Secrets (Lords of the City)

by Alice Ward

  “I don’t understand what they could possibly want to ask me,” Stacey said, pacing back and forth on the short stretch of floor.

  “They’re just covering their bases,” Dad assured her. “I’ll be with each of you while you’re interviewed. Let them ask their questions, and count to ten before you answer. That will give me time to object if they get out of line. Be honest, but don’t offer any extra information.”

  “I can do that,” Stacey agreed. She took a deep breath and then settled down into the recliner with Emma. Dad turned to me.

  “They’re likely to be hardest on you, sweetheart. They might ask some pretty personal questions, things you normally wouldn’t want to talk about in front of me. If you’d like, I can ask Matt to meet us at the station and he can sit in on your interview.”

  I shook my head. “No, I want you there,” I insisted.

  Oliver stepped back into the room. “Piper is on her way. She was already in the city, so she won’t be long. Should we be worried, Dad?”

  “No,” Dad assured him. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “Drake hasn’t done anything wrong either,” I chimed in quietly. “He’s still behind bars.”

  How bad is this going to get? Is this really a round of routine interviews? Or are we about to walk in to another of Rebecca’s traps?

  “I know this is hard, sweetheart,” Dad said, his voice oozing sympathy. “And I know you’re scared. But I promise everything is going to be okay.”

  ***

  An hour later, we stepped into the New York City headquarters of the FBI. Special Agent Barstow met us in the lobby and led us up three flights of stairs. He pointed at a bench near the third floor landing and instructed us to sit and wait. He stepped behind a solid door, returning a few minutes later to collect Dad and Oliver.

  “Since the three of you share representation, we’ll have to take turns. Mr. Tyler, we’ll start with you. Ladies, if Oliver tells me what I need to know, I may not need you at all.”

  Oliver’s eyes narrowed with confusion, but he followed Dad and the agent into the interview room.

  This isn’t right. Something is going on here. What does he think Oliver can tell him?

  “Chelsea, I’m scared,” Stacey whispered.

  I wove my arm around hers and squeezed her hand. “I am too,” I confessed.

  We sat in silence for what seemed like hours. When I finally dared to look at my phone, I realized it had only been forty-five minutes. I pulled my tablet from my purse, thinking I’d distract myself on the internet. The lead news story on my home screen was about Drake’s arrest. With a sour taste in my mouth, I powered the tablet down and stuck it back into my purse. A few moments later, the door opened and Agent Barstow stepped back into the hall. I looked past him and saw Dad sitting at a folding table. Oliver was nowhere to be found.

  “Mr. Tyler will be waiting in a separate area now that his interview is over,” the agent explained as if he could read my mind.

  “Stacey, if you’ll join us?”

  Stacey took a deep breath and rose to her feet. She stepped into the interview room and Agent Barstow closed the door again.

  This is ridiculous. We should be somewhere planning Drake’s defense. Instead, they’ve called us down her to accuse us of God knows what. Oh god… we’re all here. What if the trap wasn’t for us, but for Emma? What if Rebecca had us all ordered away from the hospital so she can carry out her threats?

  I pulled my phone out and fired off a quick text to Piper. She replied moments later, letting me know that Emma was fine and no one had bothered them. She asked how the interviews were going, but before I could message her back, Agent Barstow came for me.

  “Ms. Tyler? It’s your turn.”

  I pushed my shoulders back and held my head high as I stepped into the cramped interview room. I took a seat next to Dad on a cold, metal folding chair and waited for Barstow to speak first.

  “Ms. Tyler, is it true that you met Mr. Waters through your brother Oliver?” he began.

  “Yes,” I replied shortly, remembering Dad’s advice to answer the questions with as little detail as possible.

  “And the two of you have been in a relationship for the past several months?”

  “Since April,” I said with a nod.

  “And in that time, how often have Drake and your brother met privately?” he pressed.

  Where the fuck is this going?

  “Oliver is Drake’s broker. They’re also best friends. Soon, they’ll be brothers. They’re alone together all the time, Agent Barstow. I don’t see why that matters.”

  “How long have you lived in the city, Ms. Tyler?” he asked, changing directions.

  “Five years.”

  “And Oliver was already living in the city when you moved here? Was he already a real estate broker?”

  “Yes.”

  The agent nodded, his eyes fixed to a yellow legal pad. He scratched at the paper with a pen and pressed on.

  “Was Oliver already wealthy when you moved to the city?”

  “I have no idea,” I answered honestly. “My brother and I are close, but we don’t share the intricate details of our finances with each other.”

  “I see,” he replied, undeterred. “Let me rephrase the question. When you arrived in the city, where did your brother and sister-in-law live?”

  I see where this is going.

  “They lived in a loft apartment in Brooklyn.”

  “A rental?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you remember when they moved in to the Manhattan apartment?”

  “Three years ago.” I folded my arms over my chest and looked to Dad. His jaw was set, his face hot with rage. But apparently, Barstow’s questions weren’t out of bounds.

  “And do you recall when they purchased their beach house?” he pressed on.

  “A year ago.”

  “And their latest acquisition, the penthouse. That’s in Drake’s building, right? When did they purchase that?”

  “In May.”

  Agent Barstow nodded, made a few more scratches on the page, and then leaned back in his seat.

  “Tell me, Chelsea. When did Oliver start working for Drake?”

  I stared back at him, refusing to be rattled by the insinuation in his question. “They did their first deal together two years ago. Oliver became Drake’s exclusive agent in April.”

  “That’s quite a coincidence, don’t you think?” he asked with a condescending grin.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I replied, my voice flat.

  “Never mind then,” he said with a dismissive wave. “Just a few more questions and we’ll be done here. Would it surprise you to learn that Oliver and Stacey own all of their properties outright?”

  “Not in the slightest,” I answered without hesitation. “Oliver has always been successful. That shouldn’t be seen as suspicious.”

  “Why don’t you let me decide that,” he insisted.

  “You know, Agent Barstow, I have a question for you. Do you have any idea what’s really going on here? Or are you too blind to see that you’re being used like a puppet? Rebecca Waters is the one you should be investigating, not my brother. She and her little spy Kevin set Drake up for this.”

  “That’s an interesting theory,” Barstow said, rising to his feet. “We’re done here, for now. I’d like you to stay close in case anything else comes up that we need to talk about.”

  Dad and I stood and followed the agent to the far door. Oliver and Stacey were waiting on another bench. They rose to their feet and silently, we filed back down the staircase, this time without Barstow. Stacey and I lagged a few steps behind Oliver and Dad. On the second floor landing, she took my hand.

  “They’re coming after Oliver,” she muttered under her breath.

  “I know,” I whispered back.

  “It’s time to get to work.”

  ***

  “I can’t believe the feds are coming afte
r Oliver,” Piper said as we browsed through a rack of ruffled baby dresses.

  I’d spent four days replaying my interview with Agent Barstow in my head. I wanted to believe that the agent wouldn’t find any evidence to confirm his suspicions. But I knew better than to put it past Rebecca to plant something.

  “They subpoenaed Oliver and Stacey’s financial records yesterday,” I told her, fingering a white lace gown. Emma was finally big enough to wear preemie clothes, and Piper and I had taken a short break from working on the case to buy her a few special outfits.

  “What are they looking for?” Piper asked, turning to a rack of onesies.

  “From the questions Barstow asked, I think they think Oliver was somehow helping Drake hide the money he supposedly skimmed off his taxes. He pointed out that Oliver bought the beach house around the same time he and Drake did their first deal together. And he bought the penthouse two weeks after he signed the exclusive contract with Drake.”

  Piper scrunched her nose. “I guess the timing could seem a little suspicious. What do you think of this?” she asked, holding up a pair of pink-footed pajamas. “I mean this other stuff is cute and all. But if I were stuck in the hospital, I’d want to be comfortable.”

  A smile crept across my face for the first time in days. “I think those are perfect,” I agreed. I grabbed another pair in yellow and we carried them to the counter. As the cashier rang up the sale, my phone started ringing.

  “I’ve got it,” Piper insisted, pulling out her wallet. “Answer your phone, it could be news.”

  Anticipation shot through me when I saw Stacey’s number on the screen.

  “Hello?”

  “Chelsea, can you and Piper meet me at the penthouse?”

  “You’re not at the hospital?” I asked, my heart racing.

  Please tell me you’ve found something.

  “No. Your mom flew back this morning. She’s with Emma right now. Oliver, Lindsey, and I are at the penthouse. I think we found something, Chels,” she confided, her voice dancing with hope.

  “Something to get Drake out of jail or something to ruin Rebecca?” I pressed impatiently.

  “Maybe both. How soon can you be here?”

  “We’ll grab a taxi and see you in five minutes,” I promised. I ended the call and turned to Piper as she lifted the shopping bag from the counter.

  “That sounded like news,” she said, her eyebrows raised.

  “They found something. We have to get to the penthouse,” I explained, pulling her onto the sidewalk. I hailed a cab and told the driver the address.

  “I have a good feeling about this,” I told Piper as we neared the penthouse. “Rebecca had no idea what she was doing to herself when she threatened my family. I’ve never seen Stacey so determined. She’s been working like a machine since we realized they were coming after Ollie.”

  “Here’s hoping it’s paid off,” Piper said as the taxi slowed to the curb. I passed the driver a ten-dollar bill and told him to keep the change. The moment we stepped into the building, Frank crossed the lobby to greet me.

  “Ms. Tyler, please tell me that Mr. Waters is holding up okay,” he said, gently taking my hand.

  “I haven’t seen him, Frank. But my father says he’s well.”

  “If there’s anything I can do to help you, please let me know,” he insisted.

  “Thank you, but I think this might be over soon. If all goes well, Drake and I could be back in the building in a matter of days.”

  “Nothing would make me happier, Ms. Tyler. You and Mr. Waters are my favorite residents. No offense to your brother and sister-in-law, of course.”

  “No offense taken, Frank. Though I’m sure you’ll have a new favorite as soon as Emma comes home,” I said with a smile. “If you’ll excuse us, we need to get upstairs.”

  “Of course, Ms. Tyler.”

  Piper and I crossed the lobby and stepped into the elevator.

  “You guys have the nicest doorman,” Piper said as the doors closed. “I’m going to tell Seth we’re adding that to our must haves list.”

  I turned to her and raised an eyebrow. “A must haves list, huh? Is there something you’ve forgotten to tell me?”

  Piper blushed, a guilty smile crossing her face. “Seth asked me to move in with him and I said yes.”

  “That’s fantastic,” I gushed as the doors opened again. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She rolled her eyes as we stepped into the hallway. “You’ve kind of had a lot going on, Chelsea. I didn’t want to rub my happiness in your face while you were worried about Drake spending the next twenty-five years in prison. I told Seth I don’t want to move until our lease is up, so I won’t be going anywhere for another two months.”

  “You should find a place nearby,” I suggested. “We can all be neighbors.”

  “I’m not sure we can afford that,” she said with a laugh. “But if the Paris opening goes well, who knows. Are you ready for this?” she asked as we arrived at Oliver and Stacey’s door.

  “More than you could ever imagine,” I replied, reaching for the doorbell. It chimed through the apartment and a few moments later, Oliver opened the door.

  “Hey guys,” he greeted us with a proud grin. “My wife just found the keys to Rebecca’s undoing. We’ll teach that bitch about threatening our family.”

  “It’s really that good?” I asked, pushing past him into the living room. Lindsey sat on the sofa, her eyes fixed to Stacey’s laptop. Stacey sat beside her, triumph dancing in her eyes.

  “I have good news and I have good news,” she announced. “Which do you want to hear first?”

  “The news that involves bringing Drake home,” I replied without hesitation. “Did you find something in Kevin’s computer?”

  “She found lots of somethings in Kevin’s computer,” Lindsey replied, her finger steadily tapping the scroll key.

  Stacey nodded, her cheeks red from smiling. “Kevin fabricated all of the evidence against Drake on his home computer, and then used a virus to transfer it to the desktop in Drake’s office. The virus made it look like everything came from Drake’s computer in the first place.”

  “And you found the virus?” Piper asked.

  “Yes, I did. I was also able to access Kevin’s deleted emails. I found correspondence between him and Rebecca. She’s the one who had inside information on that stock. She told Kevin to buy it and a few weeks later, she gave the order to sell. She also gave pretty explicit instructions on how to alter the tax ledgers. It’s all there in black and white, Chelsea.”

  “But it was all accessed illegally,” I pointed out. “How do we use this to help ourselves?”

  “An old fashioned, untraceable tipoff,” Lindsey explained. “Stacey took screen shots of everything she found in Kevin’s computer. I’ve printed dozens of copies. They’ll be discretely placed on the appropriate desks by the end of business today.”

  “And if the police ignore the tip?” Piper asked.

  “Then tomorrow, all of the info will be leaked to the press,” Stacey replied.

  “Rebecca’s going to jail,” I realized out loud, sinking down into an armchair. “That’s what this means, right?”

  “Yes, Chelsea,” Oliver agreed softly. “Unless she buys her way out of it, Rebecca is going to jail.”

  “But of course she’ll buy her way out of it,” Piper argued.

  “I’m not so sure about that,” Stacey said in a sing-song tone. “I haven’t told you the second set of good news. I finally found out why Rebecca is so dead set on keeping Alex and Drake together. You were right, Chels, she was hiding one hell of a secret.”

  Anticipation built in my chest. “What is it?” I whispered.

  “I’m not sure if Drake will want to know this,” she hesitated. “But his dad isn’t really his dad.”

  “What?” I gasped, jumping to my feet. I paced the floor and tried to absorb the shocking information.

  “It wasn’t hard to figure out, once I thought
to look for it,” she explained. “We couldn’t access their health records here in the states, but I was able to get into an online archive in Greece. About a decade ago, one of their society friends needed a bone marrow transplant. Drake and both of his parents were tested as potential matches. It’s right there in the blood type, Chels. There’s no way Mr. Waters is Drake’s father.”

  “Do you have any idea who is? And what does this have to do with Alex?” Piper pressed, her eyes pinched with confusion.

  “I’m not sure who his father is,” she explained. “But thirty-nine weeks before Drake was born, Rebecca went on a European cruise with Alex’s mother Natasha. My guess was that Rebecca got pregnant during the vacation and swore Natasha to secrecy. I spoke with Alex’s mom, and she confirmed my suspicion. She had plenty to say about Rebecca, actually.”

  “Like what?” I asked, an eyebrow raised.

  “Natasha told me she was happy to keep Rebecca’s secret for a while. But as their kids grew up and Alex started showing interest in Drake, Rebecca told Natasha that her daughter wasn’t good enough for him. Natasha reminded her that her silence was the only reason she’d been able to pass Drake off as a Waters in the first place. She gave Rebecca an ultimatum: make Alex happy or the whole world would know Drake wasn’t her husband’s son.”

  “So she basically sold Drake into a loveless marriage so she could stay in her own loveless marriage?” Piper wondered out loud.

  “No,” I corrected her. “She did it so she could keep her money. If Richard found out he’d been supporting another man’s child, he’d have kicked them both out of the house. Staying with her after learning that would have damaged his family’s precious name. This is amazing, Stacey. I can’t believe you found all of this. I don’t know how we’ll ever thank…”

  She raised up a hand to silence me. “Please, Chelsea. Between us thanking you guys, and you guys thanking us, it’s all we’d ever say. We’re family. This is what we do. Let’s leave it at that from now on.”

  “Fine,” I agreed with a smile. “But as soon as Drake and Emma are both home where they belong, we’re going to have one hell of a celebration.”

  ***