Once I’m in, Nico taps twice on the desk and gestures to the door. He’s going to watch outside. Nodding, I work first on the camera footage, overlapping the time when we walk in with the empty office footage from a few days before with the same time stamp.
I put a flash drive in the port and begin to copy anything relevant or not. I can sort through the files later when I’m on my own laptop without network access. There’s a lot of new files on his computer that I’ve never seen before.
When I switch out drives, I check my phone for the time and to see if we’ve received a text. Plenty of time left.
I scroll through his email while the files copy. He’s good about deleting his email, but doesn’t always remember to wipe the server. I copy a few interesting subject lines and then do a search for Bruce Ross (Caden’s father), Mark Lee (Nico’s father), and Angela Brown (Sidney’s mom).
Anything that comes up I save to the file.
My eyes scan and pause on Davidson. It’s an email sent to Jennifer Davidson. I copy it, but scan it. It doesn’t make any sense, but maybe I’m just in too much of a rush. I’ll review it later.
I close everything and make sure the desk is exactly how I found it. Nico slips in and holds up two fingers. Two minutes. Got it.
I give him the gesture forlet’s get out of here. We duck out into the hall and Nico pulls me into the room across from the office. We wait and then I hear footsteps. The office door opens and closes.
Fuck. That was close.
Luke
My dad drones on about work and family until I want to jab the steak knife in my heart just to end this all. Penny nods beside him every time he includes her in the conversation. She’s stiff and terrified, that much is obvious.
She should be if she’s planning on living under this roof. I’m still trying to make sense of this strategy. Does he want to show me I’m replaceable? Fine, replace me. Fucking hell, I’d love that.
Or is he making her vulnerable so I have to take care of her?
Either way, when this is over, mysisterand I will be having a long talk. Not here. Fuck no. I don’t need him listening in on our conversation. Apparently, I should have let the girl talk to me earlier.
I’ve never paid much attention to her, but now that I look at her, I can see my father’s eyes and lips. I’m surprised he didn’t warn me about her so I wouldn’t fuck her. That would have been inconvenient.
Maybe she’s been a spy for my father this whole time? Fuck. That’s definitely an angle he would take advantage of. She’s gotten close to Harper. Maybe I should just let Penny deal with whatever my dad—our dad—wants to throw her way.
My father looks way too smug as he finishes his wine. “I think I’ll skip dessert tonight and head to my office. You two need some time to get to know each other. It was lovely seeing you again, Harper.”
He stands and walks out the door. The servers clear our plates and bring out chocolate cake. I quickly text Nico to tell him my dad is on the move. Hopefully, they were able to get what we needed.
Penny glances around as the servers leave us. “I wanted to tell you.”
I shrug. “I know now.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” Harper’s hand curls into mine again and warmth fills me.
Penny’s eyes glisten. Fake or real? Will I ever be able to trust this girl? My sister?
“I didn’t know who my father was until I turned twelve. Then I was ushered into a lawyers’ office with four lawyers glaring at me and my mom explaining I needed to sign this NDA.”
“And how much did he pay for you to sign that?” I sit back in my chair without touching my chocolate cake. Most likely he wanted to terrorize her into silence. A contract wouldn’t have been legally binding.
Penny’s cheeks flush with color. “My mom did the best she could, but he made sure I didn’t want for anything growing up. I didn’t know that until I read the terms of the NDA. If I said anything to anyone, my mom would have to repay every cent she ever received from William Foster.”
Smart. Make the girl beholden to her mother and make it so painful she couldn’t say anything. “Why twelve?”
She grows redder. “My mom realized guys were noticing me and she didn’t want me to accidentally have sex with my half-brother.”
“Why are you living with him now?” Harper leans forward. She barely ate her dinner and now she pushes her cake away. I need to make sure she gets fed.
Penny shrugs and a tear falls down her cheek. I’m still not able to tell if it’s real or fake. “I’m seventeen until May. He threatened to take everything away from my mother if I didn’t come live with him. I’m not an adult, so I don’t have a say in it.”
I do the math quickly. She was born almost nine months after me.
