Breaking Steele (Sarah Steele Legal Thriller)

Chapter 20

WILLIAMS, INC. SPANNED OVER fifty acres of buildings so white, the nickname for the place was the White City. I had to go through one more guard booth and then, after I parked, three more sets of security. I was directed to the top-story office where Hannah Williams’s office was located. It reminded me of the Evil Queen in her tower in Snow White, looking out over her kingdom.

“Miss Steele.” A tall woman with brown hair and a slim figure greeted me. I recognized her voice from the phone call.

“Yes?”

“Come this way. Miss Williams will see you now.”

I followed the secretary back to a tall, smooth white door. She opened it and let me pass. The room beyond was huge, white, and blinding. Floor-to-ceiling windows were on one end and a simple glass desk sat in the middle of the near-empty room. Sitting behind the desk was a tall blonde woman; she stood up and held out her hand.

“Miss Steele?”

“Miss Williams.” We shook hands. Her fingers were as soft as rose petals.

I sat in a high-backed chair and tried to keep my hands from shaking. She had pure skin, big brown eyes, a lithe, athletic figure, and hair that fell in glistening curls around her shoulders. Her outfit was unique—a pencil skirt with an asymmetrical hem and a jacket with curious blue buttons. After gauging her appearance, I had to concede that she really was the fairest in all the land.

“I want to start off by saying that I can in no way discuss my father’s case without my lawyers present.”

“I understand,” I said. Taking out a notepad, I pretended to make a note. There had to be something in this glass house I could throw at her, something I could learn that would help me. I decided to shoot for the moon and make a fool of myself. People did not take fools as a threat and might say more than they would otherwise. “We’re not interested in him so much as his brother. Glen, is it?”

Hannah grinned, but it was not a nice smile. “I’m not sure where you got your information, but my father is an only child. He does not have a brother.”

I didn’t say anything—just waited, staying perfectly still. Most people can’t handle that. She couldn’t either, and spoke again.

“So this visit has nothing to do with my father?”

“No, it has to do with you and Glen.”

“Me? What does any of this have to do with me?”

“Because no one can work as closely with someone as you have with your father and not recognize that something is off.” I kept my voice steady. “Now, I know you don’t want to testify against your father—no child does.” Color rose in her cheeks at the word “child.” “But can you tell me anything about his lifestyle that would give us a stronger case?”

“No,” she said.

“Why are you keeping his secrets?” I prodded.

“I’m not keeping secrets.” The lie was evident in her voice.

“Then give me all the information you have on Hannah Dade,” I said.

She broke my gaze and picked up her pen. She doodled a figure eight on a note. My gaze shifted to the words on the note and I read it upside down. It looked like RuSat 11. It didn’t make any sense to me.

Hannah finally spoke. “I was betrayed. In the most personal of ways. Everything I knew about my father, about my life, about the world … is a lie.” She looked at me, her eyes sad. “There’s no recovery from something like this. My foundation is crumbling. When people look at me, they don’t see me—they see the spawn of a monster. So I’d like to get what normalcy I can back in my life.”

I nodded in understanding. I knew quite a bit about betrayal. And about parental units being criminals. But I couldn’t leave with nothing.

“So who is Heather Dade?”

Hannah stood up and said curtly, “This meeting is over.”

“Miss Williams, a good way to bring peace into your life is to help others along—”

“This meeting is over, Miss Steele!” Hannah pushed a button on her desk. A moment later, two guards walked in and I stood. Guards? She must be more jumpy than she let on.

“Very well. If you change your mind, here’s my card.” I left one on the table. “Hope you find the normalcy you’re looking for.”