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39 DARCY

NOW

Darcy watches Jade carefully, tuning out the conversation between her, Kate, and Camilla to do some quick calculations in her mind.

How did Jade overhear their conversation about Rob? Darcy remembers closing the door to Kate’s villa when she came in. Did she hear it click behind her? Kate said the door was acting up, owing to a digital fault. Or did she tell Jade to come along at this time? Only a fool would dismiss the timing of this as merely coincidental. Jade’s tears seem real, and the bruise is genuine. And Rob—well, Darcy knows he’s a bastard. She knows everything there is to know about Rob Marlowe.

But Jade? Darcy knows very little about Jade. That was an oversight. And it could cost them all dearly.

She thinks about Jacob’s email. He knows about Adrian, and it continues to nag at her, the hows and whens…. Did he find something on the computer? No , she thinks. She covered her tracks, she’s sure of it.

Did someone tell him? If so, who?

Jade sits at the head of the dining table, her expression shifting through emotions. She seems genuine, but Darcy knows better than to trust appearances. There’s no doubt this new addition to the mix poses a risk.

But Jade may also be useful.

Darcy watches Jade struggle to process it all, tears rolling down her cheeks. She asks questions, repeating many of them, as though her brain can’t cope with the shock of it. Camilla and Kate tell her everything that Adrian shared with them: Rob’s history of drugs and violence, the DNA, the questionable alibi. Fraser’s history of abusing young girls and boys.

The truth is, Rob has constructed the reality Jade knows as his wife. Almost twice her age, he lived a lifetime before Jade set eyes on him. And he wanted to keep it all from her.

Or maybe he didn’t. Maybe Jade knows everything he did.

Could Jade be a Trojan horse, Darcy wonders now, sent in here to find out what they’re planning?