Page 26 of Cruel Titan

“I might’ve missed that. Let’s go ask Sophie and do some more digging.” A little more thorough this time.

Walking down the hallway, Nathan also makes his way down from the opposite direction, waving to us. “This must be Connor.”

Fantastic. Now Connor knows I was talking to my mom and stepdad about him. I formally introduce them, and Nathan begins asking about football and some other random questions.

“Nathan, your appointment starts in twenty minutes, and it’s going to take you an hour to get there.” Sophie doesn’t look up from her task as she speaks matter-of-factly.

“I do need to get going.”

“It was nice meeting you, sir,” Connor extends his hand. Nathan gives me an odd look before grabbing his hand and shaking it. Nathan’s probably floored that there is a guy who actually has manners, unlike the dickweed he’s dealt with long before I arrived.

“You too.” Nathan gives him a stern stare before looking my way. “I’ll see you later. Give me a call if you need anything.”

“Bye,” I respond as we watch him walk to the elevator, glancing over his shoulder in our direction before stepping inside the open doors.

“Hey, Sophie. Are there any more donor receipts for Golden Olympus Academy from the foundation that we can include in the slideshow? Connor said the football team has received some, but they aren’t in the file. Or were the donations maybe from Barker personally?” Might as well ask as many questions as I can while it doesn’t seem suspicious.

“I can pose for a picture if you need a stand-in,” Connor jokes, causing Sophie to laugh as I shake my head.

“Mr. Bennett does donate personally to the academy but there should be plenty in there from the foundation too.” Sophie clicks her mouse a few times, searching around the system that I recognize as the file folder I’ve been searching through. “Hm. They should be here. Maybe it hasn’t been uploaded into the system yet. The Bennett Foundation had everything on paper up until a few months ago when Nathan took over. The old files are all downstairs on the fifth floor in the HR area. You can go take a look if you feel up to it.”

“Sure.” I look at Connor. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want. I know digging through filing cabinets isn’t overly exciting.”

“I told you I wanted to hang out. Digging through old cabinets it is.”

Sophie reaches in her desk, pulls out a set of keys, and places them in my hand. “The foundation cabinets are lined against the back wall. Y’all don’t get in any trouble down there. Nathan seems edgy enough.”

So, she noticed it too. Although, I thought Nathan was more surprised to see Connor than anything, maybe he was on edge. I can’t read him as well as he has always seemed to read me.

Stepping into the elevator, I press the fifth-floor button, and it descends.

“Everything okay?” Connor asks as we step off the elevator.

I was so lost in thought about the files, I’d forgotten Connor was standing next to me. That can’t be a good sign. “Yeah. Just thinking of everything I need to do before Saturday. Did you find a suit yet?”

“Yep. Suit and tie are ready to go.”

As we walk past a desk, an employee waves, resuming her work without a second thought since she knows I’ve been helping Sophie. I thought everyone knowing I was Nathan’s stepdaughter would make it harder to sneak. Instead, it’s had the opposite effect, allowing me to go unnoticed.

The filing room door creaks when I force it open. Reaching to flip on the light switch, I step inside the room that smells of stale air. As I make my way to the back wall, I study the labels of each cabinet, wishing I had more time—and less company—to search each and every one.

“She mentioned where the cabinet was but not which key opened it.” Laughing, I hold up the key ring loaded with keys of every shape and size before testing out the first one. Several keys later, I’m excited when the lock turns, allowing me to pull the top drawer open. It’s not the correct cabinet but thankfully the same key opens the similar cabinets lined along the wall.

My fingers freeze on a file folder labeled Golden Olympus Academy, and I notice the entire drawer is full of folders with the same designate. Each has a subtitle behind it. Glancing through the names, my breath hitches when I see Caine on one of the folders.

“Find it?” Connor asks, pulling me out of my shocked state.

“Um. Yeah. There seems to be a lot of them though.” Slowly I pull the folder out, unable to wait, even though I should look at it when I’m in private. A small headshot of my dad is adhered to the first page, the teenage version I’ve seen of him in the yearbook stares back at me.

“What’s wrong?” Connor asks, his hand settling on the small of my back.

Unable to mask my pain, I reply as my voice cracks, “It’s my dad.”

“Oh.” Connor rubs his hand lightly on my back before peeking over to look at the file. “So, your dad was a scholarship kid too?”

“What?” Looking to him with confusion, I can’t comprehend what he’s referring to because the only thing I can think about is how Nathan’s family paid for my dad’s education—the very people who may be behind his death.

“I’m a scholarship kid. Well, I’m not a Bennett beneficiary, or anything, but since my dad is the football coach …” He mistakes my confusion. I’m unconcerned with his status; my interest is solely related to this file in my hand. It’s the only one troubling me. “There’s no way my dad could afford to send three kids. I figured you knew.”