“Don’t fear it, Daphne,” Mazie said. “It’s part of you. It’s part of everyone. Now, I need to clean up before your friends arrive.” She left the kitchen.
Part of me.
My junior year was part of me, part of my history. Had Brad told Mazie about it?
I’d never forget what Mazie had said. I vowed then to learn from everything in my life, find the stars among the darkness, the roses among the thorns.
But I still liked the yellow tulips best.
Chapter Forty-Five
Brad
After Cliff got settled in his room, I returned to my office.
I hadn’t had a chance to look through my father’s file about me.
On top was my birth certificate. Of course I’d seen it before, and of course my father would have a copy of my birth certificate. Not a huge deal. So why was this file so fat?
I pushed the birth certificate aside. Copies of my report cards from grade school through college, except for the last semester that I’d just completed. Dad had died before then.
After those, my medical records. I was healthy as a horse and up-to-date on all my vaccinations. Okay. What was the purpose of this file?
I moved the medical records out of the way and—
The Future Lawmakers Club.
One page. A simple list of all the members and the names of their parents. That was it.
Okay. Strange.
Next page: See separate files for more information.
My heart sped up a little…but only a little. I wasn’t overly surprised that my father had kept files on the Future Lawmakers.
The rest of the file on me consisted of invoices and ledgers.
The fucker had kept a file on how much I’d cost him over the years. Seriously.
Had he really been upset that he couldn’t have more children? Seemed the one he had was nothing but an expense to him.
I perused the ledgers. Man, every diaper was accounted for. Even my part in the food bill over the years.
Then—
“Oh my God,” I said out loud.
My father had an account of every payment I’d made to the Future Lawmakers. Out of my own accounts. His name hadn’t been on them since I turned eighteen. How would he have—
This was George Steel.
He didn’t follow the rules.
He got what he wanted no matter what, and apparently what he wanted was to keep very close tabs on how his only son spent his money. Not just my investments in the club, but every other payment I’d made over the years since I turned eighteen.
Every fucking payment.
The dinner I’d shared with Daphne at Tante Louise in Denver? There it was.
Every time I’d picked up the tab for Murph or anyone else? There it was.
Something as mundane as a monthly insurance payment? All there in black and white.
What the hell else had my father kept tabs on?
I pushed my file aside and grabbed another one out of the drawer. If only he’d marked them, but no, I had to pull them out and open them to see what they were.
Dr. Devin Pelletier.
Oddly, the file wasn’t thick. Dr. Pelletier was well-educated and considered a pioneer in psychiatry. He’d authored several textbooks and even a bestseller. He’d given therapy to a handful of celebrities at his former office in Aspen. No wonder my father had chosen him. According to this file, his integrity was unquestioned.
Except when you show him the green, apparently. Or when you point a gun at him.
I closed the file and grabbed another.
Harrison Faulkner? No idea who that was, but all of these merited a look.
Frederick Jolley? Never heard of him.
Gloria Mathias. That was Theo’s mother. Why would my father have a file on her?
Jonathan Wade… Shit. Daphne’s father. Also Larry’s father. What did he have to hide?
Lucy Wade. Lisa Wade.
Daphne Wade.
He had a dossier on Daphne.
All of this, and I hadn’t even found the individual Future Lawmakers yet.
This was going to be a long night. I spread the files out on my desk and—
A knock on the door.
“Yeah, come in.”
Daphne opened the door and entered.
“Hey, baby.”
“Ennis just called again. Patty’s still not home. He’s getting worried.”
I looked at my watch. An hour had passed since we were supposed to have dinner. I hadn’t noticed because I’d been involved with my father’s files.
“Where did she go?”
“She was just shopping in town. He’s going to go look for her.”
“She probably found a shoe sale at Mariah’s or something,” I said.
“Brad… I’m worried too. I know Patty’s a shopper, but she’s not rude on purpose. This isn’t like her.”
“I’m sure she’ll turn up.”
“Brad…”
I looked up. Daphne’s eyes were glazed over. She truly was concerned.
“After everything that’s gone on since yesterday, I’m really worried. We already lost Sean.”
My heart thudded. Murphy. Daphne actually thought…?
Reality slammed into me like a freight train. “I’ll call the police.”
I made the call quickly.
Then, to Daphne, “Call Ennis. Tell him to stay at the hotel. Not to go out looking for Patty.”