Page 102 of The Innovator

He yawned. “Sorry, I’ve got a conference call with an overseas vendor in a few hours. I’m too tired.”

“Okay.” Disappointment squirmed in me.

Our conversation continued about random things, but then I heard him snoring and glanced over. His head had fallen back onto the couch.

What had he been up to? Exhaustion had weighed on him the past few days. Every time I asked him, he told me it was just work, but why didn’t I believe him?

CHAPTERFIFTY-THREE

GRAYSON

A week later, Natalie came over to my place with a silver box. “Don’t open it yet.”

“Why? What’s in it?” I studied the box measuring about eighteen inches by eighteen inches, with a height of about eight inches. I stared at the handwritten note taped on the top:Do not open until Natalie says so.

She flicked me a glance. “Follow directions, and you’ll be rewarded.”

“I always follow directions.” The more she told me I couldn’t do something, the more I wanted to. That was human nature, right?

But I respected her wishes.

“I need to hide this in your dressing room so you can forget about it.” She smiled at me. “Be right back.”

I loved seeing the smile on her face, but I had information that might erase that joy today. The folder on the table held the information she’d been waiting for. Sometimes the truth hurt, but it was better than a lie. Natalie had sacrificed her comfortable lifestyle to take a job with little pay so she could uncover the truth about her father and The Prism. That showed dedication, love, and courage. She’d taken a leap of faith without knowing she’d find anything.

I admired her courage and persistence. She never gave up on hope. It was this persistence that had brought us together—her constant hounding at me had gotten my attention.

When Natalie appeared in the living room, I patted the cushion next to me. “Come here.”

Concern splashed on her face. By now, we knew each other’s facial expressions. The slight tension between her eyebrows, the twitch at the corner of her lips, and the worry darkening her eyes were aspects of her that seeped into my memory.

She sat down beside me. “What’s going on?”

“First, I want to give you the good news that I found the pilot who flew the plane. He’s alive and well.”

“What? How?” Her eyes widened in disbelief.

“It’s a long story, but all you have to know is that he’s been arrested and he’s come forward to work with the FBI and the international authorities. There’s now an international manhunt for your aunt. She paid the pilot a lot of money to compromise the engine. He already had an escape plan on that day and jumped out before the plane went down.”

“How did you find out all this information?”

I’d been working overtime regarding many things. This was one of them. Natalie needed closure, and I wanted to give her that so she could move on.

“Money can buy a lot of things. One of those things is information. I have a wide network of people who help each other out when needed. The right questions usually yield the right answers. I pat your back, you pat mine. A lot of people owe me favors, and I just redeemed a few.” I smiled at her, not wanting her to inquire further.

“Thank you,” she sighed. “Aunt Estelle must be hiding in another country.”

“The guy who ‘purchased’ you from your aunt is dead.”

Natalie gasped, placing a hand over her heart.

“He’s an Italian billionaire who had ten mistresses and twenty children. He abused them and held them in cages behind his villa.”

Her mouth dropped open, probably seeing herself in their shoes and realizing how lucky she was. She didn’t ask how he died. She searched my eyes and probably knew, but she never asked.

I wouldn’t tell her, anyway. Filth like him didn’t deserve to live. I did society a favor by eliminating men like him.

She swallowed. “I’m certain they cheered for his death.”

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