Page 230 of The Rebel Billionaire

But Jasper never came because Dad never arrived. He was run off the road and died instantly after hitting a tree, according to the coroner’s report. He died coming to rescue me and my friend from a party he’d asked me not to attend. If I’d listened and stayed home, he would never have been on the road that night. The drunk driver would not have…

* * *

I press my finger to the photo.

“These are the two men who spoke to Carolyn and me that night,” I say. “The ones I also overheard arguing with Jasper earlier in the evening.”

“You’re sure? And you’re saying they were friends of Oliver Peregrine? It was seven years ago,” Dan asks.

I nod. “Positive. I’m good with faces.”

The two men exchange a look.

“I’m taking it that this is a good thing?”

“Do you know⁠—”

“Dan,” Mitch cuts across him.

“She deserves to know.”

Mitch shakes his head.

“What do I deserve to know?” I ask.

Mitch harrumphs, and I expect Dan to speak, but instead it’s Mitch who motions to the chair.

“Montague Peregrine. Do you know him?”

“It was his son Jasper’s party,” I say. “I went to school with Jasper. He was the year above me.”

“Anything else?”

I shake my head.

“He’s a successful businessman who ran in the same circles as my father. I think he came to Dad’s funeral.”

The final words are like a hit to my solar plexus.

I shake my head. “No.”

Dan squats in front of me.

“The two guys you’ve pointed out, one was killed a couple of years ago in a kidnapping plot gone wrong. The other works for Montague Peregrine. The evidence increasingly points to Montague Peregrine as the head of the syndicate, although he rarely gets his hands dirty.”

“But…”

“What I’m about to tell you…” Dan says.

I sigh. “I know. It can go no further. I appreciate you guys and your honesty.”

“There’s a rumour amongst the soldiers. To get ahead in the syndicate, you’re expected to carry out a task.”

I close my eyes.

“Their task was to take Dad out of the game?”

Dan squeezes my hand.