Page 43 of Vengeful Lies

“I only found out what he did on his deathbed,” John said wearily. “He confessed, told me everything. Your family was asking questions, and I convinced Tarek to take the fall. Told him if he didn't, I’d make sure he suffered the consequences. I had to pull in every single favor I'd ever earned from a family by giving their kid a place at the school or writing them a reference that got them into an Ivy League college or a job. But I did it. I targeted Susanna thinking it would work. I went to Cambodia to be close to Becca when I learned who she was. But you just wouldn't back off.”

“Did your father really believe he was also Cassandra’s father?”

“He wasn't sure. It wasn't Tarek, which meant there were only three other possibilities. One of the other men involved wasof Asian descent, so it wasn't him. Apparently, he had a heart attack not long after Cassandra was born. That only left two possible candidates, one of which was my father. It was too risky to go after her so they hoped that everything would die down, but you and your brothers are relentless,” John told him.

“But we are Cassandra’s brothers. How can you come after us knowing we might share a sister? Especially given you weren't even involved.”

“My father was a monster. The things he did to my mother … let’s just say your mother should have considered herself lucky he didn't kill her. But he left me a legacy, one that I didn't want to lose. If the truth about him came out, I would be ruined. He’s done enough to me, I'm not losing anything else. I deserve the money, the prestige, the power. It’s my payment for everything I endured at his hand. I won't lose it because of him. Which means I can't ever let you go. I was weak when it came to your daughter, I should have killed her and the nanny. If they tell about me then I might lose everything anyway.”

John looked right at him, and there was actually a small sliver of regret in his dark eyes.

But regret or not, they both knew how this ended.

“I can't let you live,” John said aloud.

Then, with a nod at one of his men, he turned and walked away, not watching as the man plunged a knife deep into Cade’s flesh.

September 7th

7:57 A.M.

“What if I got it wrong?” Gabriella whispered her biggest fear into the quiet car.

Despite trying to call several times yesterday to set up a time to meet with the man who called himself John Jones and claimed to be Cassandra’s half-brother, all those calls had gone unanswered.

They were taking a big risk going there.

Last time someone had set up a meeting with John it had been Cade, and the meeting had merely been a ruse to keep all the brothers occupied and focused on the wrong thing so that someone could go after her and Essie.

That someone had to be John.

He had to be involved.

They were all in agreement on that, but they didn't know if he was the man in charge or if he was aware of what was happening and had tried to reach out to them to issue some kind of warning.

Most likely it was the former. It could not possibly be construed as a coincidence that one night Becca gets a call from a man who had worked with her in Cambodia claiming to be another brother to Cassandra when it wasn't common knowledge how Cassandra had been conceived, and then the very next morning she and Essie were abducted.

Prey was running the image she’d made with the sketch artist through facial recognition software, and she knew that it would eventually get a hit, and they’d learn his true identity, but it hadn't yet. Without that hit, she was worried that she’d messed up somehow with the drawing and was setting everybody up with false hope.

“You didn't get it wrong, Gabs,” Connor assured her, reaching over Becca, who was sitting in the backseat between them, to squeeze her knee.

No one had wanted her to come along this morning, but she couldn’t sit at home and do nothing any longer. If she tried, shewas going to lose her mind. Despite none of Becca’s calls being answered, and none of the messages she’d left being returned, Becca had told John that she was going to be at the original meeting place this morning if he wanted to meet with her.

The original instructions had been that Becca would meet with him alone, but the guys had rejected that. Now they felt they had no choice but to make it look like they were complying.

Not that they were.

Well, not one hundred percent anyway.

Becca would go alone to the mall entrance, but Connor and Cooper would be with her, and Cole would stay in the car with her. Gabriella had convinced them to let her come by saying she could confirm that she’d been right if she saw his face in person. Although she was the only one who seemed to have doubts, even her doubts were more fear than actually doubting she’d gotten the face correct.

“All right, Becca, time to call one last time,” Connor said, and Becca gave a somewhat shaky nod.

Even though she hadn't known Becca for more than a couple of weeks, she’d known since she first started working for Cade that there was a woman from Connor’s past that he wasn't over. She was so glad they’d gotten this second chance and were back together again where they belonged, but she hated that this cloud was hanging over all of them.

This family was full of good, honorable men and women and none deserved this.

Praying this worked, Gabriella watched as Becca easily slid her hand into Connor’s, gaining support from him. She could imagine how Becca felt knowing she’d been watched and in danger, and hadn't even known about it. Talk about something that makes you feel completely vulnerable.

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