Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
“Dad,” I say, “it doesn’t matter. You’re still a Steel. And you may have a full-blooded sister, who is also a Steel. None of this matters anymore. We are who we are.”
“Ava,” Mom says, “your sister doesn’t know any of this yet.”
“She’s strong. She’ll be okay.”
Mom doesn’t look like she believes me, and I know from experience that it will be difficult for Gina. Hell, it was difficult for me. But Gina is strong. She will be okay.
“All right,” Dad says. “Tell me. Tell me everything you know.”
“I don’t know a lot, but here is the information that I just got. There aren’t any names, but it appears that this Fleming Corporation was behind the attempt on Talon’s life.”
“Shocking.” Dad rolls his eyes.
“My daughter was a lot more involved than I would have preferred her to be. Her psychiatrist says she has a personality disorder that will be hard to treat. However, she’s willing to do the work.”
“None of us wants the nurse who tried to poison my brother to be charged,” Dad says. “She did it under duress. Her daughter was threatened.”
“Yes, I know. It’s all here in these documents.”
“Tell me,” I say to Doc, “what does Brittany say about Pat Lamone?”
“They’ve been on-again, off-again for so long, but she hasn’t said anything about him recently.”
“He’s responsible for some bad stuff when he was younger,” I say. “He poisoned my cousin Diana, and he drugged Rory and Callie Pike and took compromising photos of them.”
“Yes. Brittany told me. And she told me about her involvement in the same thing.”
“Statutes of limitations have long passed,” Dad says, “but we can’t let Pat Lamone get away with this.”
“I don’t know that we have a choice,” Mom says. “He’s a Steel. And he’s Lauren’s son. And if Lauren turns out to be—”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Dad says, turning back to Doc. “What about this trafficking ring?”
“From what I can understand from all this,” Doc says, “and you’re welcome to look at it, everything is supposed to cease to exist upon Wendy’s death.”
“Yeah. But there are other people involved,” Mom says. “Other people making a ton of money doing this. So my guess is…” She lets out a sigh.
“I agree with you, sweetie,” Dad says. “The ring will rise again. All we can do is make sure they stay far away from our property and our family.”
“Absolutely,” Mom says.
“I’m willing to give you all of this information,” Doc says. “Do with it what you will. If you want to have me arrested and charged, I will live with that. But I do hope you understand that I did not know about the illegal activities on your property. All I did was follow their instructions.”
“I was only following orders.” Dad shakes his head. “How many times have we heard that?”
“Like I said,” Doc says. “I wish I’d never gotten involved in it. I spent a lot of time blaming your brother for it. I even told him that if he had given me the job, none of this would’ve happened. But I’m beyond that now. I can’t blame anyone for my actions but myself. I can tell you I didn’t know what was going on, that I was only following orders, which is the truth. But you will choose to believe what you choose to believe.”
“Mom, Dad, Doc,” I say. “You’re right. The statute of limitations precludes our family from going after Pat Lamone for what he did to Diana. Rory and Callie also have no recourse for the same reason. I personally believe that our family has a chance here. We’re good people, but not everyone believes that we are. That’s not our fault. My grandmother started this a long time ago, and she’s gone for good now. All those rumors that the Steels own this town were started by her. Her and her Steel Trust. We’re going to take care of that fallout, and we’re going to do it anonymously. I’d like to think this is a chance for all of us.” I turn to look specifically at Doc Sheraton. “Doc, I don’t condone anything you did. But I believe you. I believe you didn’t know. Although Wendy didn’t pull the trigger, we now know she was responsible for the attempt on my uncle’s life. Just like she was responsible for—”
I have to stop. Gulp back some nausea.
Doc may not know what I’m talking about, but Mom and Dad do, and I don’t want to go into any more detail.
“Uncle Talon was always the one she went after to punish my grandfather. Clearly that didn’t change. Uncle Joe thought the attempt was meant for him, but knowing what I know about Wendy, I don’t think that’s true. I think Talon was the intended target, because if he weren’t, why would someone have tried to finish the job in the hospital?”