Page 190 of Chandelier Enthralled
I followed her, retracing my steps through the poorly lit hallway, vaguely unsettled by the plain walls, not one picture decorated the place. It felt stark.
I saw Chloe leave the apartment and I returned to the office. “Chad, she’s gone.”
“Course she is,” he said. “She’s Jewel’s favorite.”
“And now she knows what you’ve been up to, and that we were here.” I tried to fathom if he realized his mistake.
Surrounded by so much uncertainty, he didn’t seem to be thinking straight.
If any of this was discovered, we would lose our jobs. Perhaps face criminal charges, too.
We were facing a personal and professional disaster.
He glared at me as he pressed a fingertip to a printed email. “This one is classified. Wanna know why?”
“Chad, we have to go.”
“I have a right to be here.”
“What you’ve done is illegal. This is evidence.”
“And why wasn’t this found?”
I shook my head.
“Because no one cares,” he said softly.
I let out a heavy sigh. “Let me use my resources.” Perhaps Shay could help us figure this out.
“Jewel is untouchable.” He tapped the papers. “Otherwise, she would have been stopped by now.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
He turned away from me to continue searching through the papers, and I left him to it, moving back through the apartment to see if I could find other clues—the kind that were offered up without violating anyone’s privacy.
But I found nothing, just evidence of a single man’s life dedicated to his cause.
Returning to Dean’s office, I tried to read how Chad was coping.
He rose as though from a daydream. “She’s playing both sides.”
“Jewel?”
“She’s funding both political parties.”
“Doesn’t that come out in public records?”
“No, because it’s being collected from private donors. She’s using money linked to offshore accounts. The funds are routed through a labyrinthine network. Special initiatives. All without public oversight.”
God, if the public ever found this out, the consequences would be far reaching.
“That’s her hedging her bets,” he reasoned. “Influence on the reigning party no matter who wins.”
“This is what Dean had on her,” I said.
“Look.” He held up a notebook. “Jewel was involved in a government operation overseas.”
Inside were endless notations, though it was hard to read from here.
