Page 92 of It Starts With A No

“Clary?”

“Okay.” She sighed softly. How could she say no to Mr. E? Especially since she knew he was just concerned about her.

“And Clary, your necklace is on you all the time?”

“Yes.”

“All right.” Mr. E fell silent.

“Did you know?” Clary blurted the words in a rush, before she lost the courage to ask.

“No. Holly and I weren’t on good terms. She was actually a rare Eolenfeld who didn’t want my money. She was successful as an actress, which Mrs. E and I didn’t approve of. It wasn’t the best environment for her.”

“Because of her bipolar disorder.”

“Yes.” Mr. E sighed. “She rarely ever came home. I only saw the children two or three times.”

“You’ve always kept an eye on all the Eolenfelds.”

“Holly’s paranoid. She’s dismissed her entire household staff because she thought they were all my spies. She’s written letters—over ten pages long—on how I’m a dictator. I was supposedly unscrupulous in attempting to intimidate her by sending people to keep watch on her. I’d never met any of her staff, and I didn’t have anyone monitoring her. I didn’t have to. She appeared on TV and in magazines enough for me to know she was alive and well.”

Not Seth and his brothers, though.

“I only realized something was wrong when the police were brought in because Winnie went missing. Holly had adopted Winnie and her half-brother about a year before. Accusations were flying.”

“That Holly was abusing her adopted children.”

“That her other adopted children were why Winnie went missing.”

Clary blinked.

“That was why I separated the children,” Mr. E continued. “I didn’t think Holly was in the right place to protect them. When I met her, she raved that the children were ungrateful brats who were nothing but trouble. She ranted about them nonstop, and I knew for certain she was off her medication. So I pulled some strings to get the children out from under her control. But Winnie’s half-brother was adamant that the other brothers had something to do with Winnie’s disappearance. I had to split the boys up into different homes and made it difficult for the police to speak with them.”

“Did you speak with them to find out what happened?”

“My investigators did, but the boys claimed ignorance. They were only interested in finding out where their brothers were. Only Winnie’s half-brother, Jimmy, insisted that the others had something to do with it. My investigators also spoke with Holly’s household staff, but they were clueless. Holly’s household functioned in such a way that the servants had their own doors and corridors.”

Clary’s brows rose, but she wasn’t all that surprised.

She never understood where the Eolenfelds got this habit from. Mr. and Mrs. E never did that, but their descendants loved the idea of not having to see the help in the house.

“Eventually, I heard rumors about what the children had been through. But that was all, rumors. Regardless, I thought enough was enough. I thought it was best to put an end to things.”

“So Winnie was never found.”

“No.”

A series of soft raps drew Clary’s attention to the door. “I have to go. Cancel the welfare check.”

“Be careful, Clary.”

“Seth won’t hurt me.”

“He has no problem lying to you, though.”

“He didn’t—”

“He lied by omission.”

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