Chapter 5
Julian had been my adviser since Daniel died.
Older brother.
Godfather to Owen.
The man who stood beside me at the funeral while I buried my husband wearing the ring now sitting in my palm.
I stared at the initials.
Could be coincidence.
I wanted it to be.
Samuel did not.
“Daniel used J.V. as a marker.”
“For Julian?”
He nodded.
My stomach turned.
Before Daniel died, he suspected someone inside Voss was meeting at the casino with Edmund.
He never gave Samuel the name.
Only instructed him to watch for chips marked beneath the clay.
I looked at Owen.
“Where did you find that?”
“Under table.”
Derek went pale.
Edmund cursed.
Not coincidence.
I crouched in front of my son.
“Thank you.”
He looked at the ring in my hand.
“Dad’s?”
“Yes.”
“Why bad man have?”
Four years old.
The hardest questions are usually shortest.
“Because he took something that wasn’t his.”
Owen frowned.
“Give back.”
I almost broke.
“I will.”
He nodded, satisfied.
Then Piper asked:
“Can we go home?”
“Yes.”
Immediately.
No child needed another minute in that room.
My bodyguard took them through the private corridor.
I watched until the door closed.
Then turned back.
Edmund smiled cruelly.
“Send them away. That’s what Daniel always did when grown-up business got ugly.”
I stepped toward him.
“You knew my husband?”
“Better than you think.”
“Careful.”
He laughed.
“He came here alone. Never brought the pretty widow.”
There it was.
Insult the dead.
Insult me through him.
Classic.
Then:
“He begged us to leave you and the kids out of it.”
My expression changed.
Edmund saw.
Enjoyed it.
“Your great Daniel Voss begged.”
I did not hit him.
He wanted that.
I asked:
“What was he protecting us from?”
Edmund’s smile faded slightly.
“Julian.”
The word sat between us.
Derek looked at his father as if he had finally gone too far.
I waited.
Edmund continued.
“Your brother-in-law wanted Daniel to step aside.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel found out what Julian was selling.”
“What?”
Edmund looked at Samuel.
Then back at me.
“Voss protection.”
May you like
My husband’s brother had apparently been collecting money from families by promising to decide which Voss guarantees would still be honored after Daniel was gone.
Before Daniel was even dead.
