Chapter 26 #3
I toss my phone on the couch beside me, a sense of melancholy weighing me down.
What’s wrong with me? I should be ecstatic that after so many false starts, I finally have the first shred of evidence that Christian did use his considerable influence to have the report into Nexus’s collapse altered.
Yet instead of jumping for joy, I’ve got this pain in my gut that won’t go away.
At seven o’clock, and with the sheet of paper safely tucked away in my handbag, I climb into the back of the car that I guess Powell must’ve arranged after I told him I was going out.
Mr. No-Personality sits up front with the driver—someone I haven’t seen before—and neither of them speak during the entire ride.
I’m uncomfortable, yet they seem perfectly content sitting in silence.
I stuff earbuds in my ears and play some music, staring out the window at the blur of hedgerows as we leave Oakleigh behind.
At one minute to eight, we arrive at Juliet’s. As suspected, Powell accompanies me inside. At the top of the stairs, I knock on the door. Juliet opens it and rushes out to envelop me in a huge hug.
“It’s so good to see you. Come on in.”
I turn to tell Powell to stay put, but he’s already stationed himself to the right of her door, hands laced behind his back. I catch her eye and shrug, and she grins.
Arron stands when I enter the living room, and I can’t stop the rush of tears at seeing my brother for the first time in almost two weeks.
He hugs me so tightly, I struggle to breathe, but it’s worth it just to feel his solid embrace.
Juliet disappears into the kitchen, soon returning with a bottle of wine and three glasses.
“I take it from the suddenness of your visit that we’re celebrating?” she asks, setting down the glasses on the table and unscrewing the top.
“We are,” I reply, even though celebrating is the last thing I feel like doing. Delving into my bag, I take out the piece of paper. “I found this in Christian’s office earlier today.” I pass it to Arron.
Juliet peers over his shoulder to read it.
“Fucking knew it,” Arron gruffs out.
“The slimy twat,” Juliet adds.
“At least now we have something we can use,” he says.
“How do we use it, though?” I ask. “Do we go to the press?”
“Not yet.” Arron takes a glass of wine from Juliet and sips. “Let me talk to Uncle Daniel and then we’ll decide where we go from here.”
“Speaking of.” I glug my wine for courage. “I did not appreciate the text you sent me the other day. You’re sounding more and more like him every day, and I’m not happy about it.”
“What text?” Juliet enquires.
“It was nothing,” Arron mumbles, his cheeks turning pink.
“It wasn’t nothing. I do not appreciate being told I’m failing our parents when I’m trying my fucking hardest to find something we can use to prove what happened, and at the same time making sure I don’t get caught.”
“Arron.” Juliet punches his upper arm. “You absolute cunt.”
“Ow.” He rubs it. “I’d had a difficult day at work, that’s all. No need to call me a cunt.”
“And that excuses you in no way,” Juliet says. “If you act like a cunt, I’ll call you a cunt.”
I snort a laugh. Ever since our schooldays, Juliet’s had my back, and that includes with my brother. They’ve always had a tumultuous relationship. Once upon a time, I thought they might actually end up together, but neither has shown any romantic interest in the other that I’ve ever witnessed.
“All jokes aside, I didn’t like it, Arron, and I don’t want you sending any more texts accusing me of failing our parents. Have you any idea how hurtful that was?”
His cheeks aren’t pink now. They’re flaming red.
“Sorry, sis. It’s just now you’re not around, Uncle Daniel is in my fucking ear twenty-four hours of the day demanding results.”
“I’ve thought this for a while now, but didn’t want to say anything.
He worries me, Arron. The longer this has gone on, the more irrational he’s becoming.
I get it. Really, I do. He wants whoever killed Dad to pay the price, and if Christian is guilty, then he will pay.
But until then, you need to tell him to calm down. He’s not helping himself or us.”
He nods, then a frown drifts across his face. “You said ‘if’. You can’t be having doubts, surely? Not after what’s in here.” He picks up the piece of paper and waves it in the air.
“I fully believe that Christian either persuaded or blackmailed Bartholomew into changing the report, and I intend to find out why. What I’m not convinced of is that he was directly responsible for Nexus collapsing.”
Arron looks at me as though I’m a stranger. “Oh, I see, Gracie. Enjoying living in the big house, are you, lording it up over everyone? Forgot your roots already?”
Juliet chokes on her wine. My hands curl into fists, a flush of anger rising up my neck.
“If there wasn’t a bodyguard standing outside this door, who we can’t let see you, I would tell you to get the fuck out of here right now.
How dare you accuse me of switching sides.
” I rise to my feet, down the dregs of my wine, and set the glass on the table.
“I think it’s best if I go before I say something I may not fucking regret.
I’ll leave that piece of paper with you. Now, it’s your turn to play your part.”
“I’m so—”
My hand snaps in the air. “I don’t want your apologies, Arron. I want you to not say things that require an apology in the first place. Take a good, hard look at the person you’re becoming and ask yourself if that’s who you want to be.”
Juliet stands, too. “I was right, Arron. You are a cunt. As soon as Grace is gone, you’re out of here, and count your lucky stars it’s not through the fucking window.”
She ushers me into the hallway, drawing me into a hug. “It’s Daniel’s influence,” I whisper, my voice low enough so that Powell won’t hear me, and neither will Arron. “I don’t like it.”
Juliet keeps her voice low as well. “Disagree, Gracie. Arron’s an adult. He’s responsible for his own actions and the words that come out of his mouth.”
I nod because she’s right, even though I’d rather not admit it. “Do me a favor and keep an eye on him. I’ll see what else I can find that’ll hopefully bring this to a head sooner rather than later.”
“You just take care of yourself. And remember, you need an escape plan, you call me.”
“I just want it over. I never thought it would be this hard.” I stare into the middle distance, then shake my head. “I’ll be in touch.”
Powell follows me down the stairs, and once I’m in the car, I activate the privacy screen and let a cascade of emotions consume me. Here I was afraid I was losing myself when there’s every chance I’m losing my brother, too.
I need this done, before everything I value is lost.