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Damn it!
I don’t see it. Itmustbe here, so I back up and start on one end of the shelf. My eyes scan every book here, moving back and forth. It must take me a solid five minutes, but I finally spot it. He moved it to the bottom corner of the shelf. Either he was suspicious because I was up here, or he’s just an all-around paranoid bastard.
Anxiousness grows in my belly as I think he might have moved the papers. If he did, I’m screwed because that’s the only solid piece of evidence I have.
I snatch the key and waste no time going under the desk.Please, please, please, let them still be here. I shouldn’t have waited so long to come back. I let out the biggest sigh of relief because tucked inside the hidden compartment is the folder. I quickly pull out my phone and take a picture of each page. I’ll download a password protected app later so I can easily hide these.
I return the folder under the desk and carefully place the book back where I found it with the key tucked inside. Exiting the room, I leave the door ajar like it was when I arrived. I make my way downstairs and out of the house before hailing a cab back to work. I’m sporting a giant grin on my face.
I’m on to you, Christopher.
I’m in the middle of talking to a customer when my cell phone rings. It’s Addy, and I’m so relieved to hear from her I excuse myself from the customer and run into my office.
“Addy, are you okay? Why haven’t you called me back?”
There’s a moment of silence on the other end, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I hear a door close quietly.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to call you back sooner. They know you know more than you’re letting on. I’m being watched constantly, and they aren’t letting up on me questioning you. It’s like they’ve gone into full-blown panic mode. I don’t know what to do,” she responds in a rushed whisper.
She sounds really upset, and my heart breaks for her right then. Honestly, it breaks for the two of us because there isnogoing back. We’ll never be able to forget this, and I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to forgive this mess, either.
The trust we once had in our family is damaged irrevocably, and my relationship with Christopher is not what I want for my life. I want true love, that all-consuming fire that lights you up from the inside out. A partner who I can be proud to call mine, one who isn’t so consumed with money and power that he would kill over it.
I know this has to be what all the lying and secrecy is about. That’s the only thing Christopher cares about. I was delusional to think he loved me.
“Addy, it’ll be okay. I need to do some more digging, but we need to go to the police. We need to tell them what we know so far.” I feel a rush of relief just saying that out loud, accepting where this needs to go.
“Andrea! Are you crazy?! We can’t go to the fucking cops! Andrew will probably find out before we can even talk to them. They willnotallow that to happen. Andrew and Dad have been talking to the chief of police every couple of days. I’ve overheard them both fishing to see what the cops have. I don’t know what we need to do, but I know we can’t do that!”
She sounds as if she’s on the verge of hyperventilating at this point, and I think this is when it really sets in that we’re in trouble. I hadn’t allowed myself to consider the possibility that the police were off the table. Call it denial or whatever you want, but I was praying it would be as simple as that.
Turn in what we have, testify to what we’ve heard, and let them take it over. A tear slides down my cheek, over my jawline, and lands with a silent splash on my desk. I don’t know how to comfort my sister. I don’t know what to say to make this okay, and I die a little inside right then. I mourn the freedom I thought I could have and realize my fate may be sealed. What’s worse is it sounds like hers may be, too.
“We need to come up with a plan, Addy. If we don’t go to the police, we need to get some insurance on them so we know we’re safe.”
That’s all I can think of right now, my sister’s safety. She’s the innocent here. I may not have known what Christopher was up to, but I made a choice to be with him, even when I felt like something wasn’t right. I’m going to make this okay for her, no matter what I have to do.
“I love you,” she says in a rush, the urgency only getting stronger as she continues. It’s like she doesn’t want to speak whatever comes next out loud but feels compelled to. “Please know that, and I’ll protect you as much as I can. I’m scared for you to keep digging. It’s not safe, and I’m terrified of what they may do to you.”
“I love you, too, and I’ll do anything to protect you. I won’t get caught, but it’s the only way I see to make sure nothing happens to either of us. If we have proof and something to blackmail them with, they won’t hurt us. I refuse to sit back and do nothing. We know Christopher is involved, but we don’t know exactly how Andrew and Dad are. I’m scared to find that out.”
There’s a sharp inhale on her side. “I know. Me too, Sis,” she whispers.
We sit in silence for a few seconds, absorbing everything said and what everything may mean.
“Call me whenever you can, okay? Promise me?” I plead.
“I will. I promise, but please hurry. I don’t think we have much time. I’ll see what I can find. So far, it’s just hushed conversations I can’t make any sense of.”
“That’s okay. Try to record them. It might not make sense now, but it may later when we have more information. I love you; I have to go.” The customer I walked away from is pacing the lobby, and I need to get back to them.
“Love you, too.”
The line goes dead, and my heart starts a relentless, pounding pace. I’m not planning to sit down and shut up, so all of them better be scared of me. Now I have something more to fight for than myself: my sister. No one is going to threaten her and get away with it.
Chapter 11
TheonlyotherplaceI can think of to get dirt on Christopher is the safe deposit box. Finding that key is the only other solid lead I have, so I’m going to the bank today. Christopher added me on the list to get into it when we got engaged, stating if anything happened, it would be faster and easier for me to get into it than his family. I never questioned it, and now I’m thankful he did it.
