Truth (Scandals of Banner-Hill Book 1) Read online

  The entire funeral passes mostly in a blur.

  By the time someone leads me to a waiting car, the only part of it I remember is the rain. So much goddamn rain.

  When we get back to the family estate for what I guess is supposed to be a wake, I finally manage to dip out from under my uncle’s watchful eye. For a while, I hover in a doorway just out of view so I can watch him interact with the crowd. He seems to come into his element here.

  These guests aren’t here to mourn my monster of a father.

  They’re here to kiss ass.

  Murphy stands surrounded by people clamoring for his attention. In my father’s absence, he’s somehow become the most powerful man in the room. Funny that a couple months ago no one dared utter his name.

  I abandon the doorway of the formal living room to wander toward the more casual family room at the back of the house. There are even more people gathered back here, and I can tell within an hour there’s a good chance many of them will be too drunk to drive themselves home.

  Most of them probably have drivers anyway.

  I wander around the room aimlessly, too tired to do more than excuse myself from the few people who try to stop me for condolences.

  I’m thinking about abandoning the wake altogether when I see Anita’s daughter heading my way. Her eyes don’t meet mine, but I can tell she’s looking at the floor somewhere near my foot, so I know she’s coming to talk to me.

  I finally stay still, curious to see what she could possibly want.

  Even though Madison is practically my step-sister, we’re more like acquaintances than anything else. Still, she’s innocent in all of this.

  She stops in front of me, white-blonde hair glowing like a halo. She’s a wispy thing on a good day but looks even more so in the ill-fitting black dress she has on. I’m pretty sure it’s something from my old closet, but I don’t say anything. She looks uncomfortable enough as it is.

  “Could I speak with you?” Madison asks, her voice painfully formal.

  “Sure, what’s up?” I’m not sure Madison’s ever approached me without being prompted before. She looks nervous now, her eyes darting around like she’s worried someone might see her talking to me and not be happy about it.

  She lowers her voice to barely more than a whisper. “I overheard the lawyers talking.”

  Understanding dawns on me. I start to walk away, fully prepared to dismiss her trying to find out about the money for her mother. I should have known Anita would be scoping things out.

  “Wait,” Madison pleads.

  I hate myself for having just a tiny bit of a soft spot for her—no matter how many times I try to convince myself I don’t.

  “It’s just… I’m supposed to be going to college next year. I thought…” She closes her eyes, cheeks reddening. “I’m sorry. This is really inappropriate. I’m so sorry to have bothered you.”

  She tucks tail and disappears into the crowd before I can stop her. I know what she couldn’t manage to spit out. She assumed my father would cover college for her, and now that that’s off the table, her options are limited.

  She’s plenty smart enough for scholarships, but there’s no way it would cover the kind of education my father’s money could have afforded her.

  Not my problem.

  There are a million other more pressing things I still need to deal with. Things that could easily become a matter of life or death if I’m not careful.

  Madison is not my problem.

  Oh, fuck me. The mantra isn’t even remotely convincing in my own head.

  I weave my way through the crowd, dodging the people who try to stop me to talk so I can find one man in particular. I know he’s here somewhere.

  Scott is the man who handles the Adams family fortune. He’s been handling my money since I turned eighteen, something I intend to dive deeper into after today. I haven’t seen him talking to Murphy at all, but I want to be sure I can trust the people working for me.

  For now, though, he’s exactly the man I need to see.

  I find him with a small cluster of other older, financial types. I interrupt politely and lead him a few steps away from the others so we can speak semi-privately.

  “My condolences, miss.” He tips his head to me, his wire-rimmed glasses slipping slightly down his nose with the gesture.

  I force as much of a smile as I can muster before getting straight to the point.

  “I know you’ll be dealing with my father’s estate for the moment. When your schedule does clear up, I’d like to meet with you.” I glance across the room at Madison who’s now standing like a wallflower near the door. “I’d like to pull some money to give Anita’s daughter a college fund.”

  Scott’s eyes widen in surprise. He pushes his glasses up with one finger. This is exactly the kind of thing he makes good money to talk people out of. People like us are only meant to donate money for tax deductions and to gloss over unwanted scandals.

  If Scott won’t do what I ask, I’m already resolved to finding someone who will.

  “Well, if you’re sure. Though, to be honest—” He doesn’t get a chance to try to talk me out of doing the good deed because someone taps my shoulder to get my attention.

  I turn, raising an eyebrow when I see who’s interrupting.

  “Took you long enough.”

  Also by Cassie James

  Pawns of Patience

  Sinners

  Saints

  Savages

  Saviors

  Scandals of Banner-Hill

  Truth

  Dare

  The Thorns of Rosewood

  The Replacement

  The Proxy

  The Living

  The 25 Men of Christmas