Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
“We should have paid her off,” Griffen said. Before she was killed, Vanessa made noises about offering information for money. With Ford in prison, her alimony had dried up.
Ford shrugged, no trace of emotion on his face for his dead ex-wife. “Just because you paid her doesn’t mean she would have told you anything useful. Vanessa was always looking for a better angle. She would have strung you along. I’m assuming the person whose chain she was yanking ended up killing her. She would have been wise to keep her mouth shut.”
“Vanessa wasn’t known for her wisdom,” Griffen said wryly.
“No,” Ford agreed. “And she finally let her greed outpace her instinct for survival.” Ford paused and looked Griffen dead in the eye. “Whoever killed her and Dad is still out there. As long as I’m in here, no one’s actively looking for them. According to Cole, you’ve had some trouble, even with me locked up and Dad’s murder officially solved.”
Griffen gave a grudging nod. “A few attempts on me, one on Royal. Some other bullshit. We’re paying Sinclair Security a bundle to keep everyone safe.”
“That might be enough,” Ford said, sounding sincere for the first time. “I had a plan. Then I poked around without knowing what I was getting into, and now I’m in here.”
Griffen leaned forward, his eyes lighting. “Are you saying you found something? Maybe if we—”
“No!” Ford shouted, startling the guard in the corner. In a lower voice, he said, “No. I was looking for evidence of Dad’s bullshit. Something I could use as leverage. And something I came across pissed off the wrong person. Or maybe it was just that I was poking around in the first place. I don’t know. Then Dad’s dead, everything points to me, and I’m stuck with no alibi and the DA gunning for me. If I thought I had anything that could get me out of here, believe me, I’d give it to you. I have no clue. But after what happened to Vanessa, I’d say it’s a good bet that if you start digging, you’ll end up in here beside me. Just let it go. Let it all go.”
“Ford,” Griffen started, pain bright in his eyes.
“Griffen,” Ford interrupted, “Don’t do it. You have a lot to live for. You’re king of the manor, just like you were always supposed to be. Knowing Hope, you have a loving and devoted wife. A baby coming any minute. Let things be. Live your life.”
“And let you just rot in here?” Griffen asked.
“Let me handle my own life.” Ford’s eyes flashed to me and back to Griffen. “I’ve done enough to fuck up everyone else’s, don’t you think?”
I wasn’t sure what to do with that. Ford was an asshole. Beyond an asshole. But did he deserve to rot in prison for the rest of his life? I didn’t have to think about that for long. No. He didn’t kill Dad, and what he did to me had happened a long time ago.
Griffen sat back, crossing his arms over his chest, studying the brother who’d once been his other half. “So everything Cole said about Finn’s kidnapping—that you and Dad set him up to make a statement to Chiapas, that Dad declined to pay the ransom, that neither of you ever tried to contact him—all that was true?”
Ford nodded, the movement sharp and final. “Surely you can’t be surprised. You knew what I was capable of when I got you exiled, married your fiancée, and took your place in the family. I sacrificed one brother. What makes you think I wouldn’t have sacrificed another?”
“Point taken,” Griffen said, pushing his chair back to stand. The second he was on his feet, I was on mine. Griffen met my eyes. “Anything else you want to say?”
I looked at Ford, studying his gaunt face and thin frame. Ford wasn’t sitting in here gloating over all he had done to us. This wasn’t a man enjoying his life. This was a man who’d wasted it.
Meanwhile, I was walking out of here, going back to Heartstone Manor, where I had a family I was getting to know all over again. Work I was enjoying. It had been years since I had the time to really play in the kitchen. I might as well have been on vacation.
And there was Savannah. I had a flash of the way I’d left her, cuddling my pillow, a secret smile on her face, her vibrant sunset hair tumbling all over her bare shoulders. I got to go home to that. And Ford was locked in here.
I shook my head. “No, I don’t think I have anything to say. Good to know the truth, I guess.” I shrugged and met Ford’s cold eyes. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have been surprised. I should have seen it coming. You always were predictable.”