Reluctant thief Baz Barret is tasked with stealing from the formidable archaeologist Rei Collingwood--who happens to also be his college crush and rival--but when Rei goes missing after the burglary, Baz must find her before he's blamed for her disa...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
All Cheng's speeches paid off. When Rei followed him into the office within the bank, he looked like Rei's savior instead of her captor. It made her wonder how many victims were returned to their abusers after tearful televised pleas for safe returns.
"I want to get this all sorted out before someone else thinks they can stake a claim on her money," Cheng explained, "before we let the public know she's home again."
Rei played along, bile threatening her as she put on her placating smile.
"I'm an archaeologist, after all. I don't care to control more of Sundial than I already do," she said, made only slightly more comfortable reciting the truth.
What proceeded was more legalese than Rei had been forced to sit through since her 21st birthday when he father sat her down to hand over her share of the company.
However, the boring speeches took time and Rei could use all the time she could get.
Angelo Ferrero's safety deposit box was empty. Rei set the wheels in motion before his death. She took the necklace to be appraised, took the paperwork to be processed regarding its history and validity.
She kept the paperwork regarding Angelo's shares far from the bank to avoid this very problem. Rei had both the key, the permission and good reason to empty the box. It could have been anyone in that office with her, demanding her will bend to them. Angelo's business partners, his ex-wives, any number of people listed among the heirs. Despite Angelo's tidiness, his preparedness for his eventual death, Rei fully expected executing his will to be a nightmare.
She hadn't correctly envisioned the nightmare, but it was one nonetheless.
Gwen produced the death certificate, a document she had gathered at the hospital while they waited for Cheng. Rei stared at the sharp wording of it as if being in the room, as if confirming his wishes herself hadn't been enough.
Cheng did her speaking for her, and when Cheng stayed silent, Gwen spoke up instead, as if Rei were a child instead of the rightful, delegated officiant of the will. In other circumstances, perhaps Rei would've been more insulted, more indignant over this treatment. As the case was, it gave her more time to think. What benefit was it to cooperate now? What good did buying herself more time, mere extra minutes and seconds, do? What did they have against her?
They had Sébastien in the trunk of a car. There was that matter, surely a power play to gain her compliance, an insurance policy of sorts. Yes, Rei bargained to erase what incriminated him, but how did Cheng ensure she didn't go back on her word?
The more Rei muddled through her thoughts, brainstorming her exit strategy, the more she hated her brother. For all his bravado, he was just as cowardly as she was. They hid behind their careers, used magazine articles and quarterly reports to conceal the fact that they were children seeking validation. They let other people do the work, do the speaking. Rei allowed Angelo to do so much of her networking for her, letting him point her in the direction of opportunities and colleagues. Cheng allowed Jasper to call the risky shots, reaping the benefits while pretending he had little to do with the decisions. They rid themselves of responsibility that way.
