No one said hello. No one made small talk. Everyone’s eyes shifted to Madden.
She looked at Ford. “You have it?”
Ford nodded once. He held up the thumb drive.
Bree’s hand slid into his without ceremony. Ford squeezed back like he needed to anchor both of them in the same moment.
“How exactly is it that you have this?”
“My daughter found the flash drive. Miles came after it, held us at gunpoint trying to finally get his hands on the information that had been used to blackmail him for years.”
Madden’s face paled. “Oh, my God.”
One corner of Ford’s mouth twitched in reluctant pride. “Peyton hit him with a stun gun long enough for me to take him down. After that, I made copies of the files before turning the original over to the police because, frankly, I don’t trust Carson further than I could throw him, and I figured someone should have backups.”
“Sensible. I suspect evidence has a habit of disappearing on this island if it makes the wrong people nervous.” Madden’s eyes shifted to the drive. She stared at it like it was the last card in a game and she was afraid to see what was on the other side.
Willa cleared her throat. “We can go into the living room. Bigger TV.”
Madden’s eyes flicked to her, then to me, then away again. “Sure.”
We moved like the room was full of tripwires.
The living room at Sutter House was comfortable in a way that made no sense with the tension packed into it. The couches were soft, the rugs comfortably worn, the throw blankets folded with Willa’s precise attention. The windows looked out over a strip of dunes and the darkened water beyond. Moonlight threw everything into silver and shadow like it wanted to soften the edges of what we were doing.
It didn’t help.
Willa hooked another laptop to the TV without speaking before gesturing for Ford to take over. He didn’t look at Madden while he plugged the drive into the side. Bree hovered close, her fingers still wrapped around his hand. Daniel took the armchair nearest the door. Sawyer and Willa sat together on one couch, shoulders squared. Gabi sank onto the other couch, her knees bouncing once before she forced them still. I ended up standing for a second because sitting felt too much like settling in, then I took the chair closest to Madden.
Madden sat on the edge of the couch like she might need to launch herself across the room at any moment. Her coffee mug was gone now. Empty now, her fingers kept flexing and closing as if she was holding something invisible and sharp.
Ford’s cursor hovered over two files. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“She lived it,” Madden bit out. “I can survive watching it.”
Grainy cellphone footage filled the TV. Miles Busby, younger, face sharper, shoulders narrower, stood in front of the faded logo of his family’s marina. The camera shook like whoever was filming didn’t care about quality. Whoever was filming cared about the threat.
Madden’s body froze as an off-screen voice spoke conversationally about an offer. Miles outright refused to launder dirty money through the family business. When the fist shot into frame and hit Miles in the gut, Madden flinched hard enough her hand jerked against the couch cushion. She caught herself immediately, like she was offended by her own reaction.
The attacker kept his tone easy. He made it sound like a business deal. Either Miles took the deal or someone he cared about paid the price.
Miles spat on the ground and snarled, “Fuck you.”
Madden’s breath came shallow. Her eyes didn’t blink. She looked like she was watching evidence she’d already known existed, but the reality of it was landing differently now that it was playing in front of her like this.
The video ended.
For a second, no one moved. The only sounds in the room were the ocean outside and the hum of the laptop fan.
Madden’s voice came out low. “That’s?—”
“Yeah.” I didn’t know what else to offer her in that moment. Yes, that’s your cousin. Yes, that’s your family’s blood. Yes, someone decided they could put hands on him and call it leverage.
She swallowed once. “That was the one used in court for Miles’s trial.”
Ford nodded without looking at her. “Yeah.”
Her eyes shifted to the second file on the screen.
