CHAPTER 259: CHAPTER 259 ASHTON: WHAT IF SHE LASHES OUT

I stood. ‘Brief me on the way. Dom, call the pilot. Prep the plane. File the flight plan. Let me know the moment it’s approved.’

Dominic was already on his phone. ‘Got it, boss. Destination?’

‘Paris.’

‘You’re going to Paris?’ Lea asked.

I nodded. ‘Franklin Vance was Mira’s father. The news of his death will be a shock. I need to be there.’

‘I’ll walk you down.’ She matched my stride as I headed for the executive lift. ‘What did he do to end up in prison?’

‘Embezzlement, fraud, forgery, tax evasion, the works. When I asked him to make a will leaving everything to Mira, he tried to forge one to shift his assets abroad.’

‘Huh. So you had him locked up?’

‘He did that to himself. I just sped up the process.’

‘Huh,’ she said again.

‘What?’ I glanced at her. The lift was already descending.

‘Does your wife know?’

‘Of course. I told her.’

‘So she knows you’re the reason her father went to prison.’

‘There was no love lost between them, if that’s what you’re getting at.’

‘Like my parents and yours. Got it.’ Lea nodded. ‘Still, I wonder...’

‘What?’

‘How she’ll react when she hears he’s dead. What was the cause again?’

Dominic, who was in the lift with us, said, ‘Suicide. My sources say he was being bullied in prison. Gangs and the usual. Franklin had a pampered life. He wasn’t built for the rougher side of prison and refused to pay bribes, so they made things hell for him.’

‘So, if he hadn’t gone to prison, he probably wouldn’t have killed himself. He wasn’t suicidal by nature,’ Lea said.

‘He wasn’t,’ I agreed.

Franklin was a selfish, greedy bastard. The kind who’d sell out his own mother for a bit of extra cash.

I did wonder if my efforts to block his early parole had helped push him over the edge, but I shoved the thought aside.

So what if they had? I didn’t make him commit those crimes.

Lea looked at me again.

The lift doors opened into the garage. I stepped out.

‘What?’

‘Are you sure seeing your wife right now is a good idea?’

‘Why wouldn’t it be?’

‘She might blame you for his death.’

I stopped and turned back. ‘How do you mean?’

‘Like you said, he wouldn’t have topped himself if he hadn’t gone to prison. And he wouldn’t have gone to prison if you hadn’t pushed things along.’

‘The court put him there,’ I said.

‘Semantics. We all know how the world works.’ She glanced towards Dominic, who’d gone ahead to get the car. ‘He was her father. It’d be strange if she didn’t feel even a little sad, and lash out. You’ll be standing there, tied to the whole mess, and that makes you an easy target.’

I frowned. ‘Mira hated her father. She’s cut ties with her family. She won’t see it that way.’

‘Are you sure? Completely sure? Not everyone’s like us, Ash. We came from similar backgrounds, all of us. You, me, Kylian, Rusty, the rest of the gang. Shipped overseas when we were kids because one parent or the other couldn’t be bothered. We hate our parents.

You know what I did when I turned twenty-one. And I was genuinely happy when I heard you were packing your father and stepmother off to Africa. Personally, I thought that was too kind, especially by your old standards. But still, I bet you didn’t feel even a flicker of guilt.’

‘Of course not.’ If I never saw their faces again, that would suit me fine.

‘But Mirabelle’s not like us. You said so yourself. She’s more... normal. And normal people lash out. Even if she hated him, she’ll still feel something. And that something could end up aimed at you.’

Dominic had pulled the car up in front of us. He waited for me to get in.

I stayed where I was. ‘So you think me breaking the news to Mira is a bad idea.’

‘Honestly? Yes. And I think you’d have reached the same conclusion if you weren’t blinded by...’ Lea didn’t finish the sentence. ‘Anyway, what do you think you’re going to do when you get there? If she doesn’t care about him anymore, then your being there won’t matter. If she does care, and blames you, it’ll only make things worse. Either way, I don’t see the point.’

‘Boss?’ Dominic leaned his head out of the window. ‘Pilot just called. Flight plan to Paris is approved. We can board in an hour.’

I looked at Dominic behind the wheel, then back at Lea.

I had a decision to make.