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Mannis’ eyebrows knit together. “Yes, that’s what she said.”
“A couple days ago, right before Connor disappeared, my publicist asked me what we were going to do about him. She suggested they find someone he’d fall for, someone they could use to manipulate him. She said, ‘A man in love is easier to control.’”
“But he already had a girlfriend,” Mannis supplied. “Mara Young.”
“I said the same thing. Anastasia laughed it off. My guess is Apex offered Mara enough money to get her degree and then some. From what I know about the girl, she didn’t come from a wealthy family. She wouldn’t have been able to say no to money like that.”
“Would that money have come from Apex?” Mannis asked. “Or your bank account?”
“Apex is on retainer.” He sounded dejected. “So, it’ll look like I did it.”
“Let’s say we believe it was Apex. What would’ve happened next?”
“They would’ve told her to sign an NDA. Then they would’ve left her alone. They’d find another girl Connor’s age, send her to school with them, find a way for them to get introduced, and she’d play the part they paid her to play.”
“This seems like a lot of string pulling for a nineteen-year-old kid,” Davenport said. “All this to just keep his name out of a couple local newspapers?”
“Remember, Apex asked me what I wanted, and I said I wanted the presidency. They were willing to put me there because they knew they could control me. They probably control this president, too. And the last one. And the next one. Don’t underestimate them.”
“But still,” Mannis said, rubbing his chin, “Davenport has a point. All of this to keep a kid out of the headlines? Why not just pay off Connor?”
“I doubt he would’ve taken it. Besides, this isn’t hard for them. It’s a game, and they’ve learned to play it very well. They’d be able to use Connor’s girlfriend as leverage against me. They would’ve used the pay-off against me. Every fiber in their web of lies serves multiple purposes, and they know exactly when to pull on them.”
Mannis rubbed his forehead. “What would’ve made them go from pulling strings to murdering Connor?”
“If he was going to go public and there was nothing they could do to stop him, I wouldn’t put it past them.” Grayson’s manic stare was dissipating, replaced with a deep-seated fear. “There are rumors. People talk. Not loudly and not very long, but those of us who have employed Apex, despite our good intentions, understand that we’ve gotten into bed with the Devil. We know our success was off the backs of other people’s failures. Some of those failures came with permanent consequences.”
“If Apex is as big and dangerous as you’re making it out to be, then why are you telling us all this?”
For the first time since Cassie had set eyes on Senator Grayson, he looked like a genuine person.
?
??Because I won’t go to jail for killing my own kid.” He slapped his hand on the table. “My wife can leave me, she can divorce me, she can erase every memory she has of me, and I’ll learn to live with that. Those are the consequences of my actions. But I’ll be damned if I let her believe I killed our son.”
Cassie’s phone vibrated again, and it sounded like machine gun fire in the silence that followed Grayson’s statement.
“Who can we talk to about this?” Mannis asked. “Who would have information on what may have happened to Connor?”
“I want protection for me and my wife.” Grayson’s eyes were wild again. “People you can trust. People who couldn’t possibly be under Apex’s thumb.”
“You have my word.” Mannis sounded sincere. “But we need a name.”
“Talk to my publicist. Anastasia Bolton.”
Cassie’s phone stopped vibrating for a few seconds, then started up again. She couldn’t ignore it any longer. She stepped away from the one-way mirror and held the phone to her head, cupping her hand around her mouth even though she knew Grayson wouldn’t be able to hear her.
“Hello?”
“Cassie? Where the hell have you been?”
“I’m a little busy—”
Laura cut her off. “I’ve been calling for ages. Why didn’t you pick up?”
“What’s wrong?” Cassie’s heartbeat tripled in speed. “What happened?”
“It’s Mom.” Laura’s voice sounded pained and far away. Cassie finally took notice of all the noise in the background. A muffled announcement. Phones ringing. A person shouting. “She’s in the hospital.”
