Page 155 of See You Again
Luke’s brow wrinkled.
“She said she thought Dec was lonely. Do you think that’s possible?”
“Dahlia said something similar yesterday. She’s convinced he’s heartbroken.”
“Why would she say that?”
Luke shook his head with a rueful smile. “I asked her, and she said she couldn’t explain it.”
“Declan heartbroken?”
The twins both laughed. “Yeah, I thought it was crazy, too.”
“Did Cami ever find out from her friend how she ended up at the podcast office with Kovalyov?”
James’s lips pressed into a tight line. “Madison gave her some ludicrous story about how she’d locked her keys and phone in her car, and Kovalyov just happened to come across her and offered her a ride to get her spare set from her desk.”
Luke looked skeptical. “I wouldn’t have thought that suburban moms were his type.”
“He was acting like he knew her. More than someone he just met, which I don’t love. She’s Cami’s best friend.”
Luke grunted his agreement, and then added, “I heard the last episode.”
James grimaced. “I tried to tell her she should wait until everything was sorted with the police, but god forbid she listen. With the recording, it is clear-cut self-defense, but…” He sighed. “She said she wanted it out in time for everyone traveling for the holidays. Apparently, people like to listen to murder on their way to family events.”
Luke scanned the room and stuck out his lower lip before nodding. “Yeah. I can see that.”
Declan strolled over to join them, a large glass of whiskey in his hand. “You can’t both hide over here in the corner leaving me to deal with the moms alone.”
“You were doing great looking at all of Corinne’s photos.” Luke covered his smile with the beer bottle.
“How long are you in Atlanta? Your mom said you had meetings?”
An expression came over Declan’s face that James had never seen before. Luke noticed too because he lowered the beer and frowned.
“Dec?”
“Bloom Communications had an emergency board meeting this week.” The lines by Declan’s eyes twitched. “Courtney has used her majority voting block to install Chris as interim CEO, in light of Matt’s death.”
James’s jaw dropped open. “You’re shitting me.”
“I’ve given it a lot of thought.” Declan’s knuckles flashed white on the glass. “This was the end game for Chris. It’s the only thing that makes sense. As CEO he will have power in his own right. I think this was his plan all along. Seduce Courtney, help her kill our father and eventually he’d have weeded out Trey and Matt. It was obvious Matt didn’t want the job as CEO.”
“Unless Courtney?—”
“My sources say she is inconsolable at the loss of both her sons.” There wasn’t a trace of sympathy in Declan’s eyes, and if James were honest, he couldn’t dredge up any for her either.
The world was a better place with both of them gone.
“She still controls our father’s estate,” Luke pointed out.
Declan’s lips curled in a humorless smile. “Not for long. With the taped confessions of Dr. Keller and Trey Crawford, I have it on the best authority that the medical examiner’s office will be redesignating our father’s death as undetermined. I’ll be filing next week to challenge the will.
“Chris is in for some uncomfortable questions since Trey blamed him in his confession to Cami, but I don’t doubt that slimy bastard already has a plan in place to deal with it.”
James and Luke exchanged a look. “The will has already been through probate. There is only the tiniest chance that it could be overturned.”
Declan’s eyes glittered. “Didn’t I say? I know none of you wanted to challenge the will with me when he died, but as a group, several of the staff and charities that had been promised funds for years under his previous wills filed suit soon after the funeral. Theirs will be the lawsuit of record.”