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19
It was getting late, and Flynn was beyond tired as he tried yet another password to hack into his brother’s laptop.
He had access to the Shepherd Industries accounts and could easily track the money Errol had moved from Birdie’s bank account and into his own personal account. If he were a betting man, Errol would completely bypass the construction project account he had informed the Pinkie Posse of, transferring the money into an off-shore account.
That was the kind of information they needed against Errol and Ariana. But he wasn’t going to find that on the Shepherd Industries network.
It was his brother’s personal laptop he had to hack. He knew, without a doubt, it was there they would find the motherlode of damning information. Why? Because Errol was so freakishly protective of the laptop and its whereabouts.
And Flynn was determined to hack into it.
Ariana was at a philanthropic event, likely spending the night in the city. Birdie should be preparing for the Blame Game, sans Mother, while Lucas was surveilling the perimeter of the estate, despite Flynn’s suggestions that he keep a fair distance.
He sat at his brother’s desk with his elbows on both sides of the laptop and his head in his hands, trying to come up with yet another password to try.
Sitting back in the seat and sighing heavily with frustration, he thought of trying a name as the passcode. Someone that meant something to his brother. He tried the name of Errol’s first pet. One Ariana gifted his brother for his twelfth birthday.
Flynn remembered it as if it were yesterday. The birthday where he got a Matchbox car, not even wrapped but handed to him in a brown paper bag, as he watched her carry in a large white box with a blue bow and surprised his brother with a playful, gangly puppy.
A golden retriever that did its best to garner affection from his brother but instead found it from Flynn. When Errol discovered Flynn feeding the dog and then taking it for a walk, the next day, it went missing.
When Flynn confronted him, he said he had gotten rid of it. After all, it was his dog to do with as he pleased.
Preferential treatment for his twin was a common occurrence during his childhood. Ariana seemed more embarrassed and angry at her other child while she doted on Errol with unending affection.
A constant bone of contention between his mother and father. Marshall.
He remembered his father always trying to compensate for his mother’s neglect, but then he left. And Flynn learned to coexist with his brother and mother in a loveless, conspiring home.
Flynn typed in the dog’s name, Brutus, with a number of variations. As he typed, he thought what a stupid name for such a kind and loving dog.
Nothing.
And then he thought of another name, one, that at one time, seemed unlikely. A long shot, but…maybe.
He typed in all upper case “ARIANA” and lo and behold, he was in.
As he sifted through his brother’s files, his eyes grew wide and his heart began to race.
With every new folder he opened, he grinned with deep satisfaction. Then he hit what computer hackers called the “main vein.” A file with all of Errol’s logins, served up to him like a platter full of some of his favorite carb-laden foods.
It was like Christmas. But better.
The evening was turning out to be such a boon, he checked Errol’s personal bank account. Alas, the Pinkie Posse’s money was no longer there, as indicated and promised, but had been moved to an off-shore account in Singapore.
Eureka!
He couldn’t wait to share the news with his new boss and Tati.
Then he checked the time on his phone and his heart stopped.
Birdie.
Time had slipped away from him. He needed to check on her. Do a little reconnaissance to ensure his brother wasn’t putting her in a compromising position.
Flynn didn’t like how he was manhandling Birdie and threatening her. He had never witnessed mistreatment of others that mirrored his own from his family, and he didn’t like it. Not one single bit.
But then he heard pounding footsteps from what sounded like the staircase, and then loud voices and a scuffle just above him.
