Chapter Seventy-Three
At the cemetery, she stood behind a large oak tree about fifty yards from the gravesite, watching through binoculars as the small group gathered around her empty casket. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the manicured lawn, and she could hear the priest’s voice carrying on the wind.
Agent Rogers spoke quietly into his earpiece from his position near the cemetery gates. “All units in position. Target is with the family group. We have eyes on you.”
Blair adjusted the small recording device pinned inside her black coat and took a deep breath. This was it. After days of planning, after faking her own death, after watching her sisters grieve a lie, this was the moment everything would either come together or fall apart. Would it be for nothing, or would they have justice for their parents?
Through the binoculars, she could see Roman standing with his arm around Sutton’s shoulders while Keira clutched a single white rose. Peter and Vivian stood slightly apart from the group, and Blair noticed her uncle kept checking his watch. Dan and Laura lingered at the back, Laura’s hand resting on her small pregnant belly as she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.
The priest finished his final blessing and stepped back. Blair watched as people began to approach the casket, placing flowers and saying their final goodbyes. She waited as the crowd began to thin, people heading back to their cars.
Peters’ voice crackled in her earpiece: “Most mourners are leaving. Wait to see if Peter separates from the group. If he doesn’t confront him at his car before he gets in Blair.”
Blair watched as Roman, Sutton, and Keira began walking slowly toward the parking area, heads down in apparent grief. Dan and Laura had already left. Vivian was talking to the priest near his car.
Perfect. Peter was standing alone by the grave, staring down at the casket with an unreadable expression.
Blair tucked the binoculars into her coat pocket and then walked to where her uncle stood. Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure everyone could hear it, but she kept her stride steady.
She was about twenty yards away when Peter sensed her presence and looked up. The reaction was everything she’d hoped for and more. Her grave was protected from the car park by a tall hedge. So auntie Viv hadn’t couldn’t see her unless she walked through the gate back into the cemetery.
His face went completely white, then flushed red, then white again. His mouth dropped open, and for a moment, he looked like he might collapse.
“Hello, Uncle Peter, you like you have seen a ghost.” Blair said pleasantly, continuing her approach. “Lovely service, wasn’t it?”
“You’re supposed to be dead,” Peter whispered, his voice hoarse with shock.
“Yes, I was supposed to die,” Blair agreed, stopping just a few feet from him. “But unlike my parents, I saw you coming.”
Peter’s eyes darted around the cemetery, taking in their relative isolation. Most of the mourners had left, and the few remaining were too far away to hear their conversation or even see them. He didn’t know about the FBI agents or Peters so close.
“You hired someone to kill me,” Blair said matter-of-factly. “A hitman. Just like you probably hired someone to sabotage my parents’ plane.”
“You can’t prove anything,” Peter said automatically, but his voice was shaky.
“Actually, I can. See that inquiry into my parents’ death? The one that had you so worried? It came from my office. I’d been digging into the company finances, and I found some very interesting discrepancies.” Blair smiled coldly. She didn’t say anything about Roman doing the digging. If this went south, she wanted him safe. Although she didn’t think he would rest until uncle Peter was died or arrested. “I know exactly what you did, Peter. And I’m going to make sure everyone else knows, too.”
Blair watched as Peter’s face showed different emotions: first fear, anger, and lastly, calculation. “You don’t understand the situation you’re in right now, Blair.”
“Oh, I understand perfectly. You murdered my parents for money, stole our inheritance by bribing the lawyer, and when I got too close to the truth, you tried to have me killed.” Blair’s voice was perfectly calm. “What I’m going to do now is destroy you piece by piece. The police, the press, the courts, I’m going to use every resource at my disposal to make sure you pay for what you did.”
“The police will find nothing,” Peter snarled, but Blair could see sweat beading on his forehead despite the cool air.
“They have financial records showing you’ve been lying for years about the state of the business when our parents died. It takes money to hire a hitman. They can follow the money.”
Peter laughed, a harsh sound. “They will have to know there was a hitman first. Who is going to tell them?”
“Me,” Blair said sweetly.
Peter’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You were very stupid to face me alone, Blair.”
“What do you mean by that?” Like she didn’t know.
“You should have died in that car crash,” Peter said, his voice dropping to a menacing whisper. “It would have been so much cleaner.”
“But I didn’t. And now you’re going to prison for the rest of your life.”
Peter took a step closer to her, his hands clenching into fists. “You know what, Blair? I normally like people to do my dirty work. Your parents... I had to pay good money to have their plane sabotaged. The hitman I sent after you... but that was money down the drain when he failed each and every time. It was like you had nine fucking lives.”
Blair’s heart was racing, but she kept her expression neutral. “So you did kill them.”
“Of course I killed them!” Peter exploded. “Your father and mother did so well in that business, and they wouldn't help me out. I had some debts he wouldn’t pay! He wanted to leave everything to you three spoiled brats instead of anything to me, and you were all so young. The lawyer was so easy to convince a few million dollars more money than he would ever earn.”
“So you murdered them.”
“I did what I had to do! And you know what? Since everyone already thinks you’re dead, since you even had a funeral...” Peter’s smile was vicious. “This will be child’s play. I might as well finish this myself, since I can’t seem to find competent help.”
Blair saw him take a step towards her. “Peter…” She took a step back, hoping it would be convincing.
“Why not? You’re already dead, remember?”
“Except I’m not alone and you just confessed.” Blair said.
“What?”
“FBI! DON’T MOVE.”
The shouts came from multiple directions as agents emerged from behind headstones and trees around the cemetery. At the same time, Roman, Peters, Sutton, and Keira appeared from where they’d been hiding near the entrance.
Peter spun around wildly. “You set me up!”
“Peter Warner, hands on you head and get on the ground!” Agent Rogers shouted, moving closer with his gun drawn.
“I’m not going to prison,” Peter snarled, swinging around wildly. Where the hell did he think he was going?
He never got the chance to make a ran for it.
Keira came out of nowhere, sprinting across the cemetery lawn faster than Blair had ever seen her move. Before Peter could react, before the FBI agents could intervene, Keira drew back her fist and delivered a devastating punch directly to Peter’s nose.
The sound of cartilage breaking was audible across the entire cemetery. Peter screamed and fell backward onto the ground, blood streaming from his nose.
“That’s for our parents, you murdering bastard!” Keira shouted, standing over him with her fist still raised.
“Keira!” Agent Rogers called out, but he was fighting back a smile as he moved to secure Peter in handcuffs.
“He was threatening to kill my sister,” Keira said innocently. “I was defending her. Plus, Roman promised I would get a chance to do that.”
“Keira Warner,” Rogers said as he handcuffed the groaning, bleeding Peter. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
Roman reached Blair first, pulling her into his arms. “Are you okay? When I heard him…”
“I’m fine,” Blair assured him, but she was shaking. “It’s over. It’s really over.”
Sutton joined them, wrapping her arms around both Blair and Roman. “Please tell me we never have to do anything this insane again.”
“Never again,” Blair promised. “I’m going to live a very boring life from now on.”
As they loaded Peter into a police car, Vivian approached them hesitantly. “What the hell is going on? Why are you taking away my husband… Blair” Before she fainted at the sight of her death niece.