Chapter 11 - THE CROSS ESTATE
Julian did not go alone.
He just let Richard believe he did.
Naomi sat in the back seat beneath a dark blanket as Julian drove through the gates of the Cross estate.
Marcus remained outside with two investigators and a police liaison.
“This is ridiculous,” Julian muttered.
Naomi’s voice came quietly from behind him.
“You’re the one meeting a possible criminal mastermind at midnight.”
“He’s my father.”
“Those categories can overlap.”
Julian almost laughed.
Almost.
He parked near the main entrance.
“Ready?”
Naomi emerged.
Julian looked at her.
“If he sees you—”
“He won’t unless he needs to.”
She moved toward the side entrance she knew from six weeks working in the household.
Julian walked through the front door.
Richard was waiting in his study.
Naomi slipped into the adjacent library.
A pocket recorder captured the conversation.
“You brought your phone?” Richard asked.
“No.”
“Good.”
Julian stared at his father.
“You knew about Mom’s files.”
“Yes.”
“You told us she was paranoid.”
“She was frightened.”
“Of you?”
Richard poured bourbon.
“Of consequences.”
Julian laughed bitterly.
“That sounds like the kind of sentence guilty people say.”
Richard took a drink.
“You grew up wealthy, Julian.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“You think wealth arrives clean?”
Julian stared at him.
“Did you launder money through Rosewood?”
Richard didn’t answer.
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
Julian’s shoulders dropped.
Even expecting it hadn’t prepared him.
Richard continued.
“Early development deals required political influence. Zoning boards. Labor agreements. Permits.”
“So you bribed people.”
“I built a company.”
“You committed crimes.”
“I built the company you inherited.”
Julian slammed his palm onto the desk.
“Did you hurt Mom?”
Naomi tensed behind the wall.
Richard looked at his son.
“No.”
“Did Gordon?”
“No.”
“Then why did she hide evidence?”
“Because she discovered financial crimes and panicked.”
“Why did she say if something happened to her, it might not be an accident?”
Richard’s voice softened.
“Your mother struggled after your grandmother died.”
Julian laughed.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The same thing powerful men always do when women become inconvenient. Call them unstable.”
Richard’s jaw tightened.
“Careful.”
“No.”
Julian stepped closer.
“I’ve been careful my whole life.”
He pointed toward the floor.
“This company. This house. These family rules. Don’t embarrass Dad. Don’t question Dad. Don’t upset investors.”
Richard put down his glass.
“Your mother’s death was an accident.”
“What about Rachel?”
Silence.
Julian whispered, “Who cut her brakes?”
Richard looked toward the windows.
“I didn’t order it.”
Julian froze.
Not “I don’t know.”
Not “Nobody did.”
I didn’t order it.
Julian heard the difference.
“So you knew.”
Richard sat slowly.
“I found out afterward.”
“Who?”
Richard rubbed his forehead.
“Gordon.”
Naomi closed her eyes.
Julian stepped back.
“Why?”
“Rachel had copies of records.”
“You’re telling me your lawyer tried to kill your daughter to protect you?”
“I told him to stop her from going to the authorities.”
“How?”
“Talk to her. Frighten her if necessary.”
“You told him to frighten her.”
“Yes.”
“And he cut her brakes.”
“I didn’t know.”
“But afterward you paid him three hundred thousand dollars.”
Richard looked at him.
“I paid him to disappear.”
Julian’s voice cracked.
“You covered it up.”
“To protect the family.”
“You mean yourself.”
“To protect everything!”
Richard suddenly shouted.
Naomi heard a chair scrape.
“You think three thousand employees survive if Cross Development collapses overnight? You think banks care about morality when loans default? You think pension funds survive scandal?”
“My sister almost died!”
“And Gordon acted without authorization!”
“But you protected him!”
Richard slammed his fist against the desk.
“Because scandal would have destroyed all of us!”
Julian stood frozen.
Then another voice came from the doorway.
“No.”
Richard turned.
Rachel stood there.
Naomi’s stomach dropped.
Rachel had followed them.
Tears ran down her face.
“You protected the man who tried to kill me.”
Richard looked genuinely shocked.
“Rachel.”
She shook her head.
“No more.”
Then a gunshot exploded from the front hall.
Naomi rushed out of hiding.
Julian pulled Rachel behind the desk.
Richard dropped to the floor.
A second shot shattered a picture frame.
From the hallway came a man’s voice.
“Richard!”
Naomi recognized the face as soon as he entered.
Gray hair.
Glasses.
Older.
Gordon Pike.
May you like
And he was holding a gun.
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