by Jane Godman
Thanks, Dad. Destroy my reputation. Kill my friendships. Oh, and use your RevitaYou vitamins to poison people for money.
This was the first time Jenna had spoken to Abigail since she’d publicly humiliated her.
“Dr. Hardin has sent for me. I guess he wants me to look after the Mem10 program while you’re away.” Without waiting for Abigail to reply, Jenna stepped inside Dr. Hardin’s office.
It couldn’t be true. Jenna Avery was barely competent in her job. Her work was often shoddy, and Abigail had been forced to challenge her in the past when she’d falsified results. At the time, Abigail had been horrified that Evan had kept Jenna on and had privately wondered if he might be sleeping with her colleague. Those doubts surfaced again now. Jenna wasn’t qualified to lead a complex trial like Mem10. Evan must know that...
Choking back a sob, Abigail stuffed her cell back into her pocket and ran from the building. It was only when she reached her car that she realized she hadn’t told Evan about Ryan Thorne and his veiled threats.
* * *
Griffin had spent the morning in court dealing with four back-to-back cases. By the time the last one was over, he was running late for a meeting with his siblings and he left the court building at a run without pausing to check his messages. Luckily, his office wasn’t far from where the Colton Investigations headquarters was located. Once the family home, the mansion on Grand Avenue now belonged to his brother. Although Riley Colton, a former FBI agent, ran CI, Griffin and his sisters contributed their own expertise while working at their full-time jobs.
Since the RevitaYou scandal had hit, and new developments had been breaking almost constantly, the team met more regularly than usual to share information. As he drove the short distance, Griffin reviewed the details of how the story had come to light.
Brody Higgins had been a smart, kicked-around eighteen-year-old foster kid with a small string of misdemeanors when Griffin’s dad, Graham, had gotten involved in his case. Brody had been arrested for murder, but Graham had believed the boy was in the wrong place at the wrong time and declined to prosecute. The decision, and subsequent capture of the real killer, had solidified the name of Graham Colton as a hero in Michigan. It also helped turn Brody’s life around. Since then, the Coltons had looked out for Brody and treated him like family.
Now aged twenty-seven and a law school graduate, Brody had only wanted a high-paying corporate job and the good life. So it had come as a surprise to Riley when he turned up at his office the previous month looking nervously over his shoulder. The explanation for his behavior was that a big-time loan shark was after him. He’d borrowed five thousand dollars to get in on a can’t-fail product called RevitaYou. The vitamin supplements claimed to turn back the clock ten years and the drug was so new that the FDA hadn’t even seen it yet.
Although Riley had been incredulous that anyone could have fallen for this illegal pyramid scheme, Brody explained that he happened to pass by a promo for a seminar about making six figures overnight by becoming a member of the exclusive RevitaYou “team” that invested in the product, recruited new members and sold the vitamins. He’d gone along to the seminar where he met real people, including a scientist, four other investors and people who took the vitamins for just two weeks. They produced amazing before and after photos, and gave testimonials raving about the product.
Brody had wanted to pay back his huge law school loans and impress his older girlfriend. He’d felt so sure about RevitaYou that he borrowed the money to invest from an anonymous group called Capital X. Riley in particular had heard about the dangerous operation from the FBI but had never been able to bust them. Capital X used a unique incentive to get their clients to pay up on time. If any payment, including the very high interest, was late, Capital X goons would break two bones at a time until the outstanding amount was paid.
Riley’s blood had run cold when Brody showed him his left hand. The ring finger and pinky had been bandaged together. To make things worse, Brody had given his girlfriend a bottle of RevitaYou as a gift, hoping to recruit her to sell the product because he’d get extra bonuses. Instead of being impressed, she’d dumped him. Not only had RevitaYou left her looking ten years older but she’d been sick for two days after taking it. Apparently, she was still having issues that seemed to be related to the vitamins. In the light of Abigail’s later discovery about ricin, it seemed that Brody had handed his girlfriend a bottle of poison.
Brody had immediately called Wes Matthews, the guy who’d taken his money in cash transfers, to demand his investment back and report the problems with the product. Wes had emailed back that he never received the money and that Brody must be mistaken. After that, Wes, and the whole RevitaYou operation, including the fancy website, had disappeared.
The timing of Brody’s recklessness couldn’t have been worse. The CI team didn’t have five minutes to spare; all his siblings were all busy. But this was Brody, so Riley had called an emergency meeting of his siblings to discuss next steps. Brody, who had agreed to go into a safe house, hadn’t shown up for the meeting and sent a message to let the Coltons know he had gone into hiding. While he was concerned for Brody’s safety, Griffin felt it was typical of the younger man to run away from his problems.
Traffic up ahead was at a standstill and Griffin leaned back in his seat.
“Feels like stepping back in time.” The murmured words were a reference to his feelings about Brody and the way it felt like everyone sprang to attention whenever he needed help. On one level, Griffin knew he was too hard on Brody, on another, he felt like someone had to be. And, to be fair, Brody never resented that slight distance between them.
He sighed. But it wasn’t like stepping back in time. Brody could be in real trouble this time. And, no matter, how much Griffin resented the easy attention Brody received within the family group, he didn’t want to see him get hurt.
Griffin had been reluctant to get involved this time around. He’d insisted Brody should have known better than to get involved in a pyramid scheme and with a loan shark. Sometimes, the support his family had given to Brody had grated with him, even though there was no reason why it should. His feelings of isolation were his own issue rather than anything to do with the way he was treated within his family. Ever since his birth mother had been killed, he’d felt alone.
He was honest enough to admit that, but it didn’t change anything. He still thought Brody got preferential treatment. Griffin knew he’d been cared for and loved as much as any member of the family. But Brody’s personality meant he liked an easy ride and these problems he was having now were part of that. If the Coltons had been tougher with Brody when he was younger, maybe things would have turned out differently.
The vehicles in front were moving and he straightened, glad of a break from his thoughts.
In the end, the search for justice—always uppermost with the Coltons—had prevailed. The siblings all wanted con artist Wes Matthews caught before he could steal from more people. Despite his reservations about stepping in to save Brody from his own foolishness, Griffin had said he was in, and they’d taken on the case to honor their dad’s memory.
As he pulled into the drive of the house that had been his home since he was eight, Griffin reflected that they couldn’t have known at that point how quickly things would escalate. The last they’d heard from Brody was a text from a burner phone, telling them that the Capital X henchmen were on his tail. Right now, they had no idea whether he was dead or alive.
As if Brody’s troubles and the subsequent RevitaYou commotion wasn’t enough to occupy his mind, Griffin’s thoughts had been turning toward Abigail Matthews throughout the day. It was an inconvenience he could do without. Still not convinced of her innocence in the RevitaYou con, he couldn’t allow himself to be drawn in by her plight. Particularly as he wasn’t even sure it was her difficulties that were the reason he wanted to get involved. For the first time in as long as he
could remember, he had felt a powerful attraction to a woman. And that wasn’t happening.
Just as he was reminding himself of that, his cell rang. Bringing his vehicle to a halt, he reached into his jacket pocket and drew out his phone. He checked the name on the display. Abigail Matthews. A glance around the drive told him his sisters were already there. He didn’t have time to take the call. He should let it go to voice mail, but there was no way he was keeping Abigail waiting.
“Griffin Colton.”
“I got suspended from my job today.” He could tell she was crying.
Griffin studied the facade of the beautiful old house as he took a moment to consider the issues. Bringing Wes Matthews to justice had started out as a campaign for justice but it had spiraled into something bigger. As the scale of the con became clear, it had turned into a crusade on behalf of each individual who had lost their cash, their health or both.
Abigail’s role in RevitaYou was still unclear. Had she been involved and was now trying to paint herself as an innocent dupe? It was always possible that she had genuinely been unaware of her father’s exploits and was trying to help him now, but could he afford to be open-minded about that? If she was attempting to infiltrate CI to find out what they knew he couldn’t let her get too close. His brother and sisters certainly wouldn’t allow it.
And the story about being framed for using an illegal drug? Was that just another layer in the con? Could he believe anything she told him?
But the pain in her voice was real. And it was not something he could ignore. She might be a complication. He might not want her in his life but he felt responsible for her. She had come to him for help, and he wasn’t going to let her, or Maya, down.
“I’m at the CI headquarters. Meet me here.”
It wouldn’t be the first time he’d been out of step with his siblings.
* * *
It was only when she thought about going to the CI headquarters that Abigail stopped to consider what she was doing. And more importantly about what Griffin was doing. She didn’t think for a minute that his invitation was an indication that he, or his siblings, believed in her innocence. It might even be a way of drawing her in so they could find out more out about her dad and his whereabouts. If they only knew the truth. His daughter was the last person in whom Wes would confide.
She had never felt so scared or alone. Her mom had died when she was thirteen, but she hadn’t seen her for many years before that, and her dad had hardly been a nurturing figure. Seeing her best friend die only months before had been hard enough, but now, she also faced the prospect of losing her career and maybe even Maya, all through no fault of her own. Her name had already been tarnished through association with her father’s misdeeds. Now, she was being accused of skewing the results of her trial to boost her own reputation. Who would believe she was innocent?
When she had arrived home that morning, after collecting Maya from daycare, she had sent a quick email to Dr. Hardin.
It may be nothing, but I was confronted today by Ryan Thorne, the son of a former Mem10 participant. He is very angry about my perceived involvement in RevitaYou and said he had been in contact with the families of other former participants. He said I would “get what’s coming.” His anger seems to be directed against me personally but I thought you should be aware.
Although she had copied the email to the university HR department, she had no real idea where the allegations against her had come from and who was making them. Until she found more information, she couldn’t begin to build a defense. Frustrated, hurt and disbelieving, she had called Griffin in the hope that he had heard something more from John Jones. When he suggested meeting him at the CI headquarters, she’d been so relieved at the thought of seeing someone who was on her side, she’d have agreed to anything. It was only when she ended the call that she questioned her decision.
Because... On her side? Were those really the right words to describe Griffin?
She had gone to him because of his professional reputation. In her situation, she couldn’t take any chances. Losing Maya wasn’t an option. But these latest developments were making her question her decision to choose a Colton. If the CI team believed she was guilty of assisting in the RevitaYou con, her suspension from her job would give them additional ammunition against her.
Griffin had been sympathetic toward her, and she believed he had been genuine when he said he wanted to help her keep Maya. But he wouldn’t break with his siblings. Of that she was sure.
So, right now, stepping inside would be a little like walking into enemy territory. For the second time.
The first time, she’d dashed headlong into the beautiful old house, determined to let the Colton siblings know what she’d discovered about RevitaYou. Even though it reflected badly on her dad, they had to know that there was a deadly compound in the vitamins. Acting on a hunch, she had ordered a bottle of RevitaYou and, instead of swallowing the pills, taken them into her laboratory and analyzed their component parts. That was when she had discovered the truth. So many people were ingesting a poison. It was only a matter of time before deaths would result.
Abigail wanted to tell the world she didn’t believe her father would be behind such an awful scheme. But that would be a lie. The truth was, if he thought it would make him money, he was capable of anything. His personal life had always been a reflection of his business dealings. She remembered her mom, Sofia Barroso, as a sweet, beautiful woman. When she realized what a cold-hearted, conniving man Wes really was, Sofia had left him. Although she had tried to get custody of Abigail, who had been ten at the time, Wes had determinedly fought her and kept her away from her daughter. Sofia had died three years later in a car accident. Wes never remarried and, although he’d dated, his relationships never lasted. Abigail realized later that his self-absorption meant he was unable to feign an interest in another person for long.
Abigail couldn’t share the outrage most people evidently felt when Wes had gone into hiding instead of facing his accusers. It was exactly the behavior she’d expect of him. If he didn’t look good, he’d walk away. And he certainly wouldn’t stick around to face prosecution. Life behind bars? That wouldn’t suit Wes Matthews.
None of this soul-searching was helping in her decision about whether she should go ahead and meet with Griffin. Would she be better finding another attorney? Someone who had no preconceptions about her and her father? Someone whose last name wasn’t Colton?
She had almost made up her mind to call Griffin and tell him she wouldn’t be meeting him, when Maya woke up from her nap. Abigail had tucked her into the crib in the living room, noticing, as she did, how much the baby had grown. Soon, she’d be too big for the cradle next to Abigail’s desk...
The thought brought a panicky lump to her throat. If Abigail couldn’t adopt her, who would be there to oversee the milestones in Maya’s life? She had to be the one. At first, she’d loved the little girl because she was a link to Veronica. She had made a promise to her friend and had been determined to see it through. Over time, that had changed, and she had fallen in love with Maya for her own sake. Now she was Maya’s mom. She couldn’t imagine the world without her little girl in it.
As if reacting to Abigail’s fears, the little girl reached up her plump arms and gave a beaming smile. Even though Veronica had lived for a few months after giving birth, she’d made sure Maya always viewed Abigail as her mom. The extensive palliative treatment she was undergoing, together with the fact that she knew she wouldn’t be around to care for her daughter, meant she wanted to make sure Maya identified right from the start with the parent who’d be there. Although it had broken Abigail’s heart, she’d known her friend had been right.
Now, as she lifted Maya from the crib and held her warm, sweetly scented weight against her shoulder, love surged through her, reigniting her strength and resolve. Her life had spun wildly off course recently. She didn’t know why,
and events had been out of her control. But starting now, she was going to fight back. Maya, her job and her reputation were all too important for her to give up on.
There was only one person she trusted right now. She didn’t know why, since his role in the RevitaYou investigation automatically made him suspicious of her. But Griffin Colton appeared to have an aura of integrity, and he’d said he would do his best to help her.
“I guess that’s as good a place to start as any,” she told Maya, as she gathered up the baby’s bag, together with her cell phone and car keys.
Chapter 3
Griffin entered the house through the door at the rear, which took him straight into the family kitchen. He could hear voices coming from the formal dining room and guessed the rest of the team had already gathered around the table in preparation for the meeting. As he approached the room, Pal, Riley’s German shepherd, scurried up and thrust a wet nose into his hand.
“Good girl.” Griffin patted her head and the dog immediately flopped over onto her back, inviting him to tickle her belly. “Sorry. I don’t have time.” He lowered his voice. “I’m already about to make myself unpopular.”
“Griffin?” His sister Sadie gave him a smirk as he entered the room. “We thought you weren’t coming.”
“That’s not fair. Or funny.” Her fraternal twin, Vikki, gave her a reproachful look. “We’ve all been late now and then.”
“Except Riley,” Pippa pointed out.
“That’s not surprising,” Kiely, Pippa’s twin, laughed. “He lives here.”
