Chapter 18 #2
I shook my head. “No. With a knife. In an alley behind the gala.”
Her hand flew to her mouth. “Sutton, you need to go to the police.”
“I can’t,” I said. “I was there. I… I didn’t stop it.”
“Of course you didn’t stop it! He’s a fucking murderer with a knife! No one expects you to play hero in that situation.”
I turned away, unable to meet her eyes. “There’s more to it than that.”
“What do you mean?”
I couldn’t bring myself to tell her about what happened after.
“Let’s just say I’m implicated,” I said instead.
“If this comes out, I go down with him. And hell, what’s the likelihood of him going down with how much money and power he has?
He probably has the entire criminal justice system in his back pocket.
I have the feeling I’m not going to be able to get away from him no matter how hard I try.
The only thing I can do it seems like is find out more information about what is going on with…
everything. So right now I’m focusing on the acquisition because that’s the thing I might be able to actually dig into right now. ”
“It’s not your job to investigate Ashcroft Group.” Cassie’s voice rose with every word she said. “You witnessed a murder, Sutton. This isn’t corporate espionage or a hostile takeover. It’s a capital crime.”
I sank back onto the couch and reached for my wine glass. “I know what it is,” I said quietly. “But you don’t understand the position I’m in.”
“Then help me understand,” Cassie pleaded as she sat next to me, even closer this time. “Because right now, all I see is my best friend protecting a murderer.”
The accusation stung, even though I knew she wasn’t wrong. I couldn’t meet her eyes. “It’s complicated.”
“Uncomplicate it for me.”
“The man he killed… it was Bradley Sumpter. From his transition team.”
Cassie’s eyes widened. “Wait, the guy you told me about? The one who was being an asshole during the meeting?”
I nodded. “Cain overheard him disrespecting me including implying I’d got this position in a certain manner.”
“So he killed him? For being sexist?” Cassie shook her head in disbelief. “I fully support calling someone out who says those types of things, killing them isn’t him protecting you. This is pure madness.”
“I know,” I whispered. “And after it happened, I… I didn’t react the way a normal person would.”
“What do you mean?”
I couldn’t tell her. Not everything. Not the way I’d responded to Cain, how I’d pulled him closer instead of pushing him away.
“I didn’t run. I didn’t scream. I just… froze.
And then I went along with everything he said.
” The partial truth would have to do. “He told me to go back inside, clean myself up, act normal. And I did.”
She reached for my hand and I let her take it.
That small, simple gesture nearly made me lose it.
There were so many years of friendship between us.
We’d been there for each other through every career crisis, health scare, messy family dynamics, and heartbreak.
She had held my hand through all of it and I had held hers.
There had never been anything I couldn’t eventually tell her.
But this was so different. This was about how I allowed a murder to happen and decided to have sex with the murderer within a few minutes.
How I didn’t even try to fight the cravings I had for this man while another man lay there bleeding out.
How I was also afraid that one of the richest men in the world had the opportunity to make me his next murder victim and even that didn’t stop me from fucking him.
What the hell was wrong with me?
Cassie cleared her throat, bringing me back to the present. “Of course you did. You were in shock, Sutton. That’s a trauma response.”
I latched onto her explanation gratefully. “Maybe. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m complicit now. If this comes out, I’m an accessory after the fact at minimum.”
Cassie ran her hands through her blonde hair, clearly struggling to process everything. “Okay. Let’s think this through. What does Cain want from you now?”
“That’s what terrifies me. I don’t know and that’s what I need to find out which is why I want to get to the bottom of this acquisition deal.”
“I don’t agree with you doing that, but I’m not going to be able to stop you, am I?”
“No, you can’t,” I admitted with a sigh. “I need to get to the bottom of whatever this mess is.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Cassie said with a heavy sigh. “But promise me you’ll be careful. This man has already killed someone in front of you. There’s no telling what else he’s capable of.”
“I’ll be careful,” I promised, finally reaching for a slice of pizza I didn’t actually want. “I just need to understand why me. Why has he been watching me for years? What could possibly be so special about me or Prescott Vantage that warranted this level of… obsession?”
Cassie took a sip of her wine. “I’m not sure but if you’re going to do this, there might be a way for you to find out.”
“What do you mean?” I was curious about where she was going with this.
“Where do most people keep important documents? Work, personal, etc.”
“Their office. At home or at work…” I said as the path Cassie was walking down started to illuminate. “Dana mentioned that I was referenced in acquisition documents from two years ago. Those documents have to exist somewhere in their system.”
“Exactly,” Cassie said, leaning forward. “And you have access to Ashcroft Group’s systems now, don’t you?”
I nodded slowly. “Limited access. But I could potentially find ways to… expand that.” I reached for my phone as the idea formed in my head.
“Wait, Sutton. What are you going to do?”
For the first time in what felt like forever, a smirk formed on my face. “Buy an Amtrak ticket and contact Mr. Cain Ashcroft.”