Wicked Liars (Windsor Academy 1)

“She’s a pretty great kid.”

“She’s the best.” Jazz sighs before turning her gaze to me. “Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask...can’t guarantee I’ll answer.”

She shakes her head as she chuckles lightly. “How did you know? How did you find her?”

“You’d be surprised how easily you can gather information on anything or anyone with enough money and the right connections.”

Having a private investigator at your beck and call doesn’t hurt either.

“God, our childhoods have been so different. I can’t fathom how easy things must have been for you.”

My jaw clenches. “Just because I have money, doesn’t mean I’ve had it easy.”

She looks away. “You’re right; I’m sorry. That was an ignorant assumption.”

I raise my eyebrows, not used to someone so readily admitting any wrongdoing. “It’s all good. I’m sure I’ve made some assumptions about you that aren’t true either.”

“Quite a few, I’m sure.” Jasmine laughs. “Can I ask you another question?”

“Shoot.”

“What’s the deal with Peyton?”

Shit. I didn’t think she’d go there. “What do you mean?”

“Like, what’s the deal with her dad? Her last name is Devereaux, right? But she calls herself a Callahan and according to Madeline, she and Charles married when Peyton was a baby and he’s raised her ever since.”

I scoff. A series of nannies have raised Peyton. Neither Madeline nor Charles have any natural instincts when it comes to parenting. I suspect zero interest in the job as well.

“Her dad died when she was a baby—maybe ten or eleven months old, I think.”

“Oh.” Jazz nibbles her lip and if I weren’t driving right now, I’d be tempted to pull it free with my teeth. “So, if her dad is dead, why didn’t Charles adopt her and officially make her a Callahan? All three of them put a lot of importance on surnames, especially that name.”

“It’s your name too, you know,” I remind her.

“Ugh.” She throws her head back into the seat. “Not if I have anything to say about it. Do you know the bastard legally changed my name without asking how I felt about that?”

“It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. In case you haven’t noticed, Charles Callahan is rather full of himself.”

“You can say that again,” she mutters. “Do you know why he never adopted her?”

“I do, actually.” I glance at her out of the corner of my eye. “You ever hear of Devereaux Broadcasting?”

She shakes her head.

“It’s a giant European media conglomerate,” I explain. “The largest, in fact. Peyton’s birth father, Pierre Devereaux, owned it, and if she meets the stipulations of his will, she will become the sole heiress of the entire thing. It’s worth over twenty billion.”

“Whoa. Do you know what she has to do to get it?”

I nod. “It’s very specific. First and foremost, she has to retain the Devereaux name since she’s the last of the bloodline. Even if she marries.”

“That’s weird.”

I shrug. “It’s how it is in our world. Like you said, surnames are very important.”

“So, that’s it? She just keeps her name and she gets billions? He didn’t leave anything to Madeline? Weren’t they married?”