Page 76 of Emma's Element

“I don’t understand. How did he abandon you? He gave you money whenever you asked for it. That doesn’t sound like abandonment to me. I probably would have left you to rot.”

He stepped closer to her suddenly. Emma’s heart leapt into her throat as she saw the menace in his eyes. It was a little unnerving looking into eyes that were so similar to Marcus’s but seeing only evil. “You’ve got balls, girl; I’ll give you that. But there are some things about your sainted lover you do not understand.”

Emma crossed her arms in front of her, affecting a bored pose even as she struggled to conceal her fear. Sweat broke out under her hairline, and her legs felt like jelly, but she would not cower in front of this son of a nurf-herder. “Enlighten me.”

“Big brother is not the great protector you think he is. Mom worked all the time, and Marcus was either doing one of his namby-pamby plays or working out in the gym. Who do you think was left for dad’s wrath?” Emma winced, her heart clenching for the scared little boy he must have been. “That’s right. Me. Dumb little Charlie, the computer gaming geek. Dad thought both his sons were pansies. Marcus with his acting and me with my gaming, those weren’t manly pursuits. At least Marcus’s hobby took him away from the house. Mine did not. Marcus was too invested in his acting interests to notice. After dad left, I thought things would get better. But then Marcus went away to college, which gave dad the opening he’d been waiting for.

“Dad found out I had some skill with the computer besides gaming. He cornered me and threatened both mom and Marcus if I didn’t do as he ordered. And so began my illustrious hacking career.”

Suddenly, unanswered questions clicked into place. After dealing with Harrison and Colleen, she knew they were not the brilliant brain behind the electronic walls she’d struggled to tear down. There had to have been someone else. “I have a feeling I’m looking at the true power behind Torrent Industries, am I right? You orchestrated all those shell companies to hide your dirty deeds. Did your father ever discover your duplicity?”

“That bitch, Colleen, had my father so blinded by lust he never saw what was happening right in front of him. They were so consumed with the need to bleed my brother dry.”

“And they never saw the viper in their midst.”

He nodded. “I like that,” he smiled and puffed out his chest, proud of the fact that he’d duped everyone. “It felt good to be one step ahead of Dad. He never understood my way of coping with the abuse was to disappear into my computer. I learned everything I could. And after Marcus fired her, Colleen became obsessed with torturing you. I used that craziness as a distraction. Don’t you recognize me? Who do you think took all those pictures that were sent to you. With one hand, I was doing their bidding like the good little underling I portrayed, while the other hand was siphoning everything I could from them. Sorry about the apartment, but it was a necessary diversion. You kept getting too close with your computer trace.”

Well, that’s one more question answered. She should have known Colleen wouldn’t have sullied her own hands destroying everything she owned. “So, what was your plan? Harrison was going to take everything from Marcus, then what? You’d take everything from Harrison? I don’t think it would have gone unnoticed when the money started to disappear.”

Charlie laughed. “That’s where you’re wrong. With Dad’s preoccupation with Colleen and their plans to wreck everything good in Marcus’s life, I knew exactly what to do. They may have spent all those years earning money by snitching to the paparazzi about my dear brother, but I knew that scheme wouldn’t last forever. I knew their greed would be their downfall eventually. Dad had his hand in so many money-making schemes he never noticed the doctored books. And he became even more distracted dealing with Colleen and her insanity after being fired. Establishing all those shell companies came in handy. I redirected funds, shifted them through those shell companies into my own little retirement fund. He never realized how broke he was about to become.”

Emma could hardly believe how successfully he’d fooled everyone. If he wasn’t breaking a gazillion laws, she might have been impressed. “Your acting was superb. Maybe you should try it as a career.”

“No, I’ll leave that to my brother.”

“So, why risk everything to come here? Seems like your scheme worked out well for you from where I’m standing. You were making money hand over fist between what you could steal electronically and what you milked from your brother. Seems like a pretty cushy life.”

His eyes darkened. “That’s where you would be wrong. Do you know what it’s like to live in constant fear that you wouldn’t see your next birthday? Or what about worrying you’d get something wrong, and your mom would be murdered because of it. It was like living that demented line fromThe Princess Bridemovie every day. ‘Good night, Charlie. Good work. Sleep well. I’ll most likely kill you in the morning, or someone you love.’”

“Why didn’t you ever tell your brother what was going on?”

He advanced so fast she hardly saw it coming before he was directly in her face. “Marcus abandoned me,” he shouted. “He didn’t give a fuck about me after he left. And after we’d lost mom, he ran even farther away and never looked back. He saw me as nothing more than a lazy dumbass. The loser who lived in his mother’s basement with no job and no ambitions. He never helped me.”

“That’s not true. He tried to help you get jobs, an apartment. He gave you money whenever you asked?”

“Then you came along,” Charlie spewed. “After he met you and those Nighthawks, he cut me off. Refused to return my calls. He’d abandoned me again. And it was all because of you,” Charlie bellowed, spittle flying everywhere as he raged. Emma had been steadily backing away from him but froze when he placed the muzzle of his gun against Emma’s chest. “Like I said, Marcus needs to suffer. Your death will accomplish that.”

Chapter twenty-eight

Marcusdrovehishummer,his tank as Emma called it, back to the house after meeting with a photographer friend of Natalie’s. He had originally asked for Natalie’s help in a certain project, but it was beyond her abilities. She’d hooked him up with her friend instead. He was hoping the woman could help. And it looked favorable.

His phone signaled an incoming call. He smiled, seeing Emma’s name on the ID display. He answered directly from his phone since he hadn’t set up the car’s Bluetooth yet. “Miss me already? I’m on my way home now,” he said while placing the phone on speaker to concentrate on driving. He listened for her reply but didn’t hear anything.

“Emma? Are you there?” Still nothing. “Emma?” Thinking she had butt-dialed him, he was about to hang up when he heard her.

“Charlie,” she said, her voice muffled. “It wasn’t very smart of you to come here.” His blood instantly ran cold, and he jerked on the steering wheel, nearly running off the road as shock settled into his core.

Oh, God!Emma was in danger again. And he was still ten minutes away at least. Wrestling the car back on the road, he pulled up his messaging app one-handed, hoping he wouldn’t disconnect Emma’s call in the process.

He found Graham’s name and typed a quick message while keeping one eye on the road.

Marcus:Charlie at house with E. Listening to their convo through phone. Danger.

In no time, he received a response.

Graham:On it.

Taking a deep breath for the first time since Emma called, he pressed down on the accelerator, hoping to make the ten-minute trip into five or less. He tried to listen to what was being said but could barely hear over the pounding of his pulse in his ears. His worry for Emma drowning out every other concern, including traffic laws.

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