27. Alexis
Alexis was furious. How could Levi’s brother set him up like that? And also defraud the government?
It made Alexis want to protect Levi with every possible tool at her disposal, but she wasn’t completely sure how. She’d said she knew someone who might be able to help, but it wasn’t going to be easy to reach them.
The woman she was thinking of was a very powerful lawyer called Valentina Armstrong, but Alexis couldn’t just phone her office directly. She had an assistant who screened her calls, and that assistant was close to her father’s assistant, telling him everything he might find interesting to store away for future leverage.
She used to have Valentina’s personal mobile number, but it hadn’t transferred across to her new phone after she’d left her old one in Jack’s car. She had a copy of it written in one of her diaries, but they were all at Jack’s house.
Could she risk returning to her family home to find it?
If she knew Jack’s schedule, she could sneak in while he was out…
But who could she recruit to help? Not Levi, because he would probably tell her to forget it if it meant she’d be putting herself in a compromising situation.
Not Sarah, because she would similarly warn her off going back and undoing all the progress she’d made.
Theo? He seemed happy-go-lucky enough to be up for a vague assignment if she was the one to ask.
She texted him.
Alexis:
Hey, do you mind calling this number and asking whether Jack is in the office today?
She included the number for the law firm, one she would never be able to forget no matter how hard she tried.
After a moment, her phone dinged.
Theo:
We haven’t spoken for days and now you’re asking for a favour? What do I get in return?
Alexis:
What do you want in return?
Theo:
Buy me dinner?
Oh. This was awkward. She’d known Theo was a little flirty, but she hadn’t been completely sure if he treated all women that way, or just her. Now she potentially had her answer.
But she was seeing Levi, and she didn’t want to jeopardise their fledgling relationship.
Alexis:
Sure. I’ll make a reservation for four next weekend and I’ll invite Sarah and Levi to join us.
Her phone immediately rang. She sighed. She’d suspected that wouldn’t work.
‘Are you scared to be alone with me?’ he demanded.
‘No, not scared. Sorry, I meant to tell you, but I’m sort of seeing someone now, and I didn’t think it would be appropriate for us to go out alone.’
‘Why not? We’re friends, aren’t we?’
‘Is that what you intended when you suggested I buy you dinner? That we go as friends?’
‘At least to start. I like to take things slow. And then if you just happen to realise, I’m a better choice than your boyfriend, I won’t complain.’
‘Theo!’
‘I’m just saying. But fine. I’ll do this mysterious task for you, but you’ll owe me. If you won’t agree to dinner, I’ll save my favour for another time. And it might be more extreme.’
‘Whatever. Please text or call when you find out Jack’s schedule.’
‘Do I need an alter ego? Maybe I can be Wolfgang Bauer, a stockbroker from Munich?’
Alexis smiled, glad Theo couldn’t see her falling for his charm. The guy was very entertaining.
‘You shouldn’t need to create an alter ego. Just keep it simple.’
‘Okay. I’ll keep you posted.’
He hung up, and Alexis shook her head. Theo was fun. If he’d asked her out first, would she have accepted? But as soon as she thought about Levi, her belly swooped, and she knew she’d made the right choice.
She tried to distract herself by checking on Tofu and tidying up the apartment, but the two of them hadn’t made much mess in the first place. Tofu never left the laundry, and Alexis had barely entered half the rooms during her stay. Her movements were mostly limited to the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom—with the occasional visit to the living room. She didn’t use the formal dining room or had even properly looked inside the other bedrooms.
Theo texted back.
Theo:
He’s in meetings all day. You owe me!
Alexis:
Thank you. We’ll talk later.
She grabbed her handbag and headed for the door. If she didn’t go now, she’d probably chicken out later. But it was important to help Levi. She knew very well how crappy it was to discover your family was toxic. If she could get him out relatively unscathed, at least her previous training and connections would have counted for something.
Alexis’Uber pulled up out the front of her old house in Kenmore Hills, and she climbed out, looking at the front yard with mixed emotions.
Until recently, this was where she’d spent thirty years of her life. She walked slowly up the driveway, trying not to get lost in nostalgia. Every square inch of the estate contained a memory of her and her father—and some very vague ones of her mother too.
She walked between the four huge columns that supported the front entry of the three-level house and glanced up at the surveillance camera perched near the door. Alexis knew it was almost never operational, so she wasn’t worried about being seen. And considering the place was so large, Jack didn’t have any live-in staff. He liked his privacy, and it had often been just the two of them sharing the thirteen-hundred-square-metre mansion. Yes, they’d had housekeepers, and one in particular had been employed for most of Alexis’ childhood, doubling as her babysitter on occasion—but Jack hadn’t trusted anyone to cook his food, so they’d never had a personal chef. There had been a few gardeners, but none that ever stuck around for more than a year or two.
Now that she thought about it, it was a pretty lonely upbringing.
She mentally shook herself and unlocked the front door. She still had a key, and Jack hadn’t changed the locks.
She took a moment to breathe in the familiar scent of old oak and ancient carpet before making her way through the foyer toward her bedroom.
As she walked through the doorway, she noticed the ridiculous opulence of the space for the first time. There was a heavy rosewood bed frame against one wall, with a matching old-fashioned dresser and drawers against another. The thick navy wool carpet beneath her feet had been so well maintained, it looked brand new. And an actual chandelier hung in the centre of the ceiling. The room could have slept ten people. How had she ever felt comfortable here? Even though Evelyn’s apartment was spacious, it at least had some life to it.
This place felt like a mausoleum.
Alexis hurried over to the wardrobe that could have easily stood in for the one in Narnia, and pulled open the doors. She didn’t want to stay any longer than necessary.
There were a bunch of boxes neatly piled on top of each other, and she pulled one out, sifting through its contents. It only contained her old textbooks from university, so she ignored it. The second was full of stuffed toys, and she paused when she saw the teddy bear Levi had given her. She hadn’t planned on taking anything other than the diary containing Valentina’s number, but she knew she couldn’t leave without the bear as well.
She gently removed it from the box and held it to her face, inhaling its sweet dusty scent. Its cute plaid jacket and velvet paws made her smile at the memory of Levi giving it to her. It must have been something he already owned because he’d given it to her spontaneously, but she didn’t mind. Now it held even greater value.
She pulled out a third box and found what she was looking for. A bunch of old work diaries. One of them had been where she’d written important information she’d either not wanted stored online or found pertinent to store on paper as a backup.
She quickly found the one she wanted and tucked it into her handbag before putting the boxes back in the wardrobe.
Just before she closed the door, she noticed a small book resting on its side next to the boxes. She picked it up and saw it was a photo album. Not one she recognised.
And then she heard a sound from outside.
She shoved the album in her bag with the diary and slammed the wardrobe doors shut.
Alexis had hoped she’d be able to leave through the front door, but Jack was on the other side. He was fiddling with the lock, so he hadn’t yet seen her through the glass panes.
She contemplated bolting out the back, but she wouldn’t have time to cross the foyer before he entered. She held the teddy bear behind her back and tried to look natural.
Jack opened the door and started when he saw her.
‘What are you doing here?’
His tone was neutral, and Alexis couldn’t read anything from his expression.
‘I…’ Alexis’ mind went blank. Why hadn’t she formulated an excuse in the event of this very scenario? She tried to deflect. ‘What are you doing here? I thought you’d be at work.’
‘Is that what you were hoping? You haven’t come to steal from me, have you?’
‘Of course not! What kind of person do you think I am? Besides, I’m not the one who steals.’
She shouldn’t have said it, but just seeing her dad made her angry all over again.
‘And you’re implying I am?’
‘Tell me what was in that briefcase you collected the day we finished the murder case.’
He shook his head. ‘I can’t believe you’re still dwelling on that.’
‘Because you never answered. And you were obviously so scared of me being independent that you cut off my money and took my car. If we’re going to get technical, you did steal. I earned that money in my bank account, and you took it.’
‘You’re my fucking daughter. You should know your fucking place.’
Alexis stared at him, stunned. She’d never heard him say anything like that ever. How had he been hiding this side of himself from her for thirty years?
She’d never been scared of Jack before, but she was now. His eyes were dark, and the side of his mouth was turned up in a sneer.
She had to pass him to get to the front door, but she wasn’t confident he’d let her. Instead, she turned on her heel and ran to the kitchen. She knew every inch of the estate, including all the exits. Jack didn’t move at first, but then she could hear him following her.
‘Don’t you dare.’
She ignored him, ripping open the door to the deck and yanking it closed behind her.
The house was built on a hill, so the street side was actually the middle floor. Alexis climbed over a small fence and dropped down to the level where the pool overlooked the garden. It had an open waterfall edge without fencing, so she squeezed onto the ledge and jumped into the bush below. She then ran through the back of the property until she reached a neighbour’s house. Thankfully, their boundaries were separated by a hedge rather than a wall, so Alexis was able to push through and run down the side of their yard to their driveway. She came out on a street Jack wouldn’t be able to reach quickly, but she didn’t want to take any risks. She ran another few blocks, pausing at a nearby playground to order another Uber.
She hid in a picnic shelter until it arrived, and it wasn’t until she was safe in the backseat, being driven back to Newstead, that she finally let out a deep breath.
She was never going to step foot in that house again.