Deception (Infidelity #3)

“What about this?” I asked as I pointed.

“In the event that the marriage doesn’t go as planned, Montague Corporation will remain a viable entity; however, the current board of trustees will be dissolved, and the entire corporate structure will become a publicly traded company.”

“But the original article stated it would be sold and the proceeds would go to Fitzgerald Investments?”

“Adelaide, that’s what a codicil does, it allows people to change their minds.”

“What about the assets?”

Stephen shook his head. “If the marriage doesn’t occur, or either person marries someone else, your father’s last will and testament will enter probate again where all interested parties must make a case for their rights. Assuming that the earlier mentioned interference isn’t an issue, theoretically, the estate will be equally divided amongst the living heirs.”

“This has been present for fifteen years and it’s the first time I’m seeing it? Why is that?”

“I don’t have an answer for you. I can tell you that after the addition of the codicil and apparently your father’s death, there was an attempt to revoke the codicil, to make it null and void. The presiding judge refused to remove it.”

I didn’t need to ask who had made that attempt.

I removed my phone from my purse and turned on my camera. Page by page, I photographed Article XII as well as the codicils. When I was done, I said, “Stephen, thank you. Let me help you put this all back in the box. Would it be possible to forget to log what we saw into that catalog?”

He shook his head.

“I understand. Then could it simply say that we explored the contents of the documents with no specifics?”

His expression blossomed. “That space for content is too small to describe all that we did.”

“And who’s made aware of that catalog?” I asked.

“Only people who seek the information. It isn’t automatically given to anyone.” He shrugged. “If it were, you’d be on that list.”

That was true.

“Thank you again,” I said. “I’d be happy to buy you a drink. You are old enough to drink, aren’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am, and after today, I’d like a drink.”

“Me too, Stephen. I feel like celebrating.”





“TELL ME WHERE you are,” Alton’s booming voice demanded.

I wasn’t born yesterday. If my GPS worked for Nox, it also worked for Alton. “Let me talk to my mother, or I’m hanging up.”

“I didn’t realize that Columbia had a satellite campus in Rye.” He said the word like it was a backwoods Georgia dot on the map, not one of the nicest, most expensive zip codes in New York.

Asshole.

“It doesn’t.”

“Well, obviously, this law school farce didn’t last long. Second day and you’re already skipping class.”

“Goodbye.”

Before I could disconnect the line, my mother’s voice came through the cell phone. “Alexandria, are you all right?”

“Yes, Mother, I’m fine.”

“Tell us what happened.”

Nox had told me not to talk to anyone about this morning until I heard from Deloris. Did that include my family? “I really don’t know.” It was mostly true. The scene was a blur.

“Bullshit!” Alton’s voice boomed from the background, turning my stomach and setting my teeth on edge.

“Speakerphone? Really, Mother?” I wondered if they were in his office at that damn ostentatious conference table. Were we now doing long-distance family discipline sessions? Soon it would be time to talk about how once again I’d disappointed my family and sullied the Montague name.

“Dear, your father is worried sick. You were involved in a shooting! Your face was on the news. Do you have any idea of the repercussions to Montague Corporation?”

Yep, there it is!

So many issues—number one, he’s not my father! Number two, I was shot at and Montague Corporation is the biggest concern?

“I wasn’t involved. It happened. We left. I don’t know more.”

“But you’re not at class?”

“No, I’m not. The shooting interrupted my schedule.”

“You’re coming home,” Alton’s voice again demanded. “Why the hell are you in Rye when you should be here?”

I shook my head. “Why should I be there?”

“Dear,” my mother tried to explain, “obviously, there’s danger. It’s that young man.”

“Just like his father,” Alton added.

Continuing as if Alton hadn’t spoken, my mother went on, “You need to be safe. From what I saw on the news, you’re not. I love you, Alexandria. I want to know you’re safe.”

“Momma, when you can call and talk to me without your husband in the background, we can discuss it. You know my number.”

“He’s right, dear. Why Rye?”

That was it. I was turning off the damn GPS. I’d tell Deloris, Jerrod, and Nox. As long as I was here, I didn’t need to broadcast it to the world.

I took a deep breath. “Rye is where…” I stopped talking as Deloris entered the room, her head moving from side to side and her lips puckered in the universal ‘shh’ sign.

“Who is that?” she whispered.

I covered the mouthpiece of my phone. “My… parents.” I hated that description, but it was a shorter explanation. “They saw the video.”

“Of course they did. It’s had over half a million hits.”

“Who are you talking to?” my mother asked.

“Mom, I need to go. I’m fine—completely fine. I’ll call you later when you can talk.”

“Alexandria, your father is insistent about sending the plane. He’s looking it up right now. There’s a private airport not far from where you are…”

My eyes opened wide toward Deloris. I knew she could hear as she continued to shake her head back and forth.

“Don’t send a plane,” I said. “I’m fine. I’ll be back to class tomorrow. Savannah really doesn’t fit into my schedule.”

This time it was my mother who covered the mouthpiece. Behind the muffling of her hand, I could hear hers and Alton’s voices though I couldn’t make out their words.

“Alex, hang up,” Deloris said.

I shrugged. “I’ve tried.”

She reached for the phone. Before I realized what she’d done, she hit the disconnect button. “Yes,” she confirmed with her ear to the phone. “It wasn’t difficult. The button worked.”

What the hell?

“That was my mother, and what you just did was rude.”

“It may have been rude, but after what I just learned, it was warranted.”

“Is it…?” My stomach dropped. Anger at her behavior immediately turned to panic. “…Nox? Oh my God, is he… did something happen?”

She reached for my hand. “Come, let’s sit.”

My flat shoes that I’d found near the sofa in the pool house held tightly to the wooden floor, keeping me steadfast. “Tell me, Deloris.”

She shook her head as she tugged my hand. “It’s not Lennox. He’s in flight. He’s fine. It’s about the letter.”

I followed her to one of the long sofas. After we sat, I asked, “What about the letter?”

“Think carefully. Who touched it?”

I tried to recall. It seemed like weeks or even months ago, not last night. I remembered going into my new office, seeing it sitting on my desk, and picking it up. Nox took it from my hands, and then Deloris handled it with a tissue. “Me, Nox, and then you.”

“What about the envelope?”

I shrugged. “Me. I don’t even think Nox touched it. I was the one to open it. He grabbed the pages from me, but the envelope… I don’t remember if I threw it away or left it on the desk.”

“It was on the desk,” she confirmed.

“Why?”

“Because there’s a partial print on the envelope. The letter itself has your prints and Lennox’s. The other prints are being verified. So far Mr. Spencer’s prints have not been detected.”

My eyes grew wide. “What?”

“I’ve alerted Lennox, but I wanted to be the one to tell you.”

My head moved from side to side. “Maybe Bryce wore gloves or something.”

“Why would he wear gloves and sign his name?”

I don’t know.