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“And you believe that person is helping support her brother now?” she asked hesitantly.
I nodded. “That’s our theory,” I confirmed. “Whoever was bankrolling Elias no doubt became fed up with his incompetence when it came to Dashkov. Especially after he took down the port.”
“I thought Elias had Ava locked away?” Her face scrunched in confusion as she continued to study the board. “How would she know who Elias met with?”
Bailey had only bits and pieces of Ava’s story from the time Ava ran away initially. She had no insight into the life my sister led before she was caught and brought back to Seattle. It made sense that she was puzzled about how someone who had essentially been a prisoner in her own home would have insider knowledge.
Might as well start at the beginning.
“I’m going to give you the abridged version. Otherwise, we could be here for years.” I pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit. Like a good girl, she did. “Okay, Ava’s mother and our father were childhood sweethearts who grew up in Boston. Katherine, her mother, was the daughter of Seamus McDonough, billionaire shipping tycoon and head of the Irish mob. When my grandfather expanded to Seattle, they followed him, deciding to attend college at the University of Washington.
“They were in love. Yada. Yada. One weekend, while my father was away on business, Katherine went missing. My father searched everywhere for her. Never gave up. A few months later, she showed up on his doorstep without an explanation, and then two weeks later, she was gone.”
“Kidnapped again?” Bailey asked, a horrified expression pasted across her pale face. I shrugged my shoulder.
“Who knows,” I admitted. “Ava says she was caught by Elias and dragged back to him. Father says she left a note stating she couldn’t be with him. That she no longer loved him. So he drowned his sorrow in my mother.”
Bailey smiled. “And that’s how you were born.”
I chuckled. “Exactly.” My expression sobered as I thought about everything Ava had told me about her mother. “According to Ava, Katherine found out she was pregnant and managed to escape again with some inside help. No one knows who. When Ava was eleven, someone broke into their house to rob them and ended up killing her mother. And the rest you kind of know. Somehow, Elias managed to bribe the police and social welfare and had Ava declared as his daughter. Except he never told anyone about her.”
“So what does that have to do with how much information she knows?”
Right, I’d kind of forgotten to mention that.
I paused, thinking over how to explain the situation without dragging on forever.
“My sister said that someone paid Elias to kidnap and sell Katherine at an auction,” I began. “Except, somewhere between kidnapping and selling her, Elias became obsessed with her. Now, this was before he took over the flesh trade from the Polish. He ended up buying her. So when he took Ava after her mother died, he used to parade her around his associates. Ava is very good at going unnoticed. Over the years, she heard enough to level him. Learned enough to set his world on fire. We just have to put it all into action.”
Bailey set her coffee mug down on the wooden table and stood facing the whiteboard as she took in everything I’d just slammed her with.
“You think that my father is in league with men like Elias?” I didn’t miss the sneer in her voice at her accusation.
Sighing, I leaned forward, knees on my elbows, and looked her directly in the eyes.
“You’ve seen the proof, Bailey,” I whispered. “You’re the one who is refusing to accept the truth of it.”
“If you’re right,” I could see how much pain saying those words caused her, “then he will be at the auction that takes place a few days after the gala.”
Slowly, I nodded.
“Then why do you need me to spy?”
“Because a man with his secrets would never keep them somewhere other people had easy access to. He’d keep them safe and close to home and somewhere that not even a raid would find. Your father worked right alongside Elias, up till his death, which means he could know who was supporting him.”
“And what if he doesn’t know?” she asked. “What if he is innocent?”
“Baby girl.” I brought my hand up to cup her cheek. Her blue eyes dimmed, sadness filling them. “He isn’t.”
Her eyes closed, and she nuzzled her cheek into my hand, relishing in its warmth like a kitten.
“There is a removable wall in his safe,” she whispered so low that I barely heard her confession. “It is so solidly built that no one knows it’s false. He keeps a laptop there, I believe.”
Brow furrowed, I stared down at her. “How do you know about it?”
She smiled coyly at me. “Your sister isn’t the only one who often goes unnoticed. I don’t believe that my father is capable of the things you say he is,” she admitted. “But I am aware that he isn’t a saint. I know he’s blackmailed his opponents and has under the table dealings, but he would never do the things you’re accusing him of.”
“Bailey,” I sighed.
