A Mother's Lie - Sarah Zettel Page 0,38
said it, the one universal lie every parent told. “Everything’s going to be okay, Dangerface. I promise.”
As soon as Dana retreated to her room, Beth closed her laptop. She thought about how her life had grown so tangled with people and relationships, and how all that might have to come undone now.
She felt sick. She tried to ignore it.
She didn’t even consider going to bed. It would have been pointless. She was not going to sleep. Instead, she went to her study and fired up her laptop again. There were accounts that had to be checked into, money that had to be ready to go, in case the worst happened.
It was almost midnight when Beth lit up her cell and called Zoe. Zoe picked up anyway.
“I wondered when you were going to get around to calling.”
“Yeah, I was wondering about that too,” Beth admitted.
“So.” Cloth rustled. Beth pictured Zoe settling back for a long story. “What the hell was that video?”
“Goddamn YouTube,” muttered Beth. “And ‘that’ was my dysfunctional family out in public.”
There was a clicking noise, probably Zoe’s fingernails drumming against a tabletop. “Well. Now I guess I know why you never talk about them. Does Rafael know about this?”
“Yeah, and he’s going to be talking to you about that, and…some other stuff. Zoe, I’m going to be gone for a while. I need…I need you to watch Lumination for me.”
“Watch how?”
“Do the real job. Keep them from stepping in the shit, whether they want to hear you or not. Make sure…make sure there’s something for me to come back to.” If I’m coming back.
“Beth, what’s going on? This isn’t just some family BS.”
“That’s exactly what it is,” she answered. “And that’s why it’s this bad.”
Zoe was silent for a long time. “Okay,” she said. “Thanks for the heads-up.” Zoe was not happy, but she understood you had to know the worst up front so you could figure the angles. If you waited, you’d get caught under the landslide. That was why Beth called her.
“And there’s something else.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“I need your…special computer friends to get a look at my ex’s bank accounts.”
Beth had never told Rafi exactly why she wanted Zoe on her team so badly. It was because she recognized the look in Zoe’s eyes. She was someone trying to claw out of the hole they’d been pounded into. She would not ever let appearances blind her. No pretty story would sway her when it wasn’t backed by hard numbers and plenty of verifiable cash.
But she also knew about Zoe’s connections in the “black hat” software community and maybe a few stories that Zoe herself hadn’t gotten around to telling Rafi yet. That was okay. Everybody benefited from keeping a few secrets.
Maybe. Sometimes.
“I’d do it myself, but it’s…super time critical, and I’ve got the distinct feeling he’s doing something really, really stupid.”
“That’s nothing new from what you’ve said about him.”
“Yeah, but this time, he wants me to bail him out. Me and Lumination.”
“Ah. Okay. I think I know who to ask.”
Beth gave her what details she had. “Be sure to kill your exes when you’re done with them,” she added.
“Why do you think there’s a dirt floor in my basement?”
Beth felt a smile flicker across her face. “I am sorry about all this, Zoe. So, thank you for everything, and no matter what, you are going to be a rock star.” She paused, very aware that what she was about to say amounted to good-bye. “Take care of Excelsior for me.”
“Take care of yourself, Beth.”
“Do my best.”
They said good-bye and hung up. Beth planted her elbows on her desk and leaned her forehead on her hands. She hated bringing Zoe into this, but if something was going on—beyond Doug being an idiot and some random pyramid scheme floggers sensing an opportunity—she didn’t want Zoe blindsided.
She told herself fixing up all her loose ends wasn’t betraying Rafi. This was watching out for him. Which was exactly why he’d hired her in the first place.
When Rafi left Indiana, Beth never thought she’d see him again, and for four years she was right. Beth got her degree and a pile of student debt from the community college and was trying to figure out what in the hell she was actually going to do next, because it was turning out every even semidecent job required a background check.
Star Bowen had become Elizabeth Fraser by then, and Beth Fraser had no background, at least not one she could let anybody