Page 126 of Mad As Hell

My hands balled into fists on my lap as I glared at him. “You told me that it was just another price to be paid. You… Jesus, Ryan, tell me you didn’t make a deal to help our goddamn fathers by sacrificing some innocent kid.”

“Not exactly,” he answered. “Yes, I made the deal because I needed to sell it to Gary and Beckett. But I never looked the other way like I let you think I had.”

Court coughed surreptitiously. “If you happened to follow global news coverage, you might’ve seen that a few days after Ryan left Indonesia, that man had a heart attack. Sadly, he didn’t make it.” By the twist of his lips, he looked anything but sad.

My breath caught as I studied Ryan’s eyes. He’d missed his calling as a poker player, because he gave nothing away. But no way was it a coincidence. Especially not knowing what I did about Adam.

“Don’t ask questions unless you want the answers,” he reminded me softly.

And that was my answer.

Surprisingly, it was one I could live with. The same way I could live with knowing Adam hadn’t died in a simple car accident.

I swallowed, letting that information settle and realizing I wasn’t upset or bothered in the least. “What is Phoenix?”

“Phoenix International is a company that has quietly been selling bogus foreign and domestic assets to our fathers for the last two years,” Ryan replied, his calm, even tone utterly confident and controlled.

“Shell companies,” Ash explained when I shot him a confused look. “We create fake everything—websites, emails. The patents we’ve filed for some of the devices are real, in theory, but don’t exist.”

I tried to keep up. “That sounds complicated and expensive.”

“Not really,” Ash added. “My dad is supposed to oversee the finances, but he’s let me step in more, since I’m planning to go into the family business. I’ve just… guided them toward the companies I think are the most influential.”

Linc laughed and shook his head. “If he only knew the truth.”

Ash grinned at him, his white teeth flashing against his dark skin.

I couldn’t even imagine how much money they would’ve invested in getting their company started, let alone buying out holdings and companies their parents controlled. “How did you even get this set up?”

The corner of Ryan’s mouth hitched. “We pooled all the money we could, and when that wasn’t enough, my grandfather provided funding.”

My mouth fell open.

Ryan took it as an opportunity to kiss me, his tongue sweeping into my mouth. He pulled back just as fast, smug satisfaction glinting in his gaze. “What have I told you about open mouths?”

I snapped my mouth shut, feeling my cheeks burn as they turned red. My brain took a second to kick back into thinking mode. “So, your grandfather’s in on this?”

Ryan nodded. “He hates my father. Always has. He was against my mom marrying him from the start, hence why he set up his inheritance to go to his grandchildren. He and my Nana didn’t want Beckett anywhere near it. When we told him what we’d found out and wanted to do, he offered to help. Liquidated a bunch of assets and helped us set up Phoenix.”

“And none of your parents know about it?” Bex’s concerned gaze flicked around at each of them.

Court chuckled. “Fuck no. They’re too blinded by greed to see what we’ve been doing. Ash is able to manipulate the paperwork enough to sell it. Cain Global and Cabot Industries are the core of the entire infrastructure. They fall apart, and their entire plan goes to shit. They’re controlling all the money, all the investments needed to make everyone’s plans a reality.”

“Everyone meaning Gary, Beckett, Jasper, Howard, and Kent?” Bex confirmed. “They’re all in on this together?”

Court nodded. “But Gary and Beckett are the key. They’ve controlled the bulk of the finances they need to get everything set up.”

I frowned, feeling kind of dumb. “I still don’t get it.”

Ryan touched my chin with his index finger. “It’s a house of cards, baby. Our fathers have been buying into companies that don’t exist. We’ve been stringing them along with promises of ideas and patents that’ll never amount to a damn thing.”

I sat back, stunned. “This is why Gary wants my inheritance. Why Beckett wants a grandchild. They need that money.”

“More than ever,” Ash agreed. “They’ve already stretched their resources thin, Beckett more so than Gary.”

“He’s obsessed with one upping Gary and Ryan.” My gaze flicked to Ash. “But you knew that.”

He nodded. “Gary and Beckett have been best friends as long as they’ve been rivals, but now they’re realizing that if they can cut the other out, they get all the money. The final nail in the coffin was your engagement party where, thanks to Madelaine’s stunt, Beckett got an extra ten million.”

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