“Why? What’s the timing have to do with it?”
“Because like you said, members must disclose all information, including information they have about other members. But if you find out something after the person is dead, you’re not required to disclose it, although they would like you to. Anyway, if my dad didn’t find out about you until after Royce died, he can’t be punished.”
“You think William would’ve told on your dad if he knew the truth?”
“Maybe. I don’t know William well enough to say, and until I do, we need to be cautious around him. I don’t want him knowing our secrets.”
“What does William do for the organization? You said they get rid of people and cover it up. What else do they make the members do?”
“I’m not talking about this, Jade. I never should’ve said that. I was just angry and it came out. I don’t want you knowing what goes on there. And I don’t want you thinking about my dad that way. He doesn’t want to do this stuff. And I’m sure William doesn’t want to either.”
I can’t tell Jade what goes on at the organization. I don’t even know half of it, but I do know they make their members kill anyone who knows too much. A reporter who keeps asking questions and searching for answers. Someone who saw or overheard something they shouldn’t have. A person the organization hired to do their dirty work who threatened to expose them. They’ll basically kill anyone they suspect might tell their secrets.
The members don’t do the killing themselves. They hire people. When my dad says he’ll get ‘his people’ working on it, he usually means the people he hires to take care of shit, meaning get rid of whoever’s on the organization’s hit list.
It’s similar to the mafia, but the organization would kill you just for saying that. They think they’re better than that. They think they’re saving the world. The way they explained it to me last spring is that they put the right people in positions of power in order to keep the world from the chaos that would ensue if they let just anyone take over.
The chaos they’re referring to is the loss of their own personal wealth and power. For instance, if the president was someone they didn’t put there, someone they couldn’t control, decisions might be made that would disrupt their perfect little world.
They don’t care about everyone else. All they care about is preserving the life they’re accustomed to. A life of incredible wealth and power. But they’d never admit that’s what they’re doing. They prefer to stick to their saving-the-world mantra. And some of them actually believe it. In fact, when I talked with some of the members last year, a few of them actually said that the world as we know it would end if they weren’t controlling it.
“Garret, do you think William still won’t believe me? Even after he talks to Grace and your dad?”
“It’s hard to say. I don’t know how close he was to his brother. Sometimes when someone’s dead, it’s easier to forgive what they’ve done or to pretend those things never happened.”
“If that’s true, then he’ll hate me. William will hate me for saying those things about Royce.”
“Which is why he can’t know what really happened that day at my house. If he gets pissed at you for saying that stuff, or if he thinks you might tell your story to the press and ruin his brother’s name, he might decide to come after you.”
“Come after me? What do you mean?”
“Think about it, Jade. Think about what would happen if he told the other members you were at my house that day and witnessed all of that. William wouldn’t have to tell them you were Royce’s daughter. He could just say he found out you were at the house when Royce shot me.”
“You’re saying William would tell the members that so they’d kill me?”
“I hope not, but we don’t know anything about this guy. What if he’s not that different from Royce? We can’t be too careful.”
“Why wouldn’t he just kill me himself?”
“Because Grace might find out and he wouldn’t want her knowing he did that. It’s better if someone else did it.”
“That doesn’t make sense. William isn’t a killer. If he was, he would’ve killed me when he thought I was trying to steal his family’s money.”
“I agree, and that’s why I don’t think he’ll do anything to you. But since we’re not one hundred percent sure, we can’t take any chances. So it’s best if he doesn’t know you were there that day.”
Jade leans over and hugs my chest. “I don’t feel very good. I thought I’d be happy when I finally met William, but I’m not. I’m not sure how I feel.”
“I’m sorry, Jade.” I put my arms around her. “This whole thing is just complicated.”
Nothing’s simple in families like mine and the Sinclairs. After seeing how hard it was just to date me, Jade knows this, but she doesn’t realize how complex things can get when the organization is involved. People like my dad and William have to be careful in everything they do. There are consequences to every action and your friend can become your enemy overnight.
I don’t think William’s an enemy, but in our world, you can never be sure.
3
JADE
My stomach’s in knots as I try to process what Garret just said. I don’t want to believe William would try to hurt me or send bad people after me. He’s my uncle, and in my head I’ve already imagined him being this warm, kind person, like his parents. Maybe it’s naive of me to think of him that way, given that he’s part of the organization, but Arlin was a member and he wasn’t evil, at least not the side of him I saw. And Pearce isn’t either. Like Garret said, the organization forces the members to do these things. It’s not a choice.
Last spring, Grace told me a little about William. She made him sound like a good man. She said he wasn’t at all like Royce, and Arlin said the same thing. But maybe William has a dark side his parents don’t know about. Royce certainly did, and Grace and Arlin didn’t find that out until it was too late.
Grace said William works all the time and is married but doesn’t have kids. His wife doesn’t work but she’s involved in a lot of charities, which I’ve found is what most wealthy women do to fill their time, including Grace and Katherine.
Other than that, I don’t know anything about William. But I did want to meet him someday. Having Grace in my life makes me want to meet more of my family. And since I don’t have anyone left on my mom’s side, I wanted to get to know my dad’s side, even if it’s just William.
I’ve thought about meeting Royce’s kids, my half-sisters, but I think it’s probably better if I don’t. Sadie already doesn’t like me and given what I’ve heard about her and her sisters, I don’t think we’d get along. And I know I wouldn’t get along with Victoria. She’s just another version of Katherine.
My phone rings. It’s still in my backpack. Garret reaches over and hands it to me. It’s Grace.
“Hi, Grace.”
Garret is looking at me like I shouldn’t be talking to her. Does he think I can’t trust Grace now? I’m not sure what he’s thinking, but he’s motioning me to put the phone on speaker, so I do.
“Jade, honey, are you okay?” Grace’s voice is full of concern.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“I just spoke with William. He said he met you earlier.”
“He was at my school. He just showed up there.”
“I have to apologize for him. I had no idea he was spying on you like that. It didn’t even occur to me that he would discover the trust fund. But I should’ve known when William was going through Arlin’s financials that he would find out about it. I’m so sorry, Jade. William should’ve come to me before he even considered doing something like that.”
“It’s okay.”
“No. It’s not at all okay. And I told him that. He may be a grown man, but I’m still his mother and I scolded him for his actions.”
I cover my mouth as I laugh. Leave it to Grace to make me laugh at a time like this. I love my grandma.
“You did
n’t need to do that, Grace.”
“You’re part of our family and he shouldn’t treat you like you’re not.”
“I don’t think he believes I’m family. I tried to explain everything to him but I think he was too shocked to accept it.”
“He needs to get over it. You’re his niece, and if he doesn’t treat you as such, he’ll have to deal with his mother.”
I almost laugh again. I see Garret smiling.
“So what did William say to you?” I ask Grace.
“He asked me about Royce and your mother.” She sighs. “I know it’s difficult for William to hear those things about his brother and I know he’ll need time to accept it, but I won’t let him take his anger with Royce out on you. I explained to William how you had a very difficult childhood and how Royce was the reason for that. I also explained that when Arlin and I met you, we vowed to support you in any way we could and the trust fund was one way of doing that. Then I told him what a wonderful young woman you are and I encouraged him to get to know you, if you agree to it.”
“I do want to get to know him.” Garret’s motioning me to let him talk. “Grace, do you mind if I put you on speaker? Garret wants to say something.”
“Of course. Go ahead.”
I pretend to, since she’s already on speaker.
“Hi, Grace,” Garret says.
“Hello, Garret. William said you were there as well today.”
“Yes, and I assumed he’d call you to check our story. I told my dad that William might be calling him, too.”
“He called Pearce right after he called me. He’s very worried about your father.”
“He is? Why?”
“He’s concerned your father might tell the organization the truth about Royce, which as you know, would mean William would be punished. I told him your father wouldn’t do that, at least I hope he wouldn’t, especially given what Arlin did for you last spring.”
“No, my dad would never do that. He doesn’t want anyone getting hurt here. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. My dad’s worried William might put Jade in danger. If he found out she was at my house the day Royce—”
“I didn’t tell him about that day. And I’m not going to. But even if he knew Jade was there, he wouldn’t tell the members.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I’m not trying to say anything bad about William but you can never be too careful.”
“I know what you’re thinking, Garret. And I understand your concerns. But Royce and William are not the same. Arlin and I both knew Royce had problems. We knew that for years. But William doesn’t struggle with the issues his brother had. He’s nothing like Royce. He would never harm Jade.”
Garret doesn’t respond. Neither do I. I’m not sure if I believe her.
“Jade, are you fearful of William?” Grace asks. “Be honest with me.”
“Um, yeah, kind of. I don’t want to be, but I don’t know him well enough to say that I trust him.”
“I understand. Would you feel better if I were there the next time you and William meet?”
“Yes. I think that would be good.”
“I do, too. So that’s what we’ll do. You think about when you’d like to see him again and tell me what works in your schedule and William and I will fly out there together.”
“Okay, but I’m supposed to have dinner with him tonight.”
“Oh. He didn’t mention that. Well, if you want to cancel the dinner, I can call him and explain what we decided.”
“That’s all right. I’ll be fine. It’s just dinner and Garret will be there.”
“If William makes you feel uncomfortable in any way, or asks you questions you don’t want to answer about Royce or anything else, just leave the restaurant. Don’t worry about offending him. But I don’t think that will happen. William is a good man. He’s very much like his father.” Her serious tone lightens. “And I know how much you loved Arlin.”
“If he’s like Arlin, then I definitely want to get to know him.”
“Okay, honey. I’ll let you go. If you want to talk about this some more, just give me a call.”
“I will. Thanks, Grace.”
After we hang up, I turn to Garret. “So what do you think? Do you think we can trust William?”
“I don’t trust anyone in the organization, but I feel a little better about him after hearing what Grace said. I don’t think he’ll hurt you, but like I said, we can’t be too careful. While you were talking to Grace, my dad texted me and said he talked to William and everything’s good. My dad had to go to a meeting but we can call him later to find out what William said.”
“I don’t need to. You can talk to him later if you want. I think I’ll call William. I want to get this dinner over with.”
“Jade, if you don’t want to go, we won’t go.”
“I want to go. I’m just nervous about it and waiting around here is making me even more nervous.”
“We shouldn’t go if you’re nervous.”
“I’ll be fine.” I call William’s number.
He picks up right away. “Jade, I was just about to call you. Do you mind if we have an early dinner? I fly out at five in the morning tomorrow and I don’t want to be out too late.”
“Early is good. What time?”
“Does now work? I was thinking we could eat here at my hotel. They have a small restaurant and it’s quiet so we can talk. I’m staying at the Dominican on Walnut Street. Do you know where that is?”
“Yes. Garret and I will head over there. See you soon.”
“We’re going to dinner,” I tell Garret as I run to the bedroom. “I need to change quick.”
After I change clothes, we go to the restaurant. It’s nothing fancy but like William said, it’s quiet. Only three other tables have customers. The rest of the place is empty, probably because it’s only 5:30.
William is already there. He stands up as we approach the table, then waits for us to sit down before he does so himself.
“Thank you for coming,” he says. “I thought you might change your mind after what happened earlier.”
William seems different than he did an hour ago. He’s more relaxed. But I’m not. My stomach is knotting up again and my palms are sweaty.
We sit there in awkward silence. It reminds me of when I first met Arlin and Grace for lunch and none of us knew what to say.
“So tell me about yourself, Jade.” William says it in the same take-charge tone that Arlin used to use and it makes me smile a little.
“Do you mind going first? I’m kind of nervous.”
He smiles. “Don’t be nervous. I’m just trying to get to know you.”
Garret holds my hand under the table, but keeps his eyes on William. “You should tell Jade about your wife. Jade’s a runner. And your wife is as well. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes. She runs marathons. She’s running one next week, in fact.”
I keep forgetting that Garret knows this guy. He knows the whole Sinclair family but he doesn’t talk about them unless I ask.
“My wife’s name is Meredith.” William shows me a photo on his phone. “This is her.”
The photo shows a tall thin woman with short, dark-brown hair and brown eyes. She’s wearing a white sweater and jeans. It’s a much more casual look than I expected for someone as wealthy as her. I can’t imagine Victoria ever wearing jeans, and Katherine doesn’t even own a pair. Meredith is smiling in the photo and it seems like a real smile, not a fake, Katherine smile.
“Has she always been a runner?” I ask William as he takes his phone back.
“No, she started running about 10 years ago. She also swims. She was a competitive swimmer back in college.”
“Oh, yeah?” Garret’s interest piques. “I didn’t know that. What school?”
“Stanford. She was on the team all four years.”
“Garret’s a swimmer, too,” I say.
“Yes, I know. I hear he’s very good.” William smiles at Garret. “Your father
brags about you all the time.”
“He does?” Garret’s surprised. I am, too.
“He has for years. He’s very proud of you, Garret.”
“When does he have time to talk about me?”
“Sometimes after the meetings several of us go out for drinks. We don’t do it as much anymore. Our schedules just keep getting busier and it’s harder to make time to socialize.” William’s phone vibrates on the table. He checks it, then turns it off. “It’s people from work. The phone never stops ringing. If I don’t turn it off, I can’t get a break.”
“So you run Sinclair Pharmaceuticals?” I ask him.
“I do. After college, I got my MBA at Harvard, then worked alongside my father and learned the business. I took it over when he retired. I use the term ‘retire’ loosely. He continued to work there, just not every day. My father was someone who had to be active. He couldn’t just sit around and do nothing.”
“Do you know how to sail?” The question is way off topic, but when he mentioned Arlin, the sailboat image popped in my head.
“I’ve known how to sail for as long as I can remember. My father taught both Royce and me when we were very young. I try to get out on the water when I can, but with my work schedule it’s difficult.”
“So you have a sailboat?” That sounded way too eager. I feel my face heating up.
“Yes.” William smiles. “Would you like to go sailing sometime?”
“Um, maybe.” I glance over at Garret. I know he doesn’t want me agreeing to this until we figure out if we can trust William.
“Then let’s plan on it,” William says. “The weather’s getting cold now but we’ll plan on it next spring.”
I don’t agree to it but I don’t need to. It’s still months away and by then, he might change his mind. He’s so busy with work, I can’t imagine him taking time out of his schedule to take me sailing.
I place the cloth napkin on my lap. “Grace said you live in New York. Where exactly?”
“Scarsdale. It’s just north of Manhattan. Westchester County.”
Becoming Us Page 3
