Page 189 of Promising You
Well, she can wipe that smug smile off her face because I’m not even close to letting her win.
I follow Pearce into his office. He sits behind his desk in his black leather office chair, leaning back and crossing his arms.
I sit across from him in the chair that I have sat in so many times before. Every time there’s a crisis, I end up back in this same chair.
“So I take it you got my message?” I ask.
“I’m guessing you spoke with your grandfather.”
“Nobody here would tell me anything. You wouldn’t let me inside. I had to do something.”
“I’m not saying what you did was wrong. Arlin is your family. I can’t stop you from talking to him. But it’s not his place to discuss matters dealing with the Kensington family. So what exactly did he tell you?”
“He didn’t tell me anything. I figured it out myself and when I told him, he didn’t deny it.”
“I see. So why are you here, Jade?”
“I want to find a solution. Garret doesn’t want to be part of this. The plan. The organization. He doesn’t want to be involved in any of it. I know he doesn’t. And I know you don’t want that for him either. So let’s figure out a way to fix this.”
“It’s not that simple. I’ve been part of this for 30 years, Jade, and believe me, there’s no way out.”
“How do you know that? We haven’t even tried.”
He sighs and looks down at his desk. “Years ago I tried to get out. I learned about the organization when I was 18. I told my father I wanted nothing to do with it, but I was young and my father insisted, so I went along and did what they said. I followed their rules. I went to the college they told me to go to. I took over the family business. I even married the girl they told me to marry. When the marriage ended, I’d decided I’d had enough. I didn’t want them controlling my life. Shortly after my divorce I met a girl I actually loved and I married her. She grew up on a farm in Indiana. We met while she was out here attending graduate school.”
“Garret’s mother?”
He nods. “I knew I wasn’t even supposed to date her, let alone marry her, but I did it anyway. I disobeyed the rules. And if you disobey the rules you get punished and you never know when it will happen. You’re left waiting, wondering, just wanting it to be over. For years I never knew what my punishment was for marrying Garret’s mother. Whenever something bad happened, I wondered if that was my punishment, but they don’t tell you so you’re left wondering. In the back of my mind, I had an idea of what the punishment was, but I wouldn’t let myself believe it. Until I received this at the meeting Garret and I attended yesterday.”
He slides an envelope across his desk. I pick it up and take out a sheet of paper. This is what it says.
Grievance against: Member 1479K.
Order: to remove obstacle created by Member 1479K
Obstacle: 35-year-old female, mother of member 1525K.
Previous attempts to rectify this matter: several attempts, including private meetings and warning letters; all met with resistance and a refusal to cooperate
Remedy: flight from DC To Hartford
There’s a red stamp at the bottom of the page.
Obstacle Removed Successfully. Grievance closed.
CHAPTERFORTY-FOUR
I slowly slidethe paper and the envelope back across the table. “They killed her. The plane crash wasn’t an accident.”
He puts the paper back in the envelope. “This was a warning for Garret. He tried to fight them. He tried to walk out of the meeting. And then they gave him what I just showed you.”
It’s starting to make sense now. Garret telling me to leave. Telling me it’s over. Pearce sending me home. Arlin telling me to get away from Garret. They all know that this organization, whatever it is, would kill me if I stood in the way of their plans for Garret. And by threatening to kill me, they’ll get Garret to do whatever they tell him to do.
“I never wanted my son to be part of this,” Pearce says. “I wanted him to have what I couldn’t. A normal life. One in which he could make his own decisions. I don’t want him repeating the life I’ve had. After Garret’s mother died, I didn’t have the energy to fight them anymore. So I did what they said. I followed orders. I married the woman they told me to marry. I did things I didn’t want to do. Things that were wrong and—” He clears his throat. “Anyway, it’s too late for me.”
I want to ask him what things this group made him do, but I know he won’t tell me so I ask about Katherine instead. “So they made you marry Katherine?”
He nods. “Her father is a member. They prefer us to marry women whose fathers are members. If that doesn’t work out, they find you a woman who is used to a life of wealth and privilege. Those women tend to marry for money and are less likely to care or notice what their husbands are doing on the side. Typically they never know about the organization or by the time they do, they’re so immersed in the lifestyle they’ll keep the secret to make sure the money doesn’t go away.”
