Page 46 of A Man of Wealth

“We need to make a plan, now,” I state.

“We need more evidence,” Sebastian urges. “We need to connect Confervo to illegal activity. We need to take them down. If we can show they are bad, then the court of public opinion will do the rest for us.”

“I don’t know. I don’t like leaving loose ends,” Aiden speaks up as he leans forward. “I feel like we haven’t connected all the dots yet.”

“When the time comes, we need to get this published inThe Tribune. We know someone has the ability to make last-minute changes beyond the editors. Do you have a way to bypass the normal process?” I ask. I want to tell her about my hunch that her grandfather has been tampering with her career, but I decide to save that for later when we are alone.

She taps her cheek and bites her lip as she thinks. I know when she figures out a way around the problem because her eyes light up and her lips curve up in a grin. “Why, yes, I think I do.”

“We need more than ‘think,’” Sebastian says.

“Don’t worry, I have a backup plan. I hate to give it to a competitor, but if I can get my friend who works the printing press and my other friend who does our IT work for the website to get this article out, we won’t need to give it to anyone else. If not, then I guess my college friend is gonna get the scoop of his life,” Vivienne says.

“Fair enough. We have a lot of work to do,” I point out.

Everyone nods. I look back at Vivienne. “Tell us what you learned from Jared.”

She debriefs everyone. Adding the information she learned about the mid-week shipments.

“Wait, so we think Jared might be aware that you guys went up there, right? Like he might be behind that car that was following you?” Alexis asks.

“Likely, or Conner’s dad was watching us,” Vivienne replies.

“So, what if…what if they want you to think that. What if he fed you the wrong information because he thinks you’ll try to go again and…” She trails off as everyone contemplates her thoughts.

“You’re sort of brilliant, little dove,” Sebastian says to her as he leans over and kisses her cheek. She blushes.

“What if it’s tonight?” she asks as she looks down at her phone. “What if he chose tonight for dinner because he hoped to distract you?”

“It’s a good theory,” Aiden says.

“It’s a solid theory,” Vivienne agrees.

“We can’t all go up there,” Sebastian points out as he looks at me.

“We’ll go,” I say to Aiden.

“I don’t think so. You and I will go. You’re both big, what if you need to fit into a tight spot? There’s no way. Plus, I’m not letting you finish this without me,” Vivienne says.

I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit, but I can’t deny she doesn’t raise a good point. I know Vivienne well enough to know that if I don’t let her come along, she’ll figure out a way to go there alone, and that is not something I can allow.

“Fine, but you do as I say,” I mutter as I clench my jaw tightly.

Vivienne rolls her eyes. “Will you stop acting like a caveman? I can hold my own.”

“OK, then let’s devise a plan because we need to get there unseen this time,” I state as I lean forward. We all start discussing ideas. Alexis is the one who brilliantly recommends we use her roommate’s extra car. Apparently, her roommate is ridiculously rich and has two cars. One is a black compact SUV. Perfect for our needs. Alexis calls Whitney on Sebastian’s burner phone. After three calls, she finally picks up and agrees to drop her car in the parking garage at the local grocery store.

We call Bryce and have him set up surveillance by hacking into street cameras again. He says he needs one hour to set it up. He argues that his men should do this, but I dismiss him. I’m his client, not his employee. He does what I say. I have a feeling people don’t often put Bryce Gallagher in his place, but right now, I don’t give a fuck.

Once we have a plan, Vivienne and I walk down to the grocery store, while Alexis and Sebastian head out to create a distraction by going to my apartment and texting me that they are on their way to talk. Meanwhile, Aiden will call Ella to try to figure out what the containers might look like or what the liquid may be contained in once we find it.

I’m completely unsure what will happen tonight, but the plan is in action. I feel like what started as one simple investigation into a pharma company that was illegally bringing in drugs and killing young women with them, is now something so much bigger. It could take weeks to tie up all the loose ends, but when it’s done, we are going to have to find a safe haven. And if I’ve played my cards correctly, then I think I have just the place for us. We just have to live long enough to get there.

Chapter20

Vivienne

Conner findsthe key fob on top of the tire, and we get in the car. This time, he drives. We make it onto I-95 towards Baltimore without anyone following us. I can’t believe we are doing this. I didn’t expect my evening would take a one-eighty. I feel as though we are speeding toward an end, but I can’t see what’s ahead. In a matter of a few weeks, this man next to me has gone from enemy to lover, to a man I love, and in the meantime, my entire world has been turned upside down with revelations that seem as though I should have always suspected them. How did we all miss it? Hell, Sebastian, Conner, and Aiden are in this secret society, and even they were unaware of the broad reach of evil its leaders have. Conner especially should have seen this. His own mother was likely murdered by people he calls brothers. Was he just blind to it out of self-preservation? Did he really not truly understand until now? He’s so smart, yet he was oblivious to everything happening around him until he was sucked into the vortex of malevolence.

---