Page 103 of Forged in Secrets

Craig leaned back against his pillow and closed his eyes for a long moment, chuckling to himself.

“The man I assaulted offers mercy, and the daughter I raised hardly cares if I live or die. Go figure.”

Grace felt a pang in her chest. He wasn’t wrong. Despite all that Craig Gorsky had done, she pitied him. All of the money and power on earth mattered little if your own flesh and blood didn’t even love you. Worse, it didn’t seem like he trusted in the love of God, either.

“Where is Jade now?” Ben asked.

“The police told me she’s in custody,” he said flatly. “I’ve been writing her letters, but I’m not sure I’m ready to send them just yet. To think, I did this for her. And because of her.”

He mumbled the last few words, but Grace wasn’t about to let the question of Jade drop just yet.

“Jade admitted that you cooked up an insider trading scheme with Donald Fairman because his company, AveroTech, is in the toilet. He paid you a monthly fee, you gave him the information about Lumen’s acquisition of Senera Pharmaceuticals so he could buy stocks early, everyone wins.”

“That’s correct.”

“But why?” Ben cut in. “Why take the risk in the first place, let alone kidnap Katie Fairman in order to keep the ruse going? I’m just not getting it.”

Craig paused for a moment, adjusting the pale green blankets around himself. Somewhere down the hall, Grace could hear the busy chatter of the nurses and otherhospital staff, interrupted by the occasional beep of machinery.

“You know about my wife,” he said. “You’re in private security. I’m sure you looked into me.”

“We did,” Grace answered. “And Jade told us about her death. She said that Senera killed her, and that you weren’t willing to work with them when Lumen bought them out. What I don’t understand is why this seemed like the only way you could escape.”

Ben gave her an approving glance, and she felt herself blushing with pride. She’d learned a lot about field work on this operation, and as it turned out, she quite enjoyed interviewing suspects.

“I had a strict non-compete clause in my contract, first of all. I’d basically be forced out of my field. I was willing to retire, but I’m not old enough to take my pension.”

He moved to cross his arms over his chest, only to remember the bandaged gunshot wound was still there. He sounded defensive.

“So instead of just doing some other type of work, you decided to break the law?” Ben demanded. “Real mature of you, Craig. Great example for your daughter.”

Grace said nothing. Ben’s words were harsh, but she couldn’t say she disagreed with him. Craig’s greed had put multiple lives at risk and had nearly cost him his own. Now, he faced the possibility of retirement in a jail cell–especially if he refused to tell them where her parents’ ransom money had ended up which, so far, was information he’d withheld from the police.

Craig looked as though he was going to argue, but all at once, his arms slumped to his sides and he shook his head, defeated.

“I keep trying to protect her. But I’m not sure there’s a point any more.”

“Protect Jade?” Grace prodded.

“She told you the truth. I wasn’t willing to work with Senera, and I did feel trapped.”

“But?” Ben added gruffly.

“I couldn’t just get another job,” Craig admitted. “I’m in debt.”

“Half of America is in debt,” Grace said. “You consolidate, you make payment plans, you sell assets–”

“Millions, Miss Hinton.”

“–you declare bankruptcy,” she finished firmly.

“I know. That’s what I should have done, hundreds of thousands of dollars before now. But I was weak. I couldn’t tell her no.”

Ben rubbed at his temples. “Jade was spending all of your money.”

“And you were letting her, because you felt guilty. Because she no longer had a mother, and you were working all the time, and you thought taking away her life of luxury would be just too cruel,” Grace finished for him.

Craig didn’t look particularly surprised by their analysis. “Cliché, isn’t it? I know I should have dealt with it when it was manageable, but I didn’t. I know the trading scheme was wrong, but in my mind, I justified it. I was trying to fix things, and I guess I figured that Donald making the money off of Senera felt like less of a betrayal of Amira’s memory. At least I’d be helping an old friend. Well, that didn’t turn out like I wanted it to.”

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