Tiffany frowned. She had invited him to go horseback riding, but he couldn’t go. “Gary had a Zoom call yesterday around that time.”
“Well, I’ve seen video footage showing otherwise. He was captured on a security camera in this cottage, hacking into what he thought was my laptop.”
Tiffany’s head started to spin. She remembered Gary asking yesterday if her parents were around. She had told him they’d left for Gatlinburg. Did he have an ulterior motive for wanting to know where they were? No. Gary loved her. He had told her that several times. But was there actual footage showing him entering her parents’ cottage yesterday?
She stared at her parents for a long moment, and then eased back down on the sofa between her godmother and brother. “Okay. I’ll listen to what you have to say and look at whatever you have to show me.”
**
Hours later, Tiffany knew she would forever be grateful for the love of her family. First, she cried in her parents’ arms. Then her godmother’s, and lastly, Marcus’s. They held her, and when she thought she had run out of tears, more would come.
She had listened to everything her father had said. In the beginning, she’d refused to believe any of it. There had to be a mistake. But then he had played the recordings of the phone calls that Gary had exchanged with a man they now knew to be his father, every night, and sometimes in the morning. In those calls, the two had planned their strategy to destroy the Steele Corporation — her father’s and uncles’ legacy. A company that her grandfather Lester and granduncle Harold, had put their blood, sweat, and tears into building for their families. Years ago, the torch had been passed to Lester’s four sons and recently his grandson; and Harold’s three daughters. Although Harold’s daughters - Taylor and Cheyenne - didn’t work for the company, they were members of the board. Under her father’s leadership as CEO, the Steele Corporation had a stellar reputation.
And then there was the video of Gary entering this very cottage yesterday and going straight to what he had assumed was her father’s laptop. She watched as he used his phone to hack into it with a code. She saw that satanic-looking smile on his face when he thought he had succeeded.
“Here. Drink this, sis.”
Tiffany forced a smile at Marcus. She believed this was her third cup of tea, but from the smell, she knew he had added a little something alcoholic to it. Lifting her brow, she eyed her brother. “Really, Marcus?”
He shrugged, released a chuckle, and said, “Just shut up and drink it.”
She did, taking little sips at a time. A part of her wanted to go straight to Gary’s room and have it out with him for lying to her, and deceiving her in the worst possible way—by using her to try to destroy her dad, the man she most admired.
She glanced around the room. Her father was on the telephone. She figured he was talking to York or Quade. Possibly both. Her mother and godmother were standing near the fireplace with their heads together, whispering. Probably thinking of the best way to castrate Gary. Hmm, maybe she should be included in their conversation.
“I was beginning to like him,” Marcus said, taking her hand after she set down her teacup. “A lot of us were,” he added. Then, in a harsher voice, he said, “He didn’t deserve our family’s kindness. He not only played onyourcompassion and thoughtfulness, he played onoursas well.”
Tiffany nodded. “Why do people blame others when they are wrong, Marcus? The other day, I was talking to Sloan. She told me that her mother refuses to speak to her because her father did something wrong and her mother expected Sloan to give up her entire life to bail him out.”
She shook her head. “It’s like Gary and his father. His father was wrong for hiring a spy to steal that Gleeve-Ware formula. Nobody told him to rush to production with a stolen formula. Unfortunately, his company went bankrupt, but that’s what happens when you don’t play by the rules. But then, to blame someone else for your mistakes? It doesn’t make sense.”
“No, it doesn’t. That’s why I’m glad I was hired as part of the Steele Corporation’s legal team. I plan to utilize my law degree to safeguard Granddad and Uncle Harold’s legacy, which is now ours, too.”
When her father hung up the phone, he walked over to where she and Marcus were sitting on the sofa and extended his armsto her. She stood and went into them. “Are you okay?” he asked her.
Releasing a deep breath, she looked into the face of the man who offered her the opportunity to call him Dad when her biological father never had. He had given her his name, and told her that in his dictionary, the word “step-daughter” didn’t exist. She was his daughter. Period.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever be okay again, Dad.”
“It will take time, but you will. You are a Steele. We might get knocked down on occasion, but we get back up. We are fighters. Stainless, resistant, and polished. We are forged in Steele. You will survive this. We all will. And eventually we will put it behind us and move on.”
Tiffany wished she could believe that. “My heart hurts,” she said, dropping her face into his chest. But she didn’t start to cry again. It was as if her tear ducts were now empty.
“I know, sweetheart. And I know it will be hard to trust the next man who goes after that heart. However, I believe there is someone out there, especially for you, Tiffany. You might not make it easy for him at first, but eventually you’ll know he’s the one.”
He paused, then said, “That was Quade on the phone. Federal agents will be here at ten to arrest Gary. We didn’t want to mess up Drew and Eden’s big day tomorrow by taking everyone’s focus from that, so the agents will arrest Palmer at a location far away from the family. I’m sure people will eventually notice that he’s gone, but it’s up to you what you want them to know.”
She nodded. “For now, I’ll just say we broke up, our engagement is off, and he left. I’ll tell everyone the truth at breakfast on New Year’s Day.” A special breakfast would be held for the family on New Year’s Day, before everyone left for the airports.
“You don’t have to, Tiffany,” her mother said, when she and Tiffany’s godmother came to join them.
“I know, but I want to, Mom. Like Dad said, the Steeles are strong, and I’m going to need all that supportive strength to get through the rest of this year. Besides, I want to return Gary’s Christmas gifts.” She released a deep sigh and added, “He doesn’t deserve them, and he definitely won’t need them where he’s going.”
Chance nodded. “York and Quade are trying to figure out a way to get Gary to come to an unoccupied cabin that’s not connected to the main lodge. It’s within walking distance. They need him there by eleven. Any suggestions?”
“Yes,” Tiffany said. “Gary thinks the reason I met with Mom this morning was to help her clip flowers for the decorations. He told me to call him if we needed help. I can call him and say that some of the guys are unloading more boxes of flowers for Mom at that cabin, and they need help.”
Chance nodded. “That sounds like a plan.”
