Page 190 of Devious Lies (Cruel Crown)
No part of my life went untouched by dirty money and devious lies.
I flicked lint off my joggers. “That means you know I had my own money going into this.”
“I know where it's from, too.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
Or turn me in?
“I admired Hank Prescott. I enjoyed his company, friendship, and sometimes, advice.” Gideon leaned forward and wiped a smudge off the gravestone.
I noticed that it appeared in far better condition than the rest of the ones in the cemetery. How often did he come here?
Gideon continued, “I regretted the way Virginia treated your family, but she needed to control the household. It gave her something to do outside of pestering Emery and scheming. I also know you stole the ledger the night of the cotillion.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I saw you burn it. If not for your dad, I still wouldn’t have turned you in because of what you did for my daughter. We all knew you hospitalized Able. He only pointed at Reed, since he knew hurting your brother would cut you deepest.”
To this day, my relationship with Reed had never recovered. Small Dick was smarter than I gave him credit for.
“How do you know I burned the ledger?” I thought of the charred remnants I’d locked in my safe before driving down here. Still viable evidence. Against the thief. Against me. “You were holed in the office with Eric Cartwright and Virginia. You couldn't have seen.”
“I saw the replay. I had hidden cameras installed in the mansion when I became suspicious of Virginia.”
The second profiting party Brandon Vu had mentioned.
“She was the one who embezzled,” I said, a statement. Not a question.
I pieced it together, mostly because I knew Dad would never befriend someone who'd hurt so many people.
“I figured it out too late.” Gideon's lament seemed genuine. “I stole the ledger from her and would’ve turned it over to the S.E.C., but you took it after I confirmed Balthazar and Cartwright’s involvements. Why’d you burn it?”
“Emery. She stood up for Reed and got you to negotiate his release.” I shook my head and raked a hand through my hair. Regret felt like a bullet to the skull. All this could have been prevented if I’d left the ledger where I’d found it. “She’s loyal as hell.”
Gideon hummed in agreement. “Why’d you take the ledger back from the fire?”
“I overheard you arguing in the office.”
“If Emery finds out, I will cut you off, Virginia, and I will sue you for everything you own, Cartwright,” Gideon had warned, his voice steady and threat real.
“Please,” Virginia scoffed, “she already knows. Why do you think I sent her to that shrink to set her straight?”
“I thought Emery knew about the embezzlement and kept it from my family,” I continued, “despite knowing we’d invested everything into your company.”
“That wasn’t what Virginia meant when she said Emery already knew.”
“What’d she mean?”
“Virginia needed money to leave me. I would’ve given her a divorce settlement to keep her out of our lives, but she’d signed a prenup. It made her uncertain. So, she embezzled from the company. First a little, but she got greedy.”
He toyed with his words, selecting them like you would a pet. With careful consideration. “I had plans to turn her in, but she had something over me. If I kept my mouth shut on her involvement in the scandal, said nothing about Eric or Balthazar, and left Eastridge, she’d keep her mouth shut.”
“They deserve to pay.”
“I can’t go after them. Not without Emery suffering.”
And then he explained the argument I'd overheard in the office.
