“That sounds like him.”
“He also asked whether I had hired someone to investigate Reynolds.”
Elena’s posture changed.
“You never told me this.”
“I did not tell anyone.”
“Why?” Jackson demanded.
“Because I wanted to see what Jasper would do next.”
My father looked at me.
“He said Reynolds had approached him about transferring your shares. He claimed he was pretending to cooperate.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“He told you that?”
“Yes.”
“And you believed him?”
“I believed he was frightened.”
“Of Reynolds?”
“Perhaps. Or of being discovered.”
My thoughts collided with one another.
Jasper asking about his payment.
Jasper placing tablets beside my breakfast.
Jasper telling my father he was only pretending.
All three things could not be innocent.
But they might not mean exactly what I had assumed.
“What did you say to him?” I asked.
“I told him I did not trust him.”
Pain flickered through me, unexpectedly sharp.
“Did you ever?”
My father did not answer.
That was answer enough.
I gathered the pages bearing my signature and returned them to the folder.
“I’m going home.”
Jackson blocked the space between the table and the door.
“That’s a terrible idea.”
“Move.”
“He may have been drugging you.”
“And if he was, I need to know why.”
“You can ask him with the police present.”
“If I arrive with police, he’ll say nothing. Reynolds will know we have evidence, and Lydia may disappear permanently.”
Elena watched me carefully.
“What are you proposing?”
“I go home. I tell Jasper I panicked after his message and went to Mara’s. I say I left my phone there by mistake.”
“That will not explain why it is turned off,” Elena said.
“The battery has been unreliable for weeks. Jasper knows that.”
Mara frowned.
“Camille, you don’t owe anyone bravery.”
“This isn’t bravery.”
“What is it?”
I looked at my father.
“A decision.”
For months, other people had arranged my world around me. Jasper managed my schedule. My father protected company secrets. Jackson performed estrangement. Reynolds moved money behind polished boardroom doors.
Even Elena had watched me without introducing herself.
Every person in the room claimed to be acting for my benefit.
None of them had trusted me with the truth.
“I won’t sign anything,” I said. “I won’t eat or drink anything he gives me. Elena can listen from outside. But I am going to ask my husband what he has done.”
My father shook his head.
“You believe he will confess?”
“No. I believe I’ll know whether he expected me to see that video.”
Elena folded her arms.
“That is not a reliable investigative method.”
“It’s the only one that belongs to me.”
My father looked ready to argue, but Mara spoke first.
“She’s right about one thing. Jasper knows her better than anyone here. If Camille disappears tonight, he’ll know she learned something. He may run straight to Reynolds.”
Jackson stepped away from the door.
“I hate this.”
“So do I.”