Chapter 11
Scott had just finished a route on the bouldering wall and was sitting at the edge of the crash pad, drinking water.
His assistant and close friend Leo walked in carrying a manila folder.
"Scott, I got the results on that thing you asked me to look into last week," Leo said, handing him the folder.
Scott set down his water bottle, took the folder, opened it, and pulled out the documents inside.
Right on top was a family photo with some years on it.
It showed a family of five. Scott's eyes went straight to a young Chloe's face.
She must have been in her early twenties then, a trace of girlishness still in her features, but that quiet, distant air of hers was exactly the same as now.
Standing right beside her was Randy.
Scott raised an eyebrow. They looked close. So what Randy had said last night about being siblings was actually true?
Leo filled him in. "According to the file, Chloe's biological father died when she was fourteen. About a year later, her mother Sandra married Frank Gordon, the head of the Gordon family at the time. They had a son together after that. So legally, Chloe and Randy are step-siblings. No blood relation."
So that was it. Scott's gaze returned to the photo.
"But," Leo went on, his tone turning a little odd, "word is, things between Chloe and this stepbrother of hers aren't quite that simple."
Scott let out a short laugh. "Oh? Not simple how? Don't tell me it's some blended-family forbidden romance thing."
Leo nodded. "The rumor is Randy's always had feelings for her that go way past sibling. The Gordon family even considered pushing them to marry at one point. Then Chloe got together with Austin Watson, and the Watsons carry real weight in New York finance. After weighing it, the Gordons apparently stopped pressing."
Scott held the family photo up in front of his eyes, thumb absently rubbing its edge.
Images flickered through his mind. Chloe's intent profile as she gazed at Austin across a party. Then Chloe sitting across from a lawyer, coolly walking through divorce terms and asset division like it was quarterly business.
He laughed softly. So that was how it was.
His fingertip brushed lightly over Chloe's face in the photo.
Looked like he'd accidentally stumbled onto the secret she'd been trying so hard to bury.
Scott flipped through the rest of the file. It covered the Gordon family's background and the important people in their orbit.
He stopped at the page on Randy.
Thirty years old, vice president and CEO of Haven Peak Group. By the look of it, he ranked high in the family and held real power.
Haven Peak had started out as a food manufacturer. A few years back they chased the trend into real estate, and the investment blew up badly.
Now the company was trying to pivot into a new field, which was exactly why they wanted to buy pharmaceutical equipment patents from Lumina BioTech.
"Is Randy Gordon single right now?" Scott hadn't found any marriage records in the file.
Leo shrugged. "Single, as far as public records go. No rumors of a wedding, at least."
Scott pressed on. "And no girlfriend he's seen with publicly?"
Leo spread his hands. "Nothing on social media, and nobody in the circle talks about anyone. Want me to dig deeper into his private life?"
"Not necessary." Scott made a cut-it gesture, a playful look on his face.
Whether Randy had a partner didn't matter. The point was, every sign said he still had very particular designs on his so-called sister.
Skimming through what Leo had brought, Scott had roughly pieced together Chloe's situation.
A father lost young. A mother who played favorites and kept things practical. A stepfather who ran his family like a subordinate department. A half-brother who needed looking after. And a brother with hidden thoughts about her.
And Chloe herself played her part to perfection: quiet, compliant, almost passive.
Her acting really was flawless.
If he hadn't happened to catch her completely different side outside that private room in the Brooklyn underground bar that night, even Scott might have been fooled by the docile front she put on in public.
Or maybe the woman under those dim lights, free and unbound, was the realer Chloe.
Chloe had assumed the next few days would bring a barrage of messages from Randy.
To her surprise, three whole days passed without a single word from him.
On Friday afternoon, after finishing the final walkthrough at the exhibition venue on Madison Avenue, Chloe called it a day early.
On the way home she stopped by an upscale appliance store and picked up the smart espresso machine Austin had ordered.
That evening, the installer came by. He was thorough, spending nearly an hour calibrating the machine and walking her through every feature.
Chloe listened patiently, handed him two bottles of ice-cold water, and politely saw him out of the apartment.
She stood in front of the gleaming new machine, snapped a photo on her phone, and posted it to her feed with the caption: [Thanks for the gift, honey!]
The likes from friends started rolling in almost immediately.
Austin commented not long after: [Hope you like the surprise.]
Chloe fired back a kiss emoji right away. [Love it SO much!]
This kind of syrupy public back-and-forth was something their mutual friends loved to tease them about.
More than a few commented that Chloe really seemed head over heels for Austin.
Face perfectly blank, Chloe finished replying to Austin's comment, then closed the app without another glance at the activity under that post.
She set the phone on the counter and pulled a bag of coffee beans from the cabinet.
The new machine ground the beans in a low, steady hum, and the steam wand frothed the milk into dense, silky foam.
She'd had her eye on this top-of-the-line espresso machine at a SoHo boutique three months ago. All she'd done was mention, in passing, "the lever design on this is gorgeous."
She honestly hadn't expected Austin to remember, let alone buy it and have it sent to the apartment.
That was how their marriage worked, though. He provided the material comfort and the image; she paid him back in perfectly measured delight and admiration.
Austin cared immensely about appearances and basked in the reputation of being the perfect partner.
So every gift got the full treatment: the right angle, the sweet caption, posted where everyone could see.
It was the role she had to play: the cherished wife with the beautiful life, devoted to her husband heart and soul.
The smell of coffee spread through the air.
Chloe lifted her cup. The faint, contented smile she'd rehearsed a thousand times faded from her face, leaving nothing in her eyes but cool appraisal.
The persona couldn't crack yet. For one thing, she couldn't give Austin any reason to suspect; a smooth transition benefited them both. For another...
She sipped her coffee, her gaze sliding over the silent phone screen.
That post was for Randy's eyes too.
A silent announcement: Look. My marriage is happy, my life is comfortable. I don't need the Gordon family, and I won't be a bargaining chip in your negotiations. Keep your distance, along with that whole family-duty speech of yours.
