Page 76 of Prodigal

“I do.”

“Well, I didn’t tell you the specifics. Morrow has a long history of holding young girls hostage and sexually assaulting and torturing them.” He didn’t allow André’s gasp to stop the flow of words. “I have actual footage of it. Of him in the act. That was taken by my father when I was still in hiding. My dad knew we would have to remove members, and he made sure to get dirt on all of them.” He didn’t know how his father was able to do it, to deal with those people while maintaining his focus on the long game. Gideon was already losing fucking patience with those motherfuckers. “In the videos, Morrow is talking about it.” Disgust twisted up his insides. “Not just talking, but boasting, gleefully bragging about all the barbaric shit he gets up to.”

“So, your father knew about all this years ago and just what…kept it a secret until the right time presented itself?”

Gideon understood the sentiment behind André’s incredulity and didn’t attempt to make any excuses for it. “Yes. And I did the same because my father and I knew that Morrow’s money and connections would easily sweep it under the rug if we didn’t have a failsafe, a backup plan in place. It took a while for that to happen, but it has. Finally.”

André leaned back, meeting his eyes in dawning comprehension. “That’s what the meeting with the president was about?”

Gideon nodded. “Yes. Morrow got arrested but will no doubt make bail. We expect it, but the videos will all be leaked online the minute he walks out of the courthouse. Everything is in detail. His own words and actions will be used against him.”

“Okay.” André dragged the word out. “But what comes after that? Because from what I’m learning, every single one of the members of The Council is corrupt and fucked up—” He rolled his eyes when Gideon fake-gasped and touched a hand to his chest. “Yes, even you. So why would they get rid of Morrow?”

Gideon cupped André’s jaw, stroking his skin as he spoke. “When she was fifteen years old, Nivea Arceneaux disappeared from a mall, taken right from under the watchful eyes of her bodyguards. She’s been missing for three years. Weeks ago, she was rescued from Morrow’s dungeon.” He didn’t need to tell André that he’d been behind the rescue. “Her family doesn’t know it yet—as per her request—but she’s in a facility being treated for the damage Morrow did to her body and her mind.” He swallowed. No matter what his plans were, it wasn’t easy being witness to evil like the evil Joseph Morrow perpetuated. That man had to go. Permanently. “She is the granddaughter of Robert Vale.”

André’s eyes bulged. “He’s on The Council.”

“Yes. Joseph Morrow kidnapped the granddaughter of a fellow member of The Council and held her captive for three years, all the while offering Vale and his family his help and resources in trying to find Nivea.”

“Goddamn.” André blinked. Then blinked again. “That’s-that’s diabolical.” He shuddered. “How can people like that exist?”

“Easily.” Gideon hated to tell him, but… “They get to live and thrive because they surround themselves with money and power and people who would enable their deviances. There’s a reason Morrow ensured his spot on The Council, it made him untouchable, and he was…until he took Nivea. My father had to pretend to have the same proclivities as him in order to get close, to get him to lower his guard.” He felt sick at the thought. “Robert Vale will get to deliver Morrow’s death sentence. AndMorrow’s proxy, his son-in-law, will not be allowed to take his seat. That I will make sure of.”

André swallowed. “You’re gonna kill him?”

“Yes.” Gideon blew out a breath. “Morrow has two daughters, one who’s a socialite and the apple of his eye, married to the man who is his current proxy. And the other has been estranged from her family for close to twenty years. She’s a civil rights attorney and is engaged to be married to the president’s son.”

“Ah.” André smiled. “Now the picture is getting clearer.”

Gideon chuckled. “Is it?” He kissed André’s nose. “Amy, Morrow’s estranged daughter, has zero connections to her father. Her fiancé comes with his own money, his own power, and his own connections.”

“The biggest being the president?”

“Nah.” Gideon waved a hand in dismissal. “The biggest being the reclusive Saudi prince he’s fucking in secret.”

André coughed in shock. “Jesus.”

“I know.” Gideon shrugged. “What can I say, finding out people’s secrets is a gift.”

André shook his head, though his expression held zero judgment. “So you’ll blackmail the president’s son into taking Morrow’s seat and work and spy for you?”

“He’ll report to his father, which is what The Council will expect. The president will talk him into accepting the position, and it’s through the president that I will give Alexander instructions on what to do and when and how to do it. I also have a few names I’m kicking around for choice of his proxy.” In putting a buffer between himself and Alexander, the president’s son, it removed any suspicion that The Council might have about Gideon.

“And Prislaya’s empty seat?”

“That remains as is for now. As the one who holds the purse strings, they can’t put anyone in there unless I’m onboard. And I’m not.”

“Oh, so you got it like that?”

“I do.” It was just a matter of fact.

“But now that you’ve filled your father’s seat, you’ll need your own proxy. Won’t you?”

“I had Samir sworn in as my proxy the moment it was confirmed that I was who I claimed to be,” Gideon told him. “You haven’t asked where we’re going.” He gently elbowed André, who leaned against him.

“I figured you’d tell me when you were ready.”

Gideon gazed at him, greedily drinking in his features. He especially liked that sparkle in André’s eyes. The softness of his expression as their gazes held. “You trust me.” That was… It humbled him. Made him feel as if he didn’t deserve it. Made him want to do anything he could to ensure he never lost it.

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