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“My wife was dying from a rare form of leukemia, and she was sick a lot. The judge said it wasn’t a place to raise a child with such a traumatic brain injury. George had a doctor say that Guinevere would never be a fully functioning citizen. That she would require help, always.”
“That’s not true. She’s an amazing woman. But she’s their slave. She does everything for them.” I stop when I realize I gave him information.
“She’s what! I’ll kill him. Melissa and I would have done everything for Guin. We had a school set up for her. But that’s not the most important thing. They know about the clause.”
“What clause?” I growl, afraid of what he’s going to say. I advance on him, ready to slam him against the wall.
“Rocco, stand down,” my lieutenant orders, and I stop.
“You care for her?” Geoffrey smiles.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Doesn’t it? George only gets a small portion of the money left for Guin. Money to take care of her and the place she lives. He was able to get control of Chambers LLC. It was given to Graham instead of George by their father. George only wanted money and power; he didn’t want to run the company. Their father knew that, but he didn’t know the ramifications of that decision. The moment he listed Graham as his successor, George started to plan his death. It took him longer than he thought it would though. Graham had already met and married Jennifer, and then Guinevere was born.” He pauses, and I see his eyes glass over for a moment as the memories come to him.
He clears his throat. “She was everything to them. She was the light of both their lives. Graham still worked and controlled the board, but Guinevere was his first priority and Jennifer his second. He loved them both so much. Every decision he made was for his family. Chambers LLC grew to what it is today because of him. He appointed a board, that thankfully, still has control over George and his idiot son.”
“So, what’s the clause?” I demand again.
“Guin just turned twenty-four; if she makes it to her twenty-fifth birthday, she gets everything, and he no longer gets anything. She’ll have control of the board. She gets all the money, and he’s left with nothing.” His words are like a bomb going off in my head and my knees almost give out.
“Holy fuck! They staged the attack to kill her,” Damian exclaims as he jumps from his seat.
“Like I said, he’s tried to kill her before, so whatever attack you’re referring to doesn’t surprise me.”
“Why didn’t he do it before now? If he knew the clause, why didn’t he try to kill her when she was a child or teenager, even?” the lieutenant asks.
“Because all he knew was that he got control when he adopted her. He didn’t hear about the rest of the clause until her attorney met with him recently. I tried to go with him. I wanted to be there. I needed to make sure she was safe, but I was thrown from the building as soon as I stepped foot on the property. What he doesn’t know is that I’m the one controlling the board. I also have control over her inheritance, and always have.”
“Why?”
“Because I love her. She is the closest thing I have to a daughter. We couldn’t have children. Before my beloved died, I swore I would get our girl back. I don’t care about the money, I never needed it. I have my own. Graham and I made our money before we married. I learned a long time ago that no matter how much money you have, it can’t buy you forever. I lost my wife, best friend, and family all within a year of each other. Guin is all I have left.”
“Why didn’t you fight to get her back? Why did you leave her with them?”
“I tried to fight.” He advances on me. “I fought every chance I got, every time I was allowed to, but every time he had the judge in his pocket. Three judges.” He holds his hand up to my face with three fingers up. “Shit, I couldn’t even come here until I heard about you looking into her.” He pokes me in the chest and the urge to punch him is great. “Hold on to that anger, you’re going to need it because there are several cops on his payroll. It’s lucky you got this case. I don’t even know how.”
“I saw her running from the assholes who beat her up, the attack my partner mentioned earlier. I interfered with their plans. Then we got the case.”
“Good, because she needs someone like you in her corner. I used to try to help her. I had a teacher helping me once to get her case brought in front of child protective services, but then the teacher disappeared, and the case was dropped.”
“Fuck.” I swing around and look for something to hit. Lieutenant was right, she was protecting me. I turn back around. “She’s an adult. If we can convince her to leave, she will be out of their control.” He slowly shakes his head.
“It’s not that easy. When Guin was seventeen, George had a judge declare her as incompetent. We have to prove he’s a detriment to her. That she is in danger.”
I look at the lieutenant. “The pictures.”
“We were too late.”
“Fuckin A,” Damian yells as I look out the window toward my desk where my phone is. Can I do this to her? I know it’s to protect her, but she wasn’t aware I took the pictures. She’ll have to forgive me, because this is the only way to protect her.
“I have proof.” I move toward the door. “I took pictures.”
Making my way to my desk, I open the drawer to find my phone going off again. I ignore the call, but the string of texts stops me. I look back toward the room, needing to get back, but Linc wouldn’t blow me up like this unless it was important. The phone starts ringing again, and I answer this time.
“About fucking time you answered, asshole.”
“I can’t talk. I’m in the middle of something.” I’m about to pull the phone from my ear.
“Wait, this is urgent. Whoever this girl is, she alerted my techs to something.”
I pause as I wait for what else Linc has to say.
“There is a hit out on her. I can’t tell you too much without breaking client confidentiality.”
“Would the client be Geoffrey Abernathy?”
“How do you know that name?” He doesn’t confirm or deny my question.
“Because he’s here right now.”
