“You can say that again.” Niels lets out a long breath. “It was Thana. She was charged this morning. The lead investigator confirmed it.”
She’s been sitting in jail since the fire because she didn’t have money to post bail.
All signs pointed to her, but this is America. You’re innocent until proven guilty. Now, we get to nail the bitch for shattering my wife and her father’s life.
“She was so infuriated at me and so gung ho on revenge, she did a piss-poor job of covering her tracks,” Niels says. “She knew I had canceled the home monitoring security service because I couldn’t afford it anymore. Here’s the kicker. I never bothered telling her the company granted me an extra month as a courtesy for being a long-time customer. There’s irrefutable video proof placing her outside and inside the house. There’s also…” His voice trails.
“Also, what?”
“In some of the footage, the callous bitch was laughing her head off while pouring gasoline all over my house.”
“Jesus,” Slate says.
“She’s a nut case,” Wilder says.
“The woman is psychotic.”
“She’s deranged, for sure,” Niels says. “She didn’t even bother renting a car. She parked her Toyota Camry right in front of the house, so there’s video footage of her license plate. Thana made it easy for the police. Stupid bitch.”
“Thank God you were still at the hotel,” Wilder says.
“I doubt she would’ve cared.” The harshness in Niels’s voice doesn’t go unnoticed. Not that I can blame the guy.
“We can nail her ass for arson?”
“Yes,” Niels says. “The neighbors that flank our house will also press charges since Thana caused them to lose everything.”
“Added to the other charges against her, she’ll be in jail for a long time,” I say. I have a dream team of lawyers working with Niels on making sure that happens.
“There will be even more charges,” Niels says.
“What else did the investigators find?”
Slate is as eager as I am.
“She set my house on fire because that morning, I told her I was onto her, which is why I had served her with divorce papers. Soon after she came barging into my office that morning, thingsescalated. She was livid. Freaked out, my executive assistant called 911. Thana was removed from the premises. You, Phoenix, came into action and hired a team of bodyguards. The hotel was secured, so she couldn’t come back unnoticed. Ian urged me to stash her desktop and laptop computers––which were company property––at his place. I’m glad I listened to his advice.”
That woman is certifiable.“Were the investigators able to find more incriminating information to further your other cases against her?”
“You’re not going to believe what they found,” Niels says. “I was dumbfounded.”
My brothers and I exchange a look.
“Try me,” I say.
“It’s no wonder Potter knew so much private information that was never divulged. He hadinsiderintel?—”
“Thana and Potter know each other?”
“Yes, Wilder, they know each otherwell,” Niels says.
His words send chills down my back. “Motherfucker.”
“Thana had a series of meetings with Potter,” Niels says. “My financial debacle was pillow talk.”
“What are you talking about, Niels?” What he’s implying doesn’t even make sense.
“I’m well past being embarrassed by my soon-to-be ex-wife’s indiscretions, but for all intents and purposes, Thana was sleeping with Potter.”
