A normal woman would instinctively be concerned of the welfare of children when it’s mentioned their lives are at stake. She wasn’t normal. To her detriment, she’d had it used against her dozens of times. She had been duped numerous times by her family, using the same excuse. Children were always used to lower guards. Her family had promised thousands of dollars to organizations that benefited children. The money had been donated … maybe less than one-fourth, while taking the remaining for themselves. It was a charade she hated.
Haley didn’t shy away from his scrutinizing gaze. Her silence brought a surprised glint to his eyes at her lack of reaction.
“Not only do I have my own philanthropic charities, I belong to an organization of wealthy individuals whose international reach can benefit millions in need. One of the groups—”
“Can?”
“Depending on whose perspective you were asking from. The members of our organization or those who are supposed to be helping.”
Haley gave him a nod of understanding. “Go ahead.”
“Some of the groups’ members are your uncle George and Amelia.”
“George is my uncle by marriage only,” she corrected him. “Are my parents members?”
“No.”
Just because she no longer had contact with her family, that didn’t mean she didn’t keep track of their social media accounts, especially George’s and Amelia’s. They had substantially increased the fortune her aunt Julia had had before she had married George. Using the power and influence of social media to effect anything from politics to a brand of detergent while lining their own pockets.
“If you belong to the same organization, I don’t understand why you think I would be able to find out any information you don’t already have access to. You were the one invited to my family’s reunion this weekend, not me.”
A stray thought clicked into place as she talked, her eyes widening in realization.
“We aren’t talking about Gabriel Allerton’s charity, are we?” Haley tensed in her chair, waiting for his answer.
“Yes, we are.”
Any idea that she was going to walk away from Desmond Beck after his failed attempt of seduction died. Actually, could she even hold it against him? The effort he had made was half-hearted at best. Desmond could have literally given her a million reasons, and she wouldn’t have become involved in his deception, but Gabriel Allerton’s connection had her biting her nails into the arms of her chair and dropping her eyes to the carpet on the floor to hide the reaction she felt. Gabriel Allerton’s presence among the human population took great pains to ignore.
“You’ve met him?”
Her stomach muscles clenched in disgust. Yes, unfortunately, she had been forced to share air space with him numerous times. Each one was a memory she wished could be scrubbed clean from her mind. Even when she was no longer in contact with her family, all she had to do before his downfall was to turn on the television or read the news to have his face staring back at her.
Gabriel Allerton’s presence among the wealthy elite was hard to miss. Presidents had asked for his advice for the economy before his sins had been discovered and his firmest friends had refused to acknowledge him.
Haley lifted her eyes from the carpet. “Quit playing games with me, Mr. Beck. You already know the answer to that question.”
“So …” Desmond paused as his eyes became razer-sharp, scouring her features. “It’s true, then? What I’ve been able to uncover?”
All the childhood emotions swamping her had Haley jerking to her feet. “I can’t do this.” Rushing to the door, she reached out for the doorknob, only to find her escape obstructed by Desmond’s hard palm preventing it from budging.
“Why? Because it was true?” he pressed implacably.
“Stop. I … I need to leave!”
Fear, disgust, and hatred had her twisting the doorknob frantically, desperate to get out. She sunk her head to the hard panel of the door, trying to block out Desmond’s muscular body standing so close to hers.
“I would if I could. I don’t want to upset you, I really don’t, but any information at this point could be useful.”
Raising her head, she kept her face averted as she moved away from the door to the middle of the office. Crossing her arms over her waist, she tried to calm her rolling stomach.
“Gabriel is the one who you’re worried about harming the people you’re concerned for?”
“Did any of your relatives discuss, or did you hear about Sherguevil Island?”
“The island where he supposedly retired to?”
Desmond moved to stand in front of her, towering over her. Haley could only shake her head at him. His expression became uneasy for the first time.
“Yes.”
“Yes, I heard my parents, Julia, and George talking about it on a few occasions. The island has also been mentioned several times on the news I’ve listened to since his arrest.”
“What hasn’t been revealed to the public is his connection to the missing population from the sister island to Sherguevil—Clindale. The whole population has disappeared. Gabriel keeps insisting they were killed in a hurricane.”