Page 58 of Mad Love

“I told you, Ryan and I don’t have secrets. I know all about Phoenix, and I’ve met Court’s brothers. Royal’s a bit of an asshole, but Bishop and Knight seem cool.” I shrugged like it was no big deal, because it wasn’t.

He frowned, looking at a loss for words. “Madelaine was sure they were starting a company with the intent to overthrow their fathers and move up the ranks in the Collective. Everything there is based on a hierarchy system. It’s cutthroat and brutal, and Madelaine was determined to destroy the foundation.”

“Then she should have talked to Ryan,” I replied, my heart cracking a bit. “He could have helped her.”

He opened his mouth to argue.

“Phoenix is a company the guys started to take down their fathers, but that was the sole intention. They don’t want any part of the world they corrupted. They’re trying to fix what their fathers broke. That’s part of why Ryan and I got married. The engagement was a plan between Gary and Beckett Cain to cash in on a will set up by my family and Ryan’s grandfather. They wanted the money to help them open up a human trafficking pipeline.”

“Fuck,” Charles whispered, paling a bit.

Shaking my head, I kept going. “Ryan and I got married so I would have access to the trust left to me. Ash moved it to offshore accounts so that Gary couldn’t touch it.” I snorted. “Until you and your friend Tyler came along. Now he gets it all, I guess.”

He looked chagrined. “Suppose I’ve royally fucked that up, haven’t I?”

“Ryan and the guys have been using Phoenix to put Cain Industries and Cabot Global out of business. Without the funds they were providing, the whole network was supposed to fall apart. Court’s brothers work for Phoenix, trying to help people who’ve been hurt and exploited.” I drew in a shuddering breath. “Madelaine had it wrong—Ryan’s one of the good guys.”

“Madelaine was so certain they were as nefarious as their fathers. She worked for years to get proof on them all. Some of the videos she sent me proved it.”

“You’ve seen the videos?” I grabbed his forearm.

He nodded. “Yes. She sent them through an encrypted app.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m well aware of it.”

“She said that she had more, but she had moved them to a secure facility,” he went on. “She compiled videos, ledgers, and copies of emails and memos sent between members of the Collective, but she needed to store them somewhere safe that her father couldn’t touch.”

Pandora. Madelaine had stashed all the proof there.

Now more than ever we needed to get into that vault and see what my sister had unearthed.

This could have been so different if Lainey had trusted Ryan. If they’d worked together, this never would have happened.

And I never would have come to Pacific Cross.

“Madelaine had proof that Ryan and the others participated in their initiations,” he argued. “They were willing—”

“They were no more willing to do the shit they did than you were to hit me yesterday.” I touched my cheek and watched him wince at the reminder. “They did what they did because the alternative was worse. They made their choices, and I trust their intentions. Maybe my sister should have asked them instead of assuming.”

Then again, why would she? Madelaine had been used and abused by almost every person in her life. It was heartbreaking.

Charles looked at the ground. “I believed what Madelaine told me. I let my own biases cloud my judgment.” He lifted his gaze to mine. “It’s why my father and I agreed to his proposal about marrying you.”

I tilted my head, confused.

“Gary Cabot is an evil man,” he began.

I glanced at the file that was proof my biological father was a psychopath. “You don’t have to tell me that.”

“He killed my mother,” he stated, his tone hard and flat.

My hand flew up to cover my mouth. “Oh, my God.”

“Not directly,” he added, his jaw tight. “But he seduced her. Got her pregnant. She died because of the pregnancy.”

“I don’t understand,” I admitted.

“My parents had an arranged marriage,” he confessed. “They weren’t in love, but they were good friends who grew up knowing what was expected of them. My mother struggled to conceive and, after I was born, the doctor advised against any future pregnancies because it would put her at great risk. My father agreed and had a vasectomy.”

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