Page 91 of Enigma
“And you listened?”
Sarah’s gaze darkened. “It was hard, but they made some good points. Besides, Margot had changed. She’d met your father and . . . well, it was complicated. I went to Europe. While I was in Amsterdam, I met a man who saw real potential in me.”
“So you fell in love? With Anton, I can only assume.”
Sarah shrugged. “I wouldn’t call it that. He was more like a father figure. And he asked me to do things for him for some extra cash. And you know what? I was good at doing the things he recruited me to do—things like making drops, following people, getting them to give me money.”
Olive’s mind raced forward. “I can only assume that, since you excelled, you continued.”
“He opened up a whole new world to me. Turned out my foster parents were into some pretty shady things in the DC area. I helped some of those things come to light also.”
“So this guy targeted you because of your foster parents essentially.”
Her gaze darkened. “He targeted me because he believed in me.”
Pieces began clicking into place in Olive’s mind. “So, then you began recruiting people to help in your little network. You were the mastermind behind all the cons, weren’t you? Not my mom.”
Sarah’s scowl transformed into a satisfied grin. “That’s right. Anton and I built something beautiful—an international network that moves millions of dollars and provides services that certain people desperately need. Your mom and dad were simply people who worked for us.”
“You were calling the shots? Not my parents?” Olive asked, though she was beginning to understand the truth.
Sarah smirked. “They wanted in at first. Your father was always looking for easy money, and your mother . . . well, she was good at reading people, at making them trust her. They made a good team. They were useful for a while.” Sarah moved to a chair across from Olive but didn’t sit down. “Then they wanted out. Started talking about going legitimate, giving you kids a normal life. They thought they could just walk away.”
“But they were in too deep.” Pieces continued to click together in Olive’s mind.
“Exactly. I couldn’t let them expose everything we’d built just because they suddenly developed a conscience.” Sarah’s voice carried the cold logic of someone who’d made peace with violence long ago.
“So all my father’s schemes . . .” Olive tried to process everything she was learning. “They were all your ideas?”
Sarah laughed, a sound devoid of warmth. “Not exactly. I may have taught him everything he knew about reading marks and setting up cons, but he did much of what he did on his own. Your father understood the most effective ways to get money—and it wasn’t by working a nine-to-five job.”
Olive stared at this woman who claimed to be family, trying to reconcile the loving memories she had of her parents with what Sarah was telling her.
Everything felt like too much.
But she had to comprehend this—and fast.
Because time was running out.
“I don’t understand,” Olive finally said. “Did you kill my family?”
The smile faded from Sarah’s face, and a shadow filled her gaze. “I tried to protect them, Olive. You have to understand that.”
“What does that mean?” Olive demanded, emotion trying to well in her.
“It means your parents went behind my back and got the feds involved.” Sarah moved to the window and peered out through the curtains. “They cut a deal—information about our operations in exchange for witness protection.”
The ground seemed to shift beneath Olive’s feet. “So my dad really did have a change of heart?”
“Oh, he had a change of heart all right,” Sarah said with a bitter laugh. “When we moved into the human trafficking realm, your mom and dad freaked out. Didn’t want anything to do with it. Then your father said he found Jesus. He started taking online theology classes, talking about redemption and making amends.”
“What?” That wasn’t what Olive had expected.
“It all started to change in Oasis. He decided he wanted out.”
Her mind raced through her memories, trying to grab onto something that would make everything make sense. “Did something happen there?”
“One of our contacts roughed up your mother, and your dad decided he was done. He said he couldn’t continue living that kind of life.”
