Page 109 of The Wicked

It’s not only money that makes the world go round; it’s blackmail and murder too.

So, now you know.

Do with this information what you will, but do it very, very carefully.

Claire Baldwin-Forlani.

There was absolute silence in Aaron’s study as we all digested the contents of the letter. Now I knew why my mom had died, and the reason was worse than anything I could possibly have imagined. She’d stumbled across a den of vipers, and then someone she cared about had betrayed her. I’d experienced betrayal myself, but for Mom, it had been a hundred times worse. Not knowing who to trust, not knowing who to turn to… At least I had my friends.

Luca was the first to speak. “Well, fuck.”

Blue was next. “Come on, let’s watch the videos.”

Gracie gripped my hand as Aaron clicked on the first file, but truthfully, it was a bit of a let-down. Two men eating in a restaurant, and one passed an envelope across the table to the other. I didn’t recognise either of them.

“Any ideas?” Blue asked.

It was Deck who answered. “The man on the left is Senator Presley, and he’s an asshole. No idea about the other guy.”

“Let’s move on.”

Video number two showed a grey-haired man kissing a woman young enough to be his granddaughter. Not his wife, I was guessing.

“Anyone?”

“Garrett might know,” Gracie said softly. “If the man is in politics, I mean. My brother goes to a lot of fundraisers.”

“Why don’t we look at the third video?” Brooke asked brightly.

Whoa. We all recognised the subject of that one, although I had to squint to believe it.

“Is that…is that President Harrison?”

Also not with his wife. The First Lady had dark brown hair, and this was a blonde. How long ago had the president gotten married? I wasn’t sure. He opened the car door for the blonde to climb out, tucked an arm around her waist, and the two of them set off along the street. But they didn’t get far before he pushed her up against a dark storefront and kissed her passionately. Another shot showed them in a restaurant, looking cosy as they ate dinner.

Whoever Samantha was, she’d been right. These people, this Compass, they were watching everyone. Had James Harrison even been a senator sixteen years ago? Or had they been smart enough to preempt his rise to power?

“Claire said one of the men in these videos was responsible for her death,” Blue reminded us. “If the President of the United States was involved, we might have bitten off a little more than we can chew.”

And I’d always thought Harrison was one of the good guys. Yet more evidence that I was a poor judge of character.

“Play the next video,” Colt said.

Oh, yikes, too much boobs. The man in question was sucking them, pressing them together, sliding his dick between them as their owner moaned dramatically underneath him.

“Are those real?” I asked without thinking.

Blue snorted. “I doubt it. But that’s former Congressman Bull. You remember him? He’s the jackass who went viral when his ex-wife cut the ass out of his pants, and he didn’t realise before he set out to open a new mini-mall.”

I did remember. And now that I’d seen this video, I honestly couldn’t blame her.

Number five had been filmed in a bathroom, and judging by the attire—a tuxedo and a ballgown—the couple featured had been attending a gala or an awards show or a fancy dinner. The man was fucking his companion from behind, one hand over her mouth to muffle her cries. I thought I might have seen the face on TV sometime, but I couldn’t put a name to it.

“Well, hello, Governor DeVaio,” Colt said. “I met that guy at some dinner with Brie. The woman on the tape isn’t his current wife.”

We had one video left, and even before Aaron pressed play, I had a good idea of who we’d see in it. Five bucks said movie star number six was a politician, he was a sleaze, and he never went anywhere without a human pit bull at his side.

And I was right.

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