Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Mitchell Estate

East Hampton

Evie gave her driver a generous tip and sent him on his way. She took a moment to breathe in the fresh sea air before turning and facing what had once been her childhood home.

Only it had never felt like a home. Not a real one, anyway. Definitely not after her mother’s untimely death.

She would’ve paid the ransom. She would have loved me enough to save me.

Regret momentarily flourished as Evie took those first tentative steps toward her family’s estate. As she did, Beckett’s voice rang clearly through her ears…

You’re worth every fuckin’ penny that man has, and don’t you ever let him or anyone else make you think you’re not.

Her father’s actions—or lack thereof—had left her questioning that very thing. For weeks now, she’d sat at Lo’s. Alone and soaked in tears and heartache, wishing with all she had that it was all some sort of horrible mistake.

Deep down, however, she knew the awful truth. And it was that truth that had brought her here today.

You came all this way. May as well get it over with.

The soles of her sandals slapped loudly against the paved circle drive. Evie cringed as she gazed up at the three-story monstrosity, wondering how anyone could consider making a place like this their home.

It was too big. Too pretentious. And far too cold to be cozy.

Evie liked cozy. Almost craved it, really. She had since she was a little girl.

When she’d envisioned her future, the one thing that remained consistent was her desire to establish roots in a place that felt warm and inviting. Like the way she’d felt while wrapped snuggly in Beckett’s arms.

I want to be there again. I want to feel his warm embrace. I want to feel safe and protected and…loved.

It was far too soon to be having those kinds of thoughts. Especially for a man she barely knew. But Evie also understood the faster she got her ass inside and said her piece, the sooner she’d be back in Charlotte—back with Beckett —again.

She wasn’t doing this for him, however. Coming here…finally facing her personal demons…

This is all for me.

Shoulders squared, Evie straightened her spine and picked up her pace. Taking the elaborate split staircase, the smooth, white stone steps carried her up to the structure’s massive double doors.

She started to press the doorbell but stopped mid-reach. After a brief moment of careful consideration, she decided it best to keep with the element of surprise.

This was still her family’s estate, after all. And as her father’s sole heir…

Like it or not, this is your legacy, Eves. You have every right to be here.

Rather than announce her arrival, Evie used her key to unlock the secured door. After slipping her keys back into her purse, she drew in a steeling breath and pushed against the door on the right.

A blast of cool air struck her as she crossed the threshold of her childhood home, carrying with it the familiar scent of roses and lemons. The nauseating combination was derived from the ever-present array of fresh-cut flowers her father insisted be on constant display, combined with the very specific line of cleaning supplies he demanded his cleaning staff use.

It always comes down to money and appearances, Evelynn. In our world, that’s all that matters.

Her father’s words of so-called wisdom filled her ears as Evie studied the expansive, two-story foyer.

Large squares of polished white marble led guests to the home’s grand staircase. With its ornate spindles and hand-carved mahogany railing, the design was in keeping with the exterior split stairs leading to the mansion’s front doors.

Along with expensive paintings and a massive crystal chandelier hanging overhead, the curved staircase offered those who entered a glimpse into her father’s luxurious taste. For Evie, however, the impressive showcase of wealth wasn’t so much breathtaking as it was a stark reminder of her childhood.

One filled with hollow dreams and wishes that would never come true.

“Evelynn?” A voice sounded from Evie’s left. “My goodness, is that really you?”

She turned her attention in that direction, her lips already lifting into an automatic—and genuine—smile. “Helen.” Evie made her way to the woman who’d practically raised her. “It’s so good to see you again.”

Helen O’Brien had worked for the Mitchell family since before her grandfather’s passing. Born to Irish immigrants—who’d also worked for Evie’s family until they were too old to carry on with their duties—the sixty-two-year-old woman worked harder and with more pride than anyone Evie had ever known.

She felt herself being pulled into a giant bear hug.

“Oh, how I’ve missed seeing your smiling face around here.” Helen’s familiar accent was prominent and…oddly soothing. “But I thought you were over in that dreadful place for another week or so. Did they send you home early? Your father didn’t mention you were coming home.”

That’s because he thinks I’m dead.

It took everything in Evie’s power not to react. Clearly, her father hadn’t mentioned the kidnapping or the ransom demand to his most trusted employee. But why would he?

If Helen ever found out what he did, she’d quit his selfish ass and never look back.

A sliver of vengeance began to weave its way through her veins, and though it went against her very nature, Evie couldn’t deny the overwhelming temptation to tell Helen the truth. One simple story is all it would take, and her father’s entire world would come crashing down around him.

Helen was the closest thing to a mother Evie had known after her real mother’s untimely death. And if there was one thing she knew about Helen’s fiery Irish spirit…

She’d always, always stood up for Evie. Like a mama bear protecting its cub.

NDA, remember? You tell her about Afghanistan, your world will be the one that crumbles.

Evie nearly groaned because her inner voice was right. There was a non-disclosure agreement in place. One that was signed, notarized, and stamped with the Homeland Security seal.

Rather than risk a hefty fine—or worse, a prison sentence—Evie looked down at the woman she’d entrusted to keep her deepest, darkest teenage secrets and did her best to keep the lies to a minimum.

“I did get back earlier than originally planned.” A careful truth.

“And you came straight here,” Helen assumed with a beaming smile. “You know, I have to admit…I feared the last time I saw you it would be for the very last time.”

You have no idea.

“Why do you say that?” Evie’s pulse raced a bit faster.

Helen didn’t know about the refused ransom. She couldn’t possibly?—

“I heard you and your father going at it that day,” the sweet woman admitted. “I assure you, I wasn’t purposely eavesdropping. But your conversation grew quite loud toward the end, and I happened to be walking by his den.”

“He didn’t want me to go.”

“Yes.” Helen’s thin lips curved into a knowing grin. “I gathered as much.”

Memories from that day threatened to overwhelm her, but she pushed them aside and forged on. “Is he here?”

“Your father’s in his den, dear.”

Of course, he is.

Leaning in, Evie kissed the sweet woman on the cheek before pulling away. “It was great seeing you again, Helen.”

“Will you be staying for dinner? I’d be happy to set out an extra plate for y?—”

“I’m not staying.” Not a second longer than I have to. “I just came to ask my father about something.”

“Must be important for you to come all this way.”

“It is.” Evie nodded.

More important than you’ll ever know.

“Well. It was such a nice surprise seeing you again.” Helen pulled her back in for a parting hug. “If you change your mind about dinner, you know where to find me.”

I won’t.

“Thanks, Helen.” Evie smiled fondly. “It was really good seeing you, too.”

The other woman’s gaze held steady as she took Evie’s hands in hers. After a tense few seconds, Helen gave her a gentle, loving squeeze before turning around and walking away.

As far as reunions went, the moment was bittersweet. She loved the older woman and had always considered her family. But after decades spent as a trusted Mitchell family employee, she feared that if push came to shove, Helen would choose loyalty over love.

Which meant once again, Evie was on her own.

No time like the present.

She turned to her right and walked toward the open space beneath the elaborate staircase. If she continued going straight, the marbled path would have taken her through the Great Room, past the professionally designed chef’s kitchen, out the back doors, and onto the home’s expansive covered porch.

Evie didn’t go straight.

Once clear of the overhead walkway hovering up above, she took an immediate right. Her heart beat a little harder with every step she took as her trembling legs carried her down the long, narrow hallway.

Toward her father’s office.

Toward the man who’d so easily been willing to let her die.

Her footfalls slowed as she approached her father’s office door. It was shut, of course. He rarely left it open.

Evie considered knocking but decided against it. He didn’t deserve the courtesy a knock would provide. After all, he’d afforded her far, far less.

Lifting her chin, she pushed back her shoulders and filled her lungs with a long, cleansing breath. She turned the knob on a slow exhale before pushing the door wide open.

Not bothering to look up from the papers in his hands, her father stated gruffly, “I thought I said there were to be no interruptions.”

“You also said you didn’t have a daughter.” Evie shut the door behind her. “And yet, here I am.”

His head shot up, his widened gaze giving away the man’s obvious shock.

“E-Evelynn?”

She walked steadily toward the man who’d so grossly betrayed her. “Surprised to see me, Father?”

“You’re…”

“Still alive?” Her lips curled into a smirk. “Very much so, no thanks to you.”

According to the NDA she’d signed, discussing her kidnapping and subsequent rescue with anyone who wasn’t already privy to the “incident” was strictly prohibited and punishable by the law.

The U.S. government may not be aware of her father’s involvement—or rather, non-involvement—but he was very much aware of the danger she’d been in.

And the death sentence he’d personally delivered.

“I thought?—”

“I was dead. Yeah, I get that.” She casually plopped down in one of the two chairs facing her father’s desk. “But as you can see, I’m not.”

“I don’t…” He shook his silver head. “I mean, I’m…”

“Speechless?” She settled back into her chair. “That’s okay. I’ll start. Which part would you like to hear first? Where the Taliban extremists barged into my classroom and forcibly took me and four young girls hostage? Or would you prefer to start with the cave we were imprisoned in for days with hardly any food or water?” The more she spoke, the louder her voice became. “Or maybe you’d like me to tell you about the time one of them beat me within a hair’s breadth of unconsciousness because he believed you when you told him you didn’t have a daughter!”

“Evelynn, please. I know what you must think, but?—”

“What I think?” Her humorless laugh echoed off the room’s stately wood-paneled walls. “What I think is that you’re sitting there, going on about your day as if none of what I went through ever happened. As if you didn’t receive a call weeks ago with a demand for money in exchange for my life and the lives of those four precious little girls.”

She stood, placing her hands on his desk and locking her elbows as she leaned in closer. Rather than yell, Evie kept a tight leash on her overzealous vocal chords, dropping her tone to a deeper, deadlier level.

“And I think”—she continued—“your clients would be very interested in hearing about how the man to whom they’ve entrusted their entire life savings could be such a cold-hearted, uncaring bastard as to let your only child, along with four sweet, innocent little girls, die at the hands of those monsters. That’s what I think.”

The bluff was just that.

A bluff.

If she blew the whistle on her father’s horrific act, he’d be eviscerated by the court of public opinion. His so-called friends would just as soon disavow him rather than be saddled with a scandal none of them could afford. Many of his clients would leave his firm to avoid being associated with such a public pariah.

As for his staff, that was tricky. Her father may be a ruthless son of a bitch, but he paid his staff well, and they knew it. They earned every penny, mind you. But they knew which side their bread was buttered.

And good luck finding a job when you worked for the guy who could’ve easily paid the ransom and been done but instead was willing to let his only daughter die.

But…thanks to the NDA, her threats were as empty as her father’s love for her.

“How dare you.” Her father stood as well. “You barge in here, unannounced, I might add, and you?—”

“Are you kidding me right now?” Evie stared back at the man as if he’d lost his damn mind. “I was kidnapped, Dad! Those men…they took us against our will. They starved us, they hurt me…” Her voice cracked, but she cleared her throat and forced herself to continue, “I just want to know why, okay? Tell me why, and I’ll walk out of this house and never bother you again.”

“As I was trying to say before. I thought the phone call was a scam. A ruse to steal my money. It wouldn’t be the first time someone attempted to rob me of what’s rightfully mine.”

“What’s rightfully ours ,” she corrected. “Half of the estate is mine, remember? Also, I might buy the whole scam excuse if I hadn’t spoken to you myself. I talked to you, Dad. Me. I begged you to send the money to save us, and you hung up on me as if I were nothing. As if the five of us were…nothing.” A set of twin tears streaked down her flushed cheeks before she could stop them. “I told you exactly what would happen to us if you didn’t pay, and yet, you still want to stand there and tell me you believed it was all a scam designed to steal your precious?—”

The rest of Evie’s words became lost in a startling realization. One that was almost as painful to accept as believing her father was fine letting her die.

“Oh, my god.” She pushed herself off the desk and stood straight once more. “You thought it was me.”

“Evelynn—”

“That’s it, isn’t it? You thought I set up the whole thing. That I orchestrated some big, elaborate kidnapping scheme to steal ten million dollars from you.”

“I…” Her father began but paused before trying to explain himself. “If you’ll recall, I warned you the last time you were here.”

“You told me I was done.” Evie stared back at a man she felt she barely knew. “That was your warning to me, right? You said if I went against your wishes and joined the semester-long program in Afghanistan I was done.” Her heart began to shatter where she stood. “And you what…thought I went over there and decided to get even with you? You think I hired members of the Taliban to extort money from you, despite knowing my portion of Mom’s inheritance will be mine in less than a year, anyway?”

According to her mother’s will, half the value of her life insurance policy would go to Evie on her thirty-second birthday. The other half had already been awarded to her father years before, shortly after her mother’s death.

“I think I’ve explained myself quite enough.” Her father rounded his desk and came to where she stood. “As for your threat to air our dirty laundry to my friends and clients…I’d tread very carefully if I were you.”

“Or what?” She arched a defiant brow. “You’ll abandon me to die? Oh, wait. I believe that box has already been checked off your to-do list.”

Evie had never been so utterly spiteful with her father…or anyone else, for that matter. But the longer she stood there listening to him brush away what he’d done as if it were nothing—as if she was nothing—the more she questioned how they could even be related.

“You’ve always had such a smart mouth.”

“And you’ve always been a heartless jerk.”

Her father raised a hand as if to strike her, but Evie was ready. On reflex, she grabbed his wrist, stopping him mid-swing.

I’ve had enough of men thinking they can manhandle me into submission.

“Do it,” she challenged. “I’ll have you arrested so fast, your head will still be spinning when they take you into booking.”

Evie shoved his arm away and took a cautionary step back. Her chest heaved, and her heart felt like a sledgehammer pounding against her ribs.

For all his faults, her father had never laid a hand on her in anger. Not even once that she could remember. But now…

His face turned red, and the vein in his forehead seemed to bulge with fury. Rather than cowering beneath the weight of her most recent statement, her father appeared to bolster his emotions into barely controlled anger.

“You think you can come into my office…into my home…and disrespect me like this? You think you can threaten me?”

“I think I’ve more than earned the right to know how you could so easily let me die.”

“The only thing you’ve earned, young lady, is an invitation to leave.”

“I’m not a young lady. I’m an adult,” Evie seethed. “And I’ll leave when I have an answer. A real answer. Not some bullshit excuse about a contrived scam that makes absolutely no sense.”

“I’ve said my piece on the matter, and I have nothing more to add.” He turned away with the clear intent of returning to his seat.

Refusing to be so easily dismissed, Evie made a tsk sound with her tongue and gave her head a disappointing shake.

“You know, Dad…you’ve been a lot of things over the years. Serious. Driven. Ruthless. Absent. But a coward?” She stared straight at him. “I have to admit, I never saw that one coming.”

“How dare you?—”

“You know, this is the first time since Mom died that I’m glad she isn’t here. Because if she were…if she could see the kind of father you turned out to be…” A huff of a humorless chuckle escaped. “She’d be so ashamed.”

Her father’s gray-blue gaze became enflamed with fury. He stormed across the room to one of three mahogany file cabinets. Evie watched as he unlocked the top drawer and began skimming through the folders inside.

“You still think your mother was so perfect?” His movements were rough. Angry. “What am I saying? Of course, you do. But that’s only because she never told you the truth.”

“Wow.” Evie crossed her arms at her chest. “Typical Mitchell patriarch fashion. I point out your shortcomings, and you start trying to turn the conversation around to the only parent who ever seemed to care about me. A woman who isn’t even here to defend herself.”

“Your mother wasn’t as perfect as she led you to believe.” Her father yanked a folder free and slammed the cabinet drawer shut. “Not even close.”

He tossed the folder down onto the desk. It slid to a stop directly in front of where Evie was standing.

“Go ahead.” The infuriated man motioned for her to pick it up. “See for yourself.”