Chapter 5: What She Said When She Finally Sat Down
She folded her hands on the table.
Not nervously.
Deliberately.
Like someone who had rehearsed this moment and was now deciding whether to use the rehearsed version or the real one.
"Mason isn't my security consultant," she said.
"I know that."
"He's my brother."
I had not known that.
I kept my face still.
"Go on."
"Half-brother.
Same father, different mothers.
We didn't grow up together.
He found me four years ago, just before you and I got married." She looked at her hands.
"I didn't tell you because I didn't know how.
And then time passed and it became something I couldn't explain without explaining everything else."
"What's everything else?"
She was quiet for a moment.
Mason spoke from the doorway.
"Sienna, don't."
"It doesn't matter anymore," she said.
She didn't look at him.
"Our father left money.
A lot of it.
It was supposed to be split between his children when he died.
There were conditions in the will.
One of the conditions was that any child who was married at the time of his death would share their portion with their spouse." She paused.
"He died eight months ago."
I thought about eight months ago.
Sienna had told me her father had been a distant figure.
Estranged.
She'd said she hadn't seen him in years.
She'd said she didn't expect anything from him.
"How much?" I said.
She looked up.
"Three point four million.
My share."
The kitchen was very quiet.
"And if I wasn't here," I said slowly, "you wouldn't have to share it."
She didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
"The account opened in my name," I said.
"Royce.
The two payments.
The messages about tonight." I looked at her.
"You weren't trying to replace me with Mason.
You were trying to make sure I wasn't here to collect half of three million dollars."
Caleb made a small sound from his chair.
Not a word.
Just a sound.
I reached back and put my hand on his without looking away from Sienna.
"He's four years old," I said.
"You were going to take his father away from him for money."
"It wasn't—" She stopped.
Started again.
"It wasn't supposed to go this far.
Royce was supposed to—"
"What?" I said.
"What was Royce supposed to do?"
Mason stepped forward.
"Don't say another word."
"She's already said enough," I said.
I looked at him.
"And so have you.
Four blocks from this house at seven this morning.
A burner phone.
A confirmation message." I picked up Sienna's phone from the counter.
"And three weeks of messages on this." I looked at both of them.
"I'm going to ask you one question and I want a straight answer.
Was anyone else involved?"
Mason's mouth pressed into a line.
Sienna looked at the table.
"Was anyone else involved?" I said again.
Sienna's voice came out smaller than I'd heard it before.
"His contact.
Royce has a contact who handles the — the logistics.
I don't know his name.
I only dealt with Mason."
"Does this contact know where I live?"
She nodded.
"Does he know my schedule?"
Another nod.
I looked at Caleb.
He was watching me.
Four years old, sitting at his own kitchen table, watching his father figure out that tonight was supposed to be the last night.
I picked up my phone.
"Who are you calling?" Mason said.
"The police," I said.
"And after that, my lawyer.
And after that, Daniel.
In that order."
Mason moved toward the door.
"I wouldn't," I said.
"Because if you walk out that door, the first thing I tell the police is that you fled.
And the second thing I tell them is everything I know about Royce and his contact.
And the third thing I tell them is that you were four blocks from this house this morning confirming a window." I looked at him steadily.
"Or you can sit down."
May you like
He stood in the doorway for a long moment.
Then he sat down.
