Page 46 of Her Dark Lies
Amazing, that tone. She can turn him from thirty-eight-year-old accomplished man into five-year-old quivering child with a single command.
“Claire was approached by an art dealer’s agent a few weeks ago. She asked to see a painting for subsequent purchase. By name. You know how Claire is about her work. She hasn’t shared the name of the painting with anyone but me. We have to assume the two are connected. And whoever is driving this server issue probably planted the cameras, and sent the man to the house to hurt Claire and me.”
Ana isn’t easily rattled. She is always strongest in a crisis. But at the last sentence, Jack sees the blood drain from her face.
“You think he was sent to kill you?”
“It’s a strong possibility. The police found his car, and a murder kit in the trunk. I don’t believe he was there to rob us.”
“Was he after Claire? Or you? And how the hell did he get past our security to plant cameras?”
“I don’t know the answer to any of that. Somehow, our security footage was conveniently overwritten. Karmen’s working it. She can fill you in on her thoughts.”
Ana is silent for a moment. “All right. How compromised are we?”
“I haven’t shared anything about our business dealings with Claire yet, if that’s what you’re asking, so thefamilyis not compromised. I was waiting for her to sign the prenup before discussing our situation. And I don’t do business from home. I’m not reckless, Mother.”
“I know you’re not. When were you planning to reveal your true position to her?”
He laughs. “If I’m stepping away...never?”
“That’s not an option and you know it. Claire isn’t stupid, nor is she a frivolous girl. She will understand business is business. Don’t start your lives together on a lie, Jackson.”
“Irony alert, Mother. I’ve had such an excellent track record in that regard. You want me to tell the truth about our business, but lie about Morgan?”
Ana softens. “Honey. Stop. You can’t undo the past. The door on your first marriage is closed, especially now. You should be relieved, actually. You’re moving forward and that’s the smart, healthy choice. Claire is a wonderful girl, and she will support you. Will support us. There’s no reason for her to hear about Morgan, but the family business, that, she must be told. It’s already been agreed to.”
Against his will, but yes, it had. Jack wanted to keep Claire out of the family business. He’d been overruled. Now that she’s signed the prenup, Jack is expected to sit down with his fiancée and explain the family’s longstanding relationships with the governments of the US and the UK. Explain how Compton Computers had been designed with one end goal in mind: use their technology to spy on enemies of the governments they worked for.
Claire is his safe harbor. Jack knows she will never expose him, nor the family, and the paperwork demands her privacy as well. But he’d been against bringing her in, instead offering to leave the business entirely and take the Foundation straight. The family made a compromise: the first year of his marriage, he will step back and let Elliot take the lead on his projects. After that, he is expected to be back to full force.
Jack is their best asset, after all.
Claire will have to be a part of the deception, too. Her art, and the connections she makes through her sales, will get the family into places they’ve never been before. Allow them access to the homes, offices, private lives of Claire’s buyers. Slipping a mic or camera into a picture frame? Easy as pie.
Claire isn’t simply getting married. She is being conscripted.
He feels ill at the very idea of telling her how complicit she will be, how she won’t have a choice but to work alongside them. How she will be used. All the ways they practice to deceive.
Will she feel he targeted her because of the possibilities she presented? And when she wraps her head around her new role, will she ever forgive him? He doubts it. Claire isn’t the manipulative type. She doesn’t have dark, dirty secrets. She doesn’t exist on lies.
“I should get back—” Ana begins, but Jack, internally roiling at the situation, catches her hand.
“Wait.” There is a sharp crack of lightning followed by an intense drumming of thunder, and at the same moment, the lights go out. The island stands alone and quiet in the darkness.
He rakes a hand through his hair. “This weekend isn’t going as planned.”
“It’s just the electricity, darling. Give it thirty. It will come back on once the generators are engaged. And the storms will end, as they always do. Try not to worry too much.”
“It’s not the lights I’m worried about. Claire’s freaked out by what happened in Nashville. The remains. And now her dress is ruined.”
Ana nods. “Poor girl. It’s been quite a disturbing week.”
“Oh, that reminds me—has Karmen found out who’s camping in the cottages?”
Ana sighs. “No, but no doubt it’s one of the restoration people. We’re handling it. I have a meeting with Karmen shortly, we’ll discuss everything.” She stubs out the cigarette. “You, my darling boy, are the groom, and you need to enjoy your weekend with your adorable bride. Go to Claire, Jack. She needs you. Get some rest. Everything will be fine. I swear it.”
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