Page 164 of Ice Princess

Then I notice a text from Chance.

CHANCE:The firm called. They found evidence of your Uncle Stewart selling off land and sharing the profits with Clarence Kinsey.

There’s another text with a pdf attachment of the documents.

Bingo.

I open the documents and read through quickly, glad that I have my experience in finance which makes the accounting clear. The story these numbers paint shakes loose in front of my eyes in high definition.

My gaze lifts from my phone to my uncle. Whatever he’s hiding has something to do with the land he’s selling off.

How nice of him to come back to Lucky Falls so I can confront him on my turf.

Just as my confidence rises, a needling voice in the back of my head holds me back.‘Don’t do it, Gunner. Think of your parents. What if this secret hurts them?’

I remember Uncle Stewart’s warning.‘Give me your father’s badge first. Hand over your uncle’s political career. Fire your mother as chairwoman of the Society. Then I’ll tell you.’

What if exposing this secret destroys the happiness of my entire family? Would it still be worth the price?

I trust you, Gunner.

Rebel’s words from earlier fill me with a quiet determination.

At seven years old, I had no choice but to cower in front of my uncle. At fifteen, I watched Rebel from afar, missing her like crazy and burning with longing. At eighteen, I ripped her heart out when I held myself back from kissing her. And again, as adults, it took faking a relationship to finally get close.

I kept my distance fordecades.I spent my entire life, bowing to the whims of my family, carrying the burden of being a Kinsey, of protecting my family from the consequences of their sins, because I felt I had no other choice.

But now a choice is in front of me.

Will I still be that scared little seven year old, shaking and panicking because of his uncle’s grave words?

I look at the ground, contemplating.

And then my eyes snap up, burning with determination.

The decision I need to make isn’t easy, but itissimple.

My family shaped my past, but Rebel is my future. The girl I turned my back on all those years ago is the woman I now need to protect.

My lips curl up in a cold smile and I don’t take my eyes off the old man when I say, “Mom, I’d like to show Uncle Clancy the apple orchard.”

“All of a sudden?” Mom’s voice warbles. “Why?”

I tilt my head, daring my uncle to make a move.

I’ve been tiptoeing around this matter long enough. If he pushes me, I’ll crack the whole thing wide open, right here in front of my mom.

Clancy’s smile drops and he grits his teeth.

The tension in the room pulls taut, threatening to snap and sting someone hard enough to draw blood.

“I’d love to see the apple orchard. Excuse us, Carol.”

My heart burning a hole in my chest, I stalk through the door and hear thetap-tap-tapof Uncle Clancy’s cane behind me.

CHAPTER

FORTY-EIGHT

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