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Before he could say a word, her cell phone signaled a text.
“Just a sec,” she said, opened it, read it, and gasped. “I’ll be right back,” she said and dashed out of the room, coming back seconds later with her laptop. She sat down and logged on, then opened her email.
“It’s him,” she said. “Wolfgang Outen. He sent me a Zoom link. He needs to tell me something face-to-face.”
Sean’s thoughts were racing as he sat back down at the table. Either the feds and the NTSB were way off their mark, or this guy was a fake. Either way, he was about to listen in on their conversation.
Amalie was already on the site and unmuting her screen when his face appeared. Her first thought was how strikingly handsome he was for a man of his age. Thick gray hair and dark brows slashed over shockingly blue eyes. But he wasn’t smiling. He looked serious. Even a little scary, yet when he spoke, every word reeked with twenty-seven years of apologies.
“Amalie, my daughter, your letter was both a shock and the greatest joy I have ever known. I am sorry I did not immediately respond, but I am in hiding.”
Amalie gasped. Had she just inherited a criminal for a father?
Wolf read her face with dismay. “No, no, it is not what you think. You live in Jubilee, Kentucky, is that right?”
“Yes,” she said. “I have recently moved here.”
“Then I am sure you were aware of the recent helicopter crash near an elementary school?”
“Yes, yes, I am. My…my sweetheart… Sean Pope, was one of the men who rescued some teachers and children who were trapped inside it, but that’s all I know.”
Wolf nodded. “I was supposed to be on that flight. My personal assistant traded places with me at the last moment so I could attend to a crisis at one of my companies in South America. He and the pilot are the two men who died. I knew nothing about the crash until the next day.”
Amalie gasped and looked over her laptop at Sean. “Did you know?”
“Who are you talking to?” Wolf asked.
“Sean. He’s here, listening.”
Wolf groaned. “Then please ask him to join us. It is imperative that I impress upon you both the need for secrecy.”
“I’m going to get my shirt,” Sean said, and bolted for the bedroom. He came back seconds later with it buttoned up enough for decency’s sake and laid his cell phone on the table as he sat down. The moment he saw the man’s face, he recognized him from newspaper reports and knew he was telling the truth. “Good evening, Mr. Outen. I’m Sean Pope. Just for the record, Amalie and I have known each other since third grade. I’m an IT specialist and I know how to keep my mouth shut about everybody’s business.”
Wolf sighed. “I thank you and regret we are meeting under these circumstances.” Then his focus shifted back to Amalie. “The FBI team working the crash knows I’m alive, as do a couple of my most trusted friends, and I believe my wife is responsible for the crash.”
Amalie gasped. “Oh my God. Why?”
“I think it began when she found out I had recently submitted a DNA test to Ancestry.com. She became enraged, which was both confusing and shocking, but I thought little of her reaction until after the crash. She always packs my bags for me when I travel. We believe the bag she packed for my short trip to Jubilee had a bomb in it. It was triggered by a remote device, which caused the chopper to explode in midair and crash near the school. Knowing I was supposed to be on that chopper and herirrational response to me wanting to look for family, and knowing she packed the bag that was carried onto the chopper, she has become the prime suspect.”
“Are you safe now?” Amalie asked. “Is she in custody?”
“I’m safe only because everyone thinks I’m dead, and no, she’s not in custody yet. They’re still gathering evidence, some of which I have contributed to. I discovered she has been trolling my personal email for months and deleting things she didn’t want me to see. I discovered that when I found notices on my business mail that should have also been on my personal mail, as well, like the notices from Ancestry.com that I never saw.”
“Then how does that affect Amalie?” Sean asked.
“I can’t be sure it does, but if my wife wanted me dead, finding out I had an heir might be further reason for her to come after Amalie, too. That’s why I’m breaking my silence. After I saw Amalie’s letter on my personal email, I immediately sent a copy to my business email, but when I went back to delete the message so that Fiona wouldn’t see it, the message had already disappeared.”
Amalie was stunned. “But why would I matter to her?”
Sean reached for Amalie’s hand. “Because your father is worth a cool billion, and if she’s evil enough to kill to get it, she’s evil enough to want it all to herself.”
Wolf nodded. “Sean nailed it. It would be nothing personal with her. Just a means to an end to remove an obstacle from what she wants.”
Amalie reached for the scars on her neck withoutthinking, and as she did, Wolf saw the burn scars on her arm and hand, and up the side of her neck.
“You have been injured?” Wolf said.
She nodded. “A couple of years ago. A drunk driver hit me, trapped me in my car. It caught fire.” She shook her head and looked away.
