Page 70 of The Revenge Plan

“Yes. He was last seen taking out his boat for sailing.”

“Maybe he got lost?” I said that knowing that it was not plausible. He loved sailing. He used to be a competitive sailor. The man knew his way around large bodies of water.

“Yeah. Maybe.” He too didn’t sound convinced. I didn’t want to think the worst. What if he had…

“Is that Hailey?” I heard Bryce say in the background. A few moments later he was speaking to me directly. He boomed into the phone, “Are you happy now?” his voice was high and rough, “Are you happy about what your husband did? Did you put him up to this!”

“What are you talking about!”

“If anything bad happens to him. It’s all on you!” The phone went dead.

A few minutes later, I was the one banging on Caiden’s door. He opened it nonchalantly. He had an apron on and a towel in his hand. “What now?” he said. He looked irritated by my presence.

“What did you do?”

He shrugged. “I’m going to need to know what you’re talking about?”

“What did you do to my father?”

He turned and strolled back into the apartment such that I had to follow him, “Nothing that I hadn’t always wanted to do. It’s what he's done to me and other people that’s important.” He stopped in the kitchen and went to the stove. There he began stirring what seemed to be a pot of stew. There were a lot of ingredients around. A lot more for one person. Was he having guests? A date? I felt my heart clench at the possibility and immediately willed the thought away. I was here on a serious matter.

“Did you have something to do with his disappearance?”

“Hailey, I’m the last person who wants him gone. He was supposed to finalize a deal with us when he went AWOL.”

“What do you mean?”

He turned off the stove and faced me. “He went missing essentially, just as he was about to sign a deal that would sell the company to us. The entire thing. We were supposed to be in a meeting with him this morning, but he never came.”

“So why is my brother blaming you?”

“Probably because I exposed the true nature of his deeds. If it weren’t for my digging, most people wouldn’t know of his shady dealings. It’s more on him than it is on me, to be honest. Your brother’s looking for a scapegoat. Why do you care about that man so much he hardly cares about you?”

“Because he’s still my father?”

He paused as if thinking about it, then went back to his cooking.

“Is that all you’re going to say?”

“I should ask you that?” he stirred his pot and added some carrots. The aromas that were coming out of it were making me feel hungry again, “If there’s anyone who might have any idea, it’s you. You’re his daughter, after all. But if you want my guess,” he faced me, “I think he’s ran away. Julian’s a coward.”

I felt like a fool standing there watching him cook. He was right, and I was wrong. I thought of going back to my place, but I didn’t feel like doing so. After a few moments I turned, about to make my way back when my phone rang. It was Greyson. I pressed the answer button. His voice was low and groggy when he said, “Hailey?”

“Have you found him?”

“The coastguard found his boat.” Just his boat?

“What about him?”

“He was there. He’s dead.”

44

“What?” Caiden turned to face me when he heard my voice. He stopped what he was doing and was now staring at me.

“They found his body with one gunshot to his head. They um,” he paused and I think I heard him sniff, “they think it was a suicide.” We spoke for a few more minutes and then I ended the call.

“What did they say?” Caiden asked. His brow was furrowed.

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