Page 85 of Her Dark Lies

“Mom. It wasn’t an accident. Henna was murdered.”

“By who?” she snaps. “Who in this house could possibly be a killer? It’s a ridiculous thought and I won’t have it, do you hear me?”

Brice waves him off, jerks his head toward the terrace. Jack follows his father outside.

“I disagree with your mother,” Brice says. “Ami Eister is the common denominator. Karmen is working on an identification now. We find her, and we take her out, before she can do any more damage to the family.”

“Agreed,” Jack said. “She sent me another text on my way up here. More footage from Monday night. If this gets out... But why hurt Henna?”

“Why do people ever get killed, Jackson? She knew something, or she saw something.”

Jack blows out a breath, hard.

“Henna’s death. The break-in, the cameras. Finding Morgan’s body... It’s all tied together. It’s coming from within the house, Dad.”

“I know. Come. Let’s go comfort your mother. Security is on high alert, everyone is being watched. We’re safe, for now.”

Inside, Brice’s phone is ringing.

“Oh, for God’s sake, now what?” Ana grumbles.

“It’s Cay.”

“Put her on speaker,” Ana says.

“What is it, Cay?” Brice asks.

“Mr. Compton, oh my God, I’m so glad I caught you.” Cay Evans, the firm’s chief legal counsel, sounds breathless, and Jack stops his pacing to listen. He’s never heard Cay so rattled before.

“What’s wrong?”

“Flairis about to drop an article online. It’s a damning piece, claiming that Jackson killed Morgan Fraser and the family covered it up.”

“Fuck,” Jack says under his breath.

“Sir, they want a comment and they claim they’re going live with the piece in five minutes. I told them you are in Italy and they have to give us the appropriate amount of time to respond, but they’re insisting. Apparently, they’ve been working on the piece for several weeks, and they claim they have a quote of denial from the family.”

“I am going to kill that girl,” Brice growls just as Ana says, “What’s the quote?”

“Hold on, I have it here. ‘When asked about the series of deaths on Isla Isola, the Compton family home, Brice Compton dismissed the claims out of hand. Quote: “The idea that my family was involved in any deaths, much less covered them up, is preposterous.” End quote.’”

Ana and Brice shoot knowing glances at one another. First rule of crisis management—don’t talk to the press. The quote is a fake.

“Who is the byline?” Jack asks.

“It doesn’t matter,” Brice says. “We know exactly where that quote came from. Harper Hunter. Because she asked us about it an hour ago.”

Jack drops into a chair. “What the hell is happening?”

Brice holds up a calming hand. “Cay, you have to get it stopped. I don’t care what you have to do. Threaten them with everything we’ve got. We’re being set up. Claire, and Hunter, were approached by a woman calling herself Ami Eister. She’s an imposter, and I believe behind all this nonsense.”

“Sir, I don’t know that it matters. They’re running it with or without the comment. I’m sorry. If I’d had any idea... I was blindsided. We all were. It’s horribly unethical of them not to give us time to craft an appropriate response. I’ve told them we’ll take immediate action if they don’t drop the story, but they don’t seem to care.”

“They think they have the better angle. Regardless of the publication, word gets out and we’ll be tried in the court of public opinion. That’s the game here.”

“Cay? It’s Ana. You tell them Ami Eister impersonated an editor atFlairto gain access to our family and drum up spurious charges against us. We will sue them into oblivion if they don’t drop this inquiry immediately.”

“Ma’am, they claim they’re passing the information along to the feds. If there’s any whisper of truth to this, the FBI could get involved.”