He sat on the sofa and drew her down next to him. She sat with a sad sob. “Let’s just secure this wound then we can give him a stuffing transfusion, okay?”
“Okay.” She nodded.
“Why is there something hard inside him?” Caleb asked suddenly. He stuck a finger into the hole. “What is that?”
He drew out a small plastic case. They both stared down at it in shock.
“Guessing you didn’t put that in there?” he asked.
“No. I didn’t know it was in there. Why would it be in Piggles?” she asked. “And what is it?”
“I think it’s a waterproof case.” Caleb opened the case to reveal a flash drive. He let out a low whistle. He stood and grabbed his phone, speaking into it sharply. “Need you in my office. Now. Bring Wolfe. No, she’s fine. I think we might have the information we need, though.”
Her breath caught. Did he think that this could be another flash drive? How many had William made?
Aleki burst into the room, he was breathing heavily, his tank top covered in sweat. Wolfe followed behind, wearing a black t-shirt and black shorts. He wasn’t sweating. His dark gaze ran over her, checking her for injury. Since the night he’d rescued her, he’d managed two more cuddles. She was loving it, even as she was careful not to push him.
“What is it? Are you okay, baby girl?” Aleki asked her.
“Piggles got an injury.” She held up the pig before cuddling him again. “And we found that in him.”
She pointed at the flash drive that Caleb held.
“Someone put it there?” Wolfe asked sharply. “William?”
“It could be the information on her father,” Caleb said.
“Only one way to find out.” Aleki snatched up the flash drive and moved around behind Caleb’s desk. “I’ll need to be careful and make sure it doesn’t have any malware.”
Wolfe came and sat next to her, holding out his hand. She placed hers in his. A few minutes later, Aleki grinned over at them. “Oh yeah. This looks like the information that William and baby girl gathered. Come have a look.”
Aleki showed them several files. Some she recognized. “This is it. But why did he put another flash drive in Piggles?” she asked.
“There’s a file here with your name on it,” Aleki told her.
“There is?”
He double-clicked on it. All it contained was a video file. She sucked in a breath as all three o
f them looked at her.
“Open it,” she said.
Immediately, an image of William appeared. She didn’t know what she expected to feel. There was a tinge of sadness but not much. Maybe she should have felt more? She wasn’t sure.
“Hello, Genevieve,” he said as the video started playing. “At least, I assume I’m talking to Genevieve. If you’re watching this, it likely means I’m dead. I hope not. I hope I’m sunning myself on Ibiza and our plan was successful. I only put this video on the flash drive I hid in that ridiculous stuffed pig of yours. I knew it would be the one thing you would never part with. So I thought that it would be the safest place to hide this. If my plan failed and I’m dead, I hope that you’re going to use this information to destroy your father. I never really cared about you, Genevieve, but I really did want to make things right. And for what it’s worth, I am sorry.”
The video ended. She let out a deep breath. “So Piggles was the key all along.” Then she kissed the top of his head. “Good boy, Piggles.”
* * *
“Is this really necessary?” Caleb asked as he sat on the chair in her playroom. She had out her toy make-up and was making him all pretty.
“Daddy, you’ve lost your magic. You need it back. Or do you want to go through the rest of your life without any?”
He sighed. “I don’t see why I have to wear make-up and a tutu to get my magic back.”
“Daddy,” she said warningly.