Page 113 of Bombshell

“I’m going with her,” she says defiantly. The officer looks to me for permission again. I nod.

“Can I go to bed?” Ellie asks the officer. “I’m so sleepy.”

“How about I tuck you in?” Jami says.

“Can Auntie come, too?”

Ginny stiffens, but I smile reassuringly. “I’ll come up in a few minutes. I need to talk to Sterling.”

“How rude of me,” Ellie says, yawning widely, while fluttering her hand at him. “It’s nice to see you, Mr. Ford.”

Sterling’s hand reaches for mine, and I hear the slight break in his voice as he responds, “Sleep well, Ellie.”

Ellie will be safe, and Ginny’s come too unglued to realize that everything out of her mouth only incriminates her more. Still, watching the officer carry her up the stairs feels like an out of body experience.

“I think you need to answer a few questions, too,” the remaining officer says. “How did you know where the little girl was? This is a very big house. Mrs. MacLaine seems to think that’s a big coincidence, and so do I.”

I hope that having one of the officers believe me cancels out his determination to bootlick my brother and his wife. I’m too tired tonight to fight it. Although, I know I’ll never sleep. I’m not sure I’ll rest again while Ellie remains under this roof.

“A hunch,” I murmur. “She hid where I hid as a little girl.”

“Where was that?” He jots down a note.

Sterling’s hand tightens on mine. “Maybe we should call our lawyer.”

“Guilty people call their lawyers,” Malcolm says, joining us.

“You aren’t leaving us much of a choice,” Sterling growls.

“My mother’s closet,” I interject, answering the officer’s question.

“She was in your mother’s closet?” he asks in confusion, no doubt scrolling through memories to remind himself that she’s dead.

“No, it’s where I hid. She hid the same place,” I explain.

“So you found her in Ginny’s closet?” Malcolm asks. “We searched all our rooms—”

“I found her in my closet,” I correct him. “Ellie was hiding in her mother’s closet.”

“I’m sorry, are you saying—” the officer starts.

“I think it is best to let us handle this,” Malcolm cuts him off. “As you said, it’s family business.”

“I’m her mother,” I tell the officer. “He’s her father. When she was a baby, Virginia MacLaine tricked me and got legal guardianship of her.”

“I...well…” His pen hovers over his notepad like he can think of neither what to say nor what to write.

“Adair,” Malcolm says in a warning tone. “Think of what you’re doing. Consider the consequences.”

But I’m done living a lie. I squeeze Sterling’s hand, knowing we have a long fight ahead of us. “I know exactly what I’m doing. I should have done it years ago.”

“This can’t be taken back,” he hisses. “You’ll have nothing.”

“She’ll have the largest share possible of MacLaine Media,” Sterling cuts in, finally moving between me and my brother. This time I let him. I can fight my own battles, but love means not fighting those battles alone.

“That’s not possible,” Malcolm says, shaking his head. “You wouldn’t…”

“I already did.” For the first time since we arrived, Sterling smiles. “The company should stay in the family. Our family.”