jordan signs legal documents granting her and Theo freedom from his control. At a barbecue hosted by Trent's FHH partner Baron "Vicious" Spencer, Edie defends Luna from a child's cruelty, and Trent, deeply moved, kisses Edie on the lips for the first time, breaking his own rule. He compares them to the biblical figures Samson and Delilah, acknowledging she may destroy him but wanting her regardless.

That evening, Edie returns home to find Lydia on the kitchen floor, having overdosed on pills after Jordan told her he was leaving. Lydia survives but falls into a coma. At the hospital, Edie finally reveals her secret: Theo is her twelve-year-old brother, who has autism, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy. Jordan placed Theo in a group home and forces Edie to pay $12,000 monthly to keep him there. Saturdays are her only permitted visiting day. Trent stays the night at the hospital and later arranges a special visit to Theo, bonding with the boy over football. He also secretly secures Lydia's admission to a rehabilitation facility.

Trent then deliberately places his flash drive on his desk, leaves his office unlocked, and takes the day off, sacrificing his own security for Edie's sake. Edie takes the flash drive but walks into Jordan's office and refuses to hand it over, declaring she is in love with Trent. Jordan attacks her, fires her, and kicks her out of the house. Edie counters that social services, alerted by Sonya, is already investigating Theo's case.

When Edie goes to Trent's apartment, she finds Val there with Luna. Val has returned, and Jordan appears to reveal his scheme: He has been in a secret relationship with Val for years, housing her in Atlanta. He purchased FHH shares to get close to Trent and destroy him because Trent unknowingly fathered Luna with Val, whom Jordan considered his own partner. Jordan presents fabricated evidence of Trent's unfitness as a parent and demands his resignation. Trent refuses.

Edie flees to the houseboat of Bane, whose mother turns out to be Sonya. Sonya tells Edie that Trent is in love with her. Trent sends his three FHH partners, including Dean Cole and Jaime Followhill, to gather information from Edie. She cooperates fully, revealing Jordan's abuse and details that lead Dean to deduce Jordan had been drugging Lydia's tea with prescription medications to keep her dependent.

Trent confronts Jordan with years of evidence compiled by Amanda: Jordan's fortune was built on purchasing prescription drugs and laundering the profits through offshore companies. Trent forces Jordan to sign documents surrendering FHH and custody of Theo and destroying all fabricated material. FBI agents arrest Jordan. Val, also implicated, signs over full custody of Luna.

Vicious reveals to Trent that Edie never gave Jordan the flash drive. At dawn, Trent leaves a trail of rare seashells from Bane's houseboat to the alley where he first confronted Edie. She follows the trail and finds him waiting. They confess their love openly.

In the epilogue, set roughly a year later, Edie and Trent live together with Luna and Theo. Edie runs a surf club; Trent has scaled back his work hours. Lydia visits on weekends, and Jordan is in jail. Luna communicates through sign language but still does not speak aloud. Trent proposes to Edie, and Luna, witnessing the moment, speaks for the first time in her father's presence: "Say yes." In a final flash-forward, Edie places Trent's hand on her stomach, signaling she is pregnant, as the novel closes on their imperfect, hard-won family.