Page 44 of Secrets

“I’m not sure, ma’am. I was told to stay until you were gone, then lock up the house. I’m sorry to be leaving you. I’ve enjoyed my time here.”

“Have you?” she frowned. “Why? Have I been exceptionally kind to you?”

“Actually, no,” said the woman. “But your husband paid me very well. In fact, it allowed me to afford a home of my own for me and my four kids. He’s also given me a job in another of his businesses.”

“I see,” she said through clenched teeth. “Isn’t he just the kindest?”

“I’ll be downstairs if you need anything,” said the woman.

Beatrix just nodded at her, realizing that the entire time she was focused on Jay and Millicent, her husband had been focused on how to end their marriage.

“I should have never signed that damn pre-nup,” she mused.

Turning, she looked in the full-length antique gold mirror and admired her slender figure. She’d always been thin, skinny some would say. Now, she regretted not having more curves. She was going to need a new husband, and curves would help.

Beatrix called down for the one bodyguard still in the house, and he came up to take her luggage downstairs. Eight suitcases represented almost twenty-five years of her life. That was all she had to show for her efforts.

Smart enough to put money in the bank, she did have her own account that her husband couldn’t touch. It didn’t have enough, but it had several million, which would give her a new look, a new home, and a new life.

“But first,” she whispered, looking around the empty room, “I need to rid myself of my children.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

“This is the mansion,” said RJ. “My contact at the bureau said he left earlier today, all packed and ready to move on. She’s been in there packing for the last few hours.”

“What does the bureau need from us?” asked Miller.

“We need her confession that she was behind everything that Jay and Tick did. And that she wanted the money that was in crypto, and now has strangely disappeared,” smirked RJ.

“Oh, I see. So, we don’t want them to know that Millicent has the money?” asked Jay.

“No. No matter what, don’t let her know that, and don’t let the bureau know that. They could confiscate the funds,” said RJ. Jay nodded, turning to look at his sister.

“It would make me feel a lot better if you’d let me go in alone,” he said.

“I can’t do that, Jay. She walked out on me. At least you were able to see her, although she wasn’t a prize as a mother, she was still in front of you, now and then. I grew up believing I didn’t have a mother, and then that you and Dad killed her.”

“We should have,” said Jay quietly, making sure the FBI agents weren’t near him.

“How is this going to work?” asked Jay. “What do we have to do?”

“Right now, she’s still upstairs packing. We’re going to let ourselves in the back door and make sure there’s no staff inside. If they are there, we’re going to ask them politely to leave. You stay behind me, Jay,” said Miller.

Jay shook his head, looking at the big man in front of him.

“Why would you do that? Why would you put yourself between me and her?”

“Because your sister deserves to have her brother alive. We might not prevent you from going back to prison, but we can prevent her from losing you completely.”

“Thank you,” he said softly.

“Once we’re inside,” said Angel, “we’ll take our places and confront her. She’ll have nowhere to go. The agents have placed recording devices on us, and there will be two agents at the back door watching the entire thing, just to be certain.”

“Okay. I’m ready,” said Jay.

“Me, too,” said Millicent. She held out her hand to her brother and smiled at him. “This time, we face her together.”

“Together.”

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