Page 45 of Dagger

“It wasn’t like that,” I protested. “Earlier, I’d had the run-in with Bandit. I was alone, and I’d gone to him for help with the baby. He was angry because he had the wrong idea about me. I was a mess and didn’t know how the hell I’d raise her alone, but I always wanted her.”

“Look,” Colt interrupted, pointing to another section further down. “Henderson went on record to say you didn’t want the baby. He told them you’d gotten pregnant through a sexual assault, and the intention was to give her up for adoption.”

I stared at the report, taking in Robert’s damning words on the piece of paper.

As shocked as I was that he’d been so brazen with his lies, I wasn’t surprised. I didn’t put anything past my husband. Jesus, he’d arranged for some sick bastard to rip my baby from my body and stood and watched it happen.

“I suspect Lois spoke to Robert about adopting your child,” Colt suggested. “We’ll never know for sure, but I think she was protecting Sophie. She treated you twice, and both times, you were close to a breakdown. It would’ve been easy for Henderson to feed her a few well-placed lies. I wouldn’t put it past him to tellher you were unstable and he was worried for the baby’s safety. And your state of mind at the time, although understandable, would have indicated he was telling the truth.”

John’s mouth twisted. “I’m gonna kill that motherfucker,” he snarled.

Colt flipped another page of the file over and pointed to some baby pictures. “Here’s all the images I could find of Sophie.”

One particular photograph caught my eye. I picked it up to study it more closely. “This is one of the pictures Robert gave me. I have it back at the house with the others.”

“Others?” John questioned.

“I got a few when she was a baby, but when she hit her third birthday, it went down to one every year. It was Robert’s way of keeping me compliant and also a reminder he was the one in control. The last one I got was on her tenth birthday. Agent Sears introduced himself to me soon after, and we started working against Robert.”

“Why did they stop?” Colt asked.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “I assumed at the time it was because Sophie was getting older and coming into her looks. Maybe he couldn’t risk me ever recognizing her.”

“I don’t think so. Sophie lived too far away. The chances of you ever meeting her were less than zero.” Colt flipped the pages of the file again and pointed at some official-looking documents. “This is Sophie’s and Lois’s birth certificate. They’re fakes.”

My head reared back slightly. “I don’t understand.”

“In the space of three months, Lois obtained these documents and moved from Elko up in northern Nevada, down to Vegas,” Colt informed us. “That’s not unusual, except when they left, Lois and Sophie Abbot disappeared off the face of the earth, and Lois and Sophie Green appeared with a back story in place.” He nodded toward the documents. “Sophie’s original birth certificate is fake too, unsurprisingly, and I gotta say,Lois must’ve paid some cake for ‘em. They’re among the best forgeries I’ve seen.”

“Jesus,” I breathed.

“There’s more,” Colt stated. “Every month, he deposited a thousand bucks into Lois’s bank account. It stopped around the time they moved. I’m thinkin’ that maybe he did or said somethin’ to make alarm bells ring, or perhaps it merely boiled down to woman’s intuition. The fact is, there’s no trace of Lois or Sophie under the name that Henderson knew ‘em by, and I’ve dug deep on this, Duchess.”

Staring down at the document, I pressed my lips together with frustration.

For years, Robert had been blackmailing me with the threat of harming my daughter, so discovering he hadn’t even known her whereabouts felt like a kick in the teeth. I was relieved she’d been kept safe but furious with myself for believing my husband’s bullshit.

“That’s good, right?” John asked. “It means Henderson doesn’t know who Sophie is now?”

Colt dipped his chin in assent. “Yeah. I don’t think she’s in any immediate danger. Also means we may be able to play the mayor. He thinks Elise’s photographs and mementos are in his care. I reckon we can use that to get Brett back into his circle, if we’re convincing enough.”

A newfound sense of determination made my tone harden. “Robert played me for years. It’s time for payback. I can convince him.”

John sat back in his chair, his gaze glued to me. “I dunno. It’s too risky—”

“I can do it, John,” I insisted, interrupting him. “You have to trust me.”

One side of his mouth hitched. “Trust you as much as I trust any one of my brothers, but I’ve got this. You can rest easy. Let me deal with him.”

“I appreciate that, John,” I bandied back. “But I’ve been working my ass off to take Robert down for thirty years. If you think I’m happy to sit back now when I’m so close, you don’t know me very well. He took everything from me; now I’m going to take everything from him.” I turned to Colt. “Can I use your phone?”

His head reared back slightly. “Seen that look before, Duchess. What’s on your mind?”

I cocked a knowing eyebrow. “There’s no time like the present.”

“Whoa!” John threw himself forward, his golden eyes fixating on me. “Don’t we need to at least plan this?”

“Plan what?” I challenged. “I know how to get him eating out of my hand. He’s a narcissist, John, and a big one at that. And I’ve been playing the part of the injured wife for so long; it’s second nature to me now. No plan in the world can tell me how to play him more than I already know. After all, I’ve had years of practice.”

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