Page 72 of The Final Gambit

“Did he…” I couldn’t even finish the sentence. “Did they…”

“If you’re thinking the worst, the answer isno. But if you’re thinking that the nephews came at Tobias through Alice, that they harassed her, manhandled her, and one went so far as to pin her down, force his lips to hers—well, then.”

Nan had strongly implied on more than one occasion that she’d killed her first husband, a man who’d broken her fingers for playing the piano a little too well. I deeply suspected she would have castrated Vincent Blake’s nephews if she’d had even half a chance.

“And Blake didn’t do anything?” I asked.

Nan didn’t reply, and I remembered how she’d characterized the man: as the type who believed that boys would be boys. “And that’s when your son-in-law decided to get out,” I guessed, the picture becoming clearer.

“Tobias stopped dreaming of working for Blake and set his sights on becoming him. A better version. A betterman.”

“So he filed two patents,” I said. “One that they’d worked on together and then a different one—a better one. Why didn’t Blake sue him?”

“Because Tobias beat him, fair and square. Oh, it was a little underhanded, maybe, and a betrayal, certainly, but Vincent Blake appreciated someone who could play the game.”

A rich and powerful man had let a young Tobias Hawthorne go, and in return, Tobias Hawthorne had eclipsed him—billions to his millions.

“Is Blake dangerous?” I asked.

“Men like Vincent Blake and Tobias—they’re always dangerous,” Nan replied.

“Why didn’t you tell Jameson and me this earlier?”

“It was more than forty-five years ago,” Nan scoffed. “Do you know how many enemies this family has made since then?”

I thought about that. “Your son-in-law had a list of threats. Blake wasn’t on it.”

“Then Tobias must not have considered Blake a threat—that, or he thought the threat was neutralized.”

“Why would Blake take Toby?” I asked. “Why now?”

“Because my son-in-law isn’t here anymore to hold him at bay.” Nan took my hand and held it tight. The expression on her face grew tender. “You’re the one playing the piano now, girl. Men like Vincent Blake—they’ll break every one of those fingers of yours if you let them.”

CHAPTER 56

As I made my way back to the others, I thought about the fact that Vincent Blake had addressed every one of his missives tome. And he’d made it clear on the phone that he wouldn’t speak to anyone but “the heiress.”

You’re the one playing the piano now, girl.…Nan’s words were still echoing in my mind when I stepped into the foyer and heard a hushed conversation, bouncing off the walls of the Great Room.

“Don’t do this.” That was Thea, her voice low and intense. “Don’t fold in on yourself.”

“I’m not.”Rebecca.

“Don’t besad, Bex.”

Rebecca read meaning in that emphasis. “Be angry.”

“Hate your mom, hate Emily and Eve, hate me if you have to, but don’t you dare disappear.”

The second he saw me, Jameson crossed the foyer. “Anything?”

I swallowed. “Vincent Blake brought your grandfather into his inner circle. Treated him like family—or his version of family, anyway.”

“The prodigal son.” Jameson’s eyes lit on mine.

“Eve?” That was Grayson—and he was yelling. I scanned the foyer.Oren, Xander, Thea and Rebecca stepping in from the Great Room. But no Eve.

Grayson burst into view. “Eve’s gone. She left a note. She’s going after Blake.”