“That’s what Megan told me.”
Taylor looked toward Victoria.
“She knew.”
Rachel whispered:
“Apparently.”
Taylor closed the locket.
For seven years he had searched for a door.
Now one had opened.
He was terrified to walk through.
Victoria woke shortly after four in the morning.
Her first word was:
“Taylor.”
He was sitting beside the bed.
Rachel was sleeping in a chair near the wall.
Taylor leaned forward.
“I’m here.”
Victoria opened her eyes.
She looked terrible.
Pale.
Confused.
Then memory returned.
She tried sitting.
Taylor stopped her.
“Slow.”
“Where am I?”
“Private clinic.”
“Gregory?”
“Not here.”
Her entire body relaxed.
Then she noticed the locket on the table.
Her face changed.
Taylor followed her gaze.
“Tell me.”
Victoria looked at him.
“What do you remember?”
“Enough.”
He stood.
“You knew Megan.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Not long.”
“How?”
Victoria closed her eyes.
Taylor felt anger rise.
“Do not do that.”
She looked at him.
“Do what?”
“Decide what I can handle.”
“I’m not.”
“You have had seven years.”
Victoria flinched.
Fair.
Taylor lowered his voice.
“My daughter has spent seven years asking why her mother left.”
Victoria looked away.
“I know.”
Taylor froze.
“What did you say?”
Victoria realized the mistake.
Too late.
“You know Sophie?”
Silence.
“Victoria.”
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Taylor stepped back.
Everything inside him became cold.
“How?”
“I have followed both of you.”
Rachel woke.
“What?”
Victoria looked toward her.
Rachel stood.
“You followed them?”
“Not personally.”
Taylor’s voice sharpened.
“Then how?”
“Security reports.”
“What security?”
“Hawthorne internal security.”
Taylor stared.
“Why the hell was your company monitoring my daughter?”
Victoria swallowed.
“Because after Megan disappeared, we were afraid Gregory might decide she had left something with you.”
Taylor could not breathe.
Rachel stepped between them slightly.
“What did Megan find?”
Victoria looked toward both.
“Project Meridian.”
Neither recognized the name.
Victoria continued.
“Hawthorne Global wasn’t always the company it is now.”
“My father built it through acquisitions.”
“Energy.”
“Logistics.”
“Medical systems.”
“Defense support.”
“He liked businesses with government contracts.”
Taylor stared.
“What does that have to do with Megan?”
“She worked for Calder Financial.”
Taylor nodded.
Megan had been a forensic accountant.
Victoria continued.
“Calder handled audit work for one of Hawthorne’s subsidiaries.”
“Seven years ago Megan found payments moving through shell companies in Singapore, Cyprus, and Delaware.”
Rachel asked:
“Bribes?”
“At first, that’s what she thought.”
Taylor remained still.
“What were they?”
Victoria’s eyes darkened.
“Settlement payments.”