“Why?” Grant’s brow furrows. “If he sold the other off. Why did he want another? The money?”
“Not long after my fraternal grandfather gave my dad the relic to sell, he became sick. It was a degenerative genetic disease, one with no cure. My dad believed that selling the relic was linked somehow, that selling it had put a curse on him. At least, that’s what he told my mom. He told her that if he wasn’t able to get them back, he feared that he’d die of the same disease, and his children would too,” I explain. “When my mother, who was his mistress at the time, became scared of his obsession and tried to warn my grandfather and the authorities, he had her committed.”
There’s another low whistle from Rowan, and this time Levi presses his hand to my knee, gently stroking me with the pad of his thumb as I try not to get emotional.
“She died there, and I remember my grandfather and my father argued loudly at the funeral. My father used her death to solidify his custody, and I only saw my grandfather a few times after that.”
“I’m so sorry, Zephyrine.” Grant gives me a sympathetic look across the table. I give a small nod before I continue.
“When I turned eighteen, a lawyer visited me and gave me the terms of my inheritance from my grandfather. I’d get the entire fortune he’d amassed as an antiques dealer and several of his personal collections, but only when I moved out of my father’s house and was married.”
“Which we assume was because her grandfather was trying to keep Abbott from having access to the relic,” Dakota explains as Grant’s brow furrows.
“And when I married Corey, they had access to everything. Including the safety deposit box that held the relic.” I finish the sad story of how I not only fell for my father’s trap but also betrayed my grandfather’s wishes in doing so.
Levi squeezes my knee again the table, and I place my hand over his, linking our fingers. I only wish I could watch Corey suffer all over again for his part in this.
“Which would have been just before Schaefer contacted our father to steal the Markdale relic.” Levi makes the connection clear for everyone at the table.
“And was just before they burned my grandfather’s house down to cover the theft of the Kelly relic.” Hudson pushes another piece of the puzzle together.
“There’s a gap here because we don’t know for sure why he killed Mom and Dad. But we can assume he incorrectly thought they had the relic in hand already and wanted to cover up the fact that he was the one to pay them to steal it. Using the money he stole from Zephyrine’s post-marriage inheritance.” Levi looks at Grant, and they exchange unspoken words.
“Fuck me. What a bastard.” Rowan shakes his head in disbelief.
“So then, after last summer, when we auctioned off the relic we had… He has all three. Why not leave us alone?” Grant asks out loud.
“Covering his tracks? I assume he knew we wouldn’t let Mom and Dad’s death go.” Levi offers his best theory.
“But why not Hudson, too, then?” Grant’s brow furrows.
“One giant problem at a time, I guess. We were an easier target given that we were in state, and he had Uncle Jay in his pocket to help him with his dirty work,” Levi posits.
“Fucking hell…” Grant scrubs a hand over his face. “So what now?”
“We wait to see what he does.” Rowan’s back up as part of our security council. “We see how he covers up our robbery.Ifhe covers up or if he retaliates.”
“But we might have some hope there too,” Dakota pipes in.
“How so?” Grant asks.
“Some of the documents we’ve found look like off book transactions. I’m having an accountant friend go through them with Rowan.” Charlotte’s lips curl into a devilish grin. “Because if they are, we might have everything we need to destroy him.”
“Let me know whatever you need to speed that along.” Grant returns her optimism.
“Will do.” She nods.
“And the relics?” Hudson asks. “What do we do with them?”
“I’d like to take them back to where they belong. If we all agree,” I suggest.
“Which is where?” Hudson’s brows knit in confusion.
“Oh, we forgot to tell him the best part.” Charlotte looks at me with a smile.
“My grandfather spent a bunch of time traveling through Europe. Trying to figure out where they belonged because he suspected Schaefer stole them opportunistically at some point during the war. My grandfather went to the abbey several times to do research in the reliquary archives there, and between his research and Levi’s, we think he was on the right path. I think the nuns there and the archive might get us the answers to return them to where they belong,” I explain, looking around the table to get their reactions.
“You have my support,” Hudson agrees easily.
