Page 156 of Always Us

“She what?” I stumble out of bed wearing sleep pants and a t-shirt. I grab my sweatshirt and yank it on as I go to the door. “Why would she do that?”

“She’s trying to get back at my dad and William for setting her up,” Garret explains, like he’s not surprised that this happened. “I assume she told them that you and William knew about Jade?”

Pearce nods. “Yes. She’s hoping William and I will be punished for knowing this information and not telling the organization. Katherine is irate over her punishment and she wants revenge. If she’s going down, she wants to take William and me with her.”

“When did she tell them?” Garret asks.

“Last night. She reported it to one of the high ranking members, knowing the meeting was today. She knew they’d try to take her money and thought if she shared this secret, the organization might reward her by letting her keep it.” He checks his watch. “Get dressed and come down to my office. I have more to tell you. And hurry up. We don’t have much time.”

We take a quick shower and get dressed and meet him in his office.

“So what are they going to do to you and William?” Garret asks.

“Nothing. They called me early this morning and I explained that I had no idea who Jade was until after Royce’s death. I talked to William just now and he told them the same thing. According to the rules, we aren’t required to disclose secrets we learn about another member after that member is deceased. Katherine wasn’t aware of that rule, and now that she is, I’m sure she’s furious that William and I will not be punished.”

“But Katherine knows the truth,” Garret says. “Why didn’t she tell them you knew about Jade a long time ago?”

“Because if she did, I’d tell the members that Katherine has known about Jade for as long as I have, and then Katherine would be in even more trouble. She insisted that she just recently found out about Jade, and I didn’t refute her story. As long as we both keep this secret, we’ll be fine.”

“So Katherine’s trick didn’t work. Nobody’s being punished.”

“It did work, but in Katherine’s favor. By sharing this information, Katherine will be allowed to keep some of her money. And as for the punishment, it’s being handed down to Victoria, not William or myself.”

“Victoria?” I ask, trying to keep up with his story. With all the secrets and cover-ups and blackmail, I can’t keep track of it all. “What does Victoria have to do with this?”

“She knew,” Pearce says.

“She knew about Jade?” Garret asks. “Royce told her what he’d done?”

“No. Years ago, Victoria got an anonymous letter in the mail, saying that Royce had a daughter with another woman.”

“How do you know this?” Garret asks.

“William told me when I talked to him this morning. He said that last week, Sadie called him to complain that the credit card Grace gave her had been canceled. Grace took it away to punish Sadie for treating Jade the way she did when they met that night of the memorial service. Sadie asked William to talk Grace into giving her the card back. William refused and Sadie got angry, yelling and screaming about how Jade has ruined everything. Sadie still didn’t believe Jade was her sister and was determined to find out the truth. She searched through some old boxes Royce had stored away, and that’s when she found the letter.”

I look at Garret, then back at Pearce. “I don’t understand. Hardly anyone knew about Royce and my mom, so who wrote the letter?”

“It was anonymous but I assume your mother wrote it. It was postmarked right after you were born. The letter didn’t say he raped your mother. It just said he fathered a child, then pleaded for Victoria to convince him to leave the child alone. Your mother obviously thought Royce might come back and harm you. I’m guessing she thought Victoria, being a new mother herself at the time, would keep Royce from doing anything to an innocent child.”

“So Victoria didn’t know I was that child,” I confirm.

“I think she knew when she saw you at the fundraiser I had for Royce last year. You look like Royce, and Victoria knew he had a child out there so I’m guessing she put it together.”

“If Sadie has the letter, how can William prove it exists?” Garret asks.

“When Sadie told William about the letter, he told her it might be fake and that she should send it to him so he could have it verified. So she did, and now William has the letter. He scanned it and emailed it to the organization. The ruling council is reviewing it as we speak.”

Garret smiles. “Shit, William really wants to get back at Victoria.”

Pearce nods. “There’s a history there, but I don’t know the details. Anyway, now that the members are aware of this, they’ve decided to punish Victoria. Someone has to be punished for Royce’s failure to disclose this, and since Victoria was in on this secret, the organization felt that she should receive the punishment.”

“Is anything going to happen to Jade?”

“No, but she does need to do something. That’s why I woke you up. You can’t go home today. You’ll have to leave tomorrow. Don’t worry about rescheduling your flight. You can take my jet back to California.”

“Why are we staying here?” Garret asks.

“They need to talk to Jade.”

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