My phone pings. A message from Carter. “They’re in Carter’s office, now. You’re clear. Now, tell me what’s going on.”
“What I’m about to tell you will destroy Carter.”
“What are you talking about?”
She tears up again, but she blinks it all back and takes another deep breath. “Stephan was having an affair with Margot.”
The words land like bombs on the serene surface of a lake.
Instead of clarity, I am suddenly faced with multiple dots that lack crucial connections, and in the middle of it all stands Clara, fearing for her life.
“Your brother was sleeping with Margot?” I ask, hoping to get her to elaborate.
“They were on and off for years,” she says. “A few months before he died, I found out about it, and I confronted Stephan. He told me they were in love and that Margot was going to eventually leave Emmanuel. He said the whole marriage was a setup for Bill Lockwood to get Emmanuel’s side of the family involved in his corporation, that she had a few things to take care of before she could divorce him.”
“Was Margot really going to leave her husband for Stephan?”
“I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t think so. I’ve never trusted her. Anyway, all that secrecy, the guilt, it ate away at Stephan. Their entire relationship was toxic, and it hurt him deeply.Hence the drinking, the sleepless nights. He couldn’t bring himself to tell Carter or any of you, for that matter. He was ashamed.”
I give her a troubled look. “That could certainly explain his depression.”
“My brother wasn’t depressed,” she snaps, anger reverberating from her voice. “He was fine. I mean, he was angry and frustrated, but he wanted to live, Jace, and we argued so much about Margot so many times. I kept pushing him to do the right thing, to end things with her before Emmanuel or Bill found out. They’re powerful people, Jace…”
Her voice trails off. I cup her face in my hands and plant a kiss on her forehead to soothe her.
“Talk to me, Clara. Tell me everything.”
“They found out,” she shudders and lowers her gaze. “Stephan had just ended it with Margot two days before he died. He came to me and said he’d finally done it. He was proud of himself, apologetic toward me, and determined to move on with his life. Stephan said he asked Margot all the right questions. He didn’t like her answers, and he understood that she was never going to get a divorce, so he broke up with her.”
“How did Bill and Emmanuel find out?”
“I don’t know when they learned about the affair, but they…” Clara pauses and closes her eyes for a moment. “That night, Stephan and I were supposed to meet at Mondy’s Diner to help him figure out a way forward. I was waiting in our usual booth by the window, and I saw him pull into the parking lot.
“But he didn’t get out of the car. I watched him for maybe a minute. I don’t know what he was thinking, why he hesitated. He drove back out and headed toward Samwell Bridge.”
There’s so much we didn’t know about Stephan, our best friend, our brother-in-arms. It hurts to learn that he didn’t trust us enough to tell us about Margot. Hell, Carter would’ve understood. He probably would’ve clocked him for the transgression, but they would’ve shaken hands five minutes later.
“What happened next?” I ask.
“I ran out to my car and followed him. I was sure he’d gotten a text from Margot, because Stephan would’ve never stood me up like that otherwise. He was a good brother.”
“Oh, I know, and a good friend.”
“I went after him, and I saw him pull up at the bridge,” Clara says, her tone wavering. She’s choked up and having a hard time keeping it together, so I place my hands on her arms, gently squeezing to help her stay focused. “They were waiting for him. It had just started raining. Barely a soul around. No other cars.”
“Who was waiting for him?”
“Bill and Emmanuel.”
“Was Margot there?” My blood runs cold as I ask the question.
Clara shakes her head. “I didn’t see her. I pulled over behind a bush on the edge of the road, keeping my distance so they wouldn’t spot me. Jace, I had a bad feeling about it. I justdidn’t know what to do. I’d heard the rumors about Bill, about how ruthless and dirty he could be.”
“It’s why we decided that going into private security would keep all of us away from any fallout from Bill’s unsavory endeavors,” I tell her.
She nods, then continues. “As soon as my brother got out of the car, they got out of theirs. Bill stayed back, but Emmanuel confronted Stephan. They argued. I heard Margot’s name get tossed around a few times.”
“Where were you again?”
