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But as the day wore on, she couldn’t dismiss the feeling that those words revealed a hidden truth.
She sat through the counseling sessions on autopilot, nodding when appropriate, speaking when expected. But though she appeared fine, her brain was busily trying to figure out where that phrase fit into the bigger picture. She felt like she’d been given a piece of a puzzle, but with no idea as to what the final product was supposed to look like, she didn’t have the first clue how to start putting it all together.
Santiago noticed her distraction. “What’s going on?” he asked at lunch. They sat by themselves, as usual, their table far enough away from the other couples that there was no chance of their conversation being overheard.
“Something happened in the bathroom today.”
He tensed, clearly expecting the worst, so she hurried to reassure him. “I’m fine,” she said. Some of the tension left his shoulders and she explained her encounter with the Institute employee.
To his credit, he listened closely and didn’t immediately laugh in her face. “I know it’s probably nothing,” she finished. “But something about that phrase hit me. Like a moment of déjà vu or something, you know?”
“It sounds unsettling,” Santiago said. “Have you been able to find a connection to anything?”
She shook her head. “Not yet,” she admitted. “But I just can’t stop thinking about it.”
He reached for her hand on the table, but she pulled away before he could touch her. “We’re splitting up, remember?”
Annoyance flashed across his face. “Oh. Right.”
“I appreciate the gesture.” It was sweet of him to try to offer support. Even though he’d never mentioned it, Ainsley was absolutely certain his father had never emotionally supported his mother. The fact that his first instinct was to try to help her was yet one more reason why she knew Santiago was in no danger of turning into either one of his parents. But now was not the time to share her realizations with him.
“I can’t help jog your memory, but I can offer some distraction,” he said. “I don’t know about you, but I need to get some work done tonight. I don’t even want to think about how many emails I have now.”
“No kidding,” she said. Her own inbox was likely bursting at the seams.
Emails... Inbox... Good day...
“That’s it!” She sat up and gripped the table, excitement thrumming through her.
Santiago glanced to the side, and she realized people were looking at her. Heat washed over her, concentrating in her cheeks. Way to be subtle, she thought.
“Uh, I take it you made a connection about something?” he asked quietly.
Ainsley nodded, unwilling to speak until she was certain she was no longer the focus of the dining room. After a few seconds, she leaned forward. “The email that was sent to the board in January—the one that started this whole mess?”
Santiago nodded. “The message that claimed your brother isn’t a true Colton.”
“Exactly,” she replied. “The email sign-off was just two words—Good day.”
“Okay.” Santiago drew the word out, his tone making it clear he didn’t put as much stock in this coincidence as she did.
“There’s more,” she said. “Have you heard of the Affirmation Alliance Group?”
Santiago frowned. “The name is vaguely familiar. Refresh my memory?”
“It’s an organization run by a woman named Micheline Anderson. They claim to be a wellness group, focused on self-help and self-awareness, basically any self-thing you can think of that they can monetize.”
“I take it you’re not a fan?” he asked dryly.
“Not at all,” she replied. “The whole group strikes me as being predatory, a way of taking advantage of people’s insecurities to sell them something.”
“That sounds familiar,” Santiago murmured.
“Exactly.” Now that she thought about it, Ainsley wondered if the Woodses knew Micheline. Didn’t all grifters know each other, if only tangentially?
“Tell me why this group matters.” Santiago’s question broke into her thoughts, and Ainsley mentally refocused on the issue at hand. Later, when there was time, she’d explore the possibility of a connection between AAG and the Woodses.
“That email was sent by a member of AAG,” she said, filling him in on the convoluted twists and turns in the police investigation. “Micheline’s hands appear to be clean, but I just know she’s neck-deep in all of this.”
