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“I can’t take yours,” I said, straight away. “You’ve done enough for me. For us.”
“I don’t mean mine,” she said. “I mean what is rightfully yours.”
My brows knitted together. “I’m not following.”
“And I’m not promising,” she warned. “But don’t give up hope just yet, okay?”
* * *
Forty minutes later, the boat pulled up to the dock and we stepped out, each of us lighter for our short trip. Minty especially, for having thrown up everything but her physical anatomy.
“I hope you still like it here,” she croaked, as Hector wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Because I’m not getting on another boat again for the rest of my life.”
He patted her arm, knowing better than to object to anything in that moment.
“Who’s in the car over there?” Vivian said.
I lifted my gaze up the hill and spotted the black people carrier. My chest hardened, my protective instinct filling with blood, and I pulled her body into mine.
“I might have an idea.” Adele walked ahead, leading us across the shingle to the road. The wind had settled now we were back on land, and the heat from the slowly dipping sun warmed the air. As we neared the car, a door opened and Dexter Lamont stepped out.
My gaze flickered from Adele to her father, in utter confusion.
Dexter’s eyes filled as his only daughter approached him then stopped a few feet away. “Adele…” I heard him whisper.
“Daddy,” she replied, more firmly.
Dexter took a step forward but Adele held up a hand to stop him.
His eyes rounded at the rebuttal. “Where did you go?”
“We can talk about that later. Possibly,” she said. The four of us stood uncertainly behind her, immensely grateful for everything she’d done but a little uncomfortable not knowing what her plan was.
“You want something.” Dexter’s shoulders tensed beneath his Gucci overcoat, but he didn’t seem angry.
“I want you to arrange for Rupert and Hector to get what they are owed.”
I held my breath hearing her words. I hadn’t asked her to do that. I certainly hadn’t expected her to do that.
Dexter tipped his chin upwards; his daughter stood a foot taller than him. “Can you elaborate?”
“I want them to have a third each of Sinclair’s estate. It’s what they are owed.”
“Ade—”
“They have earned that money,” Adele continued. “They deserve it. They have played a part in this horror story all their life. They’ve done Sinclair’s bidding, they’ve suffered at the hands of Ossian, a sociopathic bully, and they’ve now discovered they’re supposedly worthless in the eyes of all those who helped raise them. To be honest, I think they deserve the lot. Iris deserves absolutely nothing. She committed a heinous crime and you helped cover it up. I could go to the press and we could do this the hard way, or you can continue to represent Iris Thorn and we settle this out of the courts. It’s your call. But know this…” she took one step towards her father and I was shocked to see him shrank back a few inches. “If you choose to go down the route of a court case, you will never see me again.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and so did Hector. Vivian and Minty froze beside us.
I reached out to her. “Adele, you don’t need to—”
“I want to,” she snapped at me over her shoulder. “I want to know just how much my father did miss me. If he sides with Iris on this, I’ll know where his loyalty really lies.” She panned back to Dexter, and I watched him wilt under her gaze.
“You know I would never choose Iris over you, Adele,” he said earnestly. I still didn’t feel able to release my breath. “And what’s more, I’ve been planning to do this since I managed to wrap my head around it.”
Dexter turned to face me. “I’m so sorry Rupert, for everything. I should never have kept this a secret for your family.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “Attorney client privileges… I get it.”
