Page 16 of Abducted

“Why don’t you live with her?”

She lifted a shoulder and looked down at her mug. “She met Luke when I was in high school. She asked me to move with them, but all my friends were here, so I chose to stay. It worked out for the best, because they travel all the time and I would have been alone a lot.”

He couldn’t see any motive from her mother and stepfather’s end. They needed to go deeper. “What kind of business dealings does your father have?”

Her eyes went wide. “Oh my. I don’t even know where to begin.”

He raised his eyebrows. Edward Vanderpoel was a self-made billionaire and one of the wealthiest men in the country. “That much?”

She sighed. “He started out years ago in e-commerce, he’s written several books, and he’s a partner in Hathway Suites, the hotel chain. They just expanded across Europe.” Her lips tucked in as she thought. “Then there’s Vanderpoel Homes and Realty. I’ve gotten really involved in that division recently. Outside the businesses, he has his stocks and investments, which I don’t know much about. I’m sure I’m probably forgetting some smaller things.”

Holy hell. He’d known Edward was a rich man, but he never knew the depth of his business dealings.

“That’s a hell of a lot of businesses.”

She shrugged. “I’ve never known him not to work. He’s always coming up with new ideas, but he knows what he’s doing, obviously.”

“Is Tanner involved in his businesses at all?”

She nodded. “He has an office at Dad’s building. Like me, he’s interested in the construction side of things. I prefer the residential aspect and have started helping with home and interior design. He and my father have gotten close, and I think Tanner wants to expand into other areas of the business.”

“With such an empire, your dad must have a lot of colleagues and associates. How many people does he employ?”

She snorted. Coming from her, the sound brought a laugh to his lips. “In total, like around the world? My God, I wouldn’t even begin to guess. He has a plant in China for the importing of goods, plus the hotels.” Her eyes lifted to the ceiling. “Tens of thousands, at least…”

Jesus. “So, a disgruntled employee could be a possibility,” he mused aloud. She wrinkled her nose at that.

“I can’t see it. Other than in his building, the vast majority of workers wouldn’t ever see his face. He doesn’t have anything to do with hiring or firing—he has managers and people to oversee all of that. The last few years, he’s spent most of his hours in the office. He’s able to communicate easily with virtual meetings.”

“So, if there’s a pressing matter in China or Europe, does he go or does he have someone else he would send?”

“He has Shawn and Vanessa. They do a lot of the legwork and act in place of him whenever possible.”

“Has he ever had any projects fall through? Pissed anyone off?”

“All the time.” She shrugged. “He’s very straightforward, and people don’t always like that. But to my knowledge there hasn’t been anything huge.”

Pinpointing a suspect was looking less and less likely. Anyone could have hired Stamos to hurt Lana to get back at Edward. Not just anyone in the city, but anyone in the world.

“I know he’s received death threats against me before. That’s just part and parcel of being the wealthy man he is. He doesn’t always tell me for fear of scaring me, but all of a sudden he’ll hire a bodyguard and check in a million times a day.” She twirled a lock of her hair that had come free from the bun as if such a thing was normal. “It’s always been brief, though. The FBI would get involved, track down the person, and that would be it.”

“When was the last time that happened?”

She waved her hand in the air. “Years ago.”

He was going to need help. Lana’s life was an intricate web of people and scenarios. He couldn’t make the wrong move.

“What’s your plan?” Her eyes searched his face, hesitant and uneasy.

He could see fear in her eyes.

He laced his fingers together on the table in front of him. “We need to tread carefully. I want to compile a list of as many suspects as we can.” He slid a pad of paper and a pen across the table to her.

“Whoever your last boyfriends were—no matter how long ago—write their names down. As well as any men who have shown interest in you lately, or if someone sticks out in your mind. Also write down Tanner’s full name and anyone else you can think of.”

She reached for the pen and began writing. “Are you taking this list to the police?” She kept her eyes on the paper as she wrote.

“Hell, no,” he said. Her eyes snapped up to his. “We can’t go parading this around. If whoever is behind it gets wind that you’re safe, they could bolt or do something drastic.”

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