I pressed send and the soft swish of the email leaving my outbox sliced through the stagnant silence of the office.
For a moment, I stared at the screen, watching the sent notification fade, as if it might pull the weight of the decision along with it, but it didn’t.
Next, I reached for my phone and dialed Kristoff. The line rang as I leaned back in my chair, eyes fixed on the closed door.
The call connected on the fourth ring.
“Hello, Kian,” Kristoff greeted, the sound of children’s laughter and music in the background.
“Is this a good time?” I asked.
“Yes, hold on.” I heard shuffling and a door being closed. “Okay, Ican talk now. Is this about Sophie?” he asked.
“Yes, but also about Sienna.”
Another pause, longer this time.
“What does Sienna have to do with this?” he finally asked.
“Your ex,” I started slowly. “She had a hand in Sienna’s kidnapping last year. She cornered Sophie in January, admitting to it. Jacqueline didn’t like Sophie’s inquiries into Jonathan’s murder. The reason your cousin left is because Jacqueline threatened her at gunpoint and promised to hurt your family.”
“What?” Shock traveled over the line. “How can that be? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Sienna’s hacking into my brother’s bank account was just a coincidence,” I continued. “It would seem your ex-wife delivered her as both payback and a warning to Sophie.”
“For what?”
“I guess taking her husband.”
“Jacqueline lost Jonathan all on her own,” he said, vehemence in his tone. “She didn’t need any help in that department.”
“No argument there.”
“I’m going to fucking kill that woman,” he growled.
“No, I will,” I said coolly.
Kristoff was a clean-cut businessman, the kind who wore his respectability like a tailored suit. His hands were clean, his conscience preserved behind contracts and polite smiles. He navigated the world through boardrooms and negotiations.
I was nothing like him.
I had already crossed lines I could never return from, and my hands were stained by my father and the choices I’d made long before Sophie entered my life.
“Why didn’t you tell me that Jacqueline had ties to Black Oil?”
He let out an incredulous breath. “Because they cut ties with her a long time ago.”
I frowned. “That doesn’t make sense since she built an entourage of men from that organization to bully Sophie.”
Kristoff exhaled. “I’m telling you, that cannot be.”
“Well, I’ll find out soon,” I told him. “I’m having everyone involved in what happened to both girls brought to Albania.”
“I should be there,” he insisted. “Or bring Sophie home.”
I stiffened.
“No.” There was no fucking way I’d let Sophie out of my sight. “You should be with your family. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
