Spying Under the Mistletoe (Love Undercover #2) - Stina Lindenblatt Page 0,105

to return. I’m sorry for the role I played in that deception. I never wanted you to get hurt.

You’re probably wondering why they were killed. There was no one reason. With your father, our grandfather erroneously believed that he would eventually want to be involved in the family’s criminal activities. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Your father had no idea about the true nature of Granddad’s business when he married your mom, and she did everything she could to keep him from finding out the truth. He didn’t say anything to your mom about Granddad’s proposition, but he confronted Granddad and made the mistake of threatening to expose him. Your father greatly underestimated the old man.

I’m guessing your mom never told you, but your father supposedly left a letter for her, telling her that he was concerned for his safety and was disappearing before anything could happen to him. The letter was forged by one of Granddad’s associates. Our grandfather lied to her and told her that as long as your father didn’t say anything about the true nature of the family’s business dealings, your father was quite safe. He also ensured that your father paid child support, even after he was long dead. Your mother never suspected the truth.

As for your stepfather, Granddad learned his lesson and didn’t try to recruit him into the family business. I don’t know all the details, but your stepfather stumbled across something that would have incriminated dear old Granddad and could have brought down the house of cards. Like with your father, Granddad managed to hide his tracks so no one grew suspicious about your stepfather’s sudden disappearance.

Chloe sniffs but keeps reading, tears streaming down her face. I want to take the journal away from her, to stop her pain, but I also know she needs closure. She needs to know why the three men were murdered.

If Mark Greenwood hadn’t had aspirations of becoming a prosecutor, he might still be alive. I don’t know if he ever told you that, or if he continued to let you believe he was studying to become a corporate lawyer. He stumbled across something linked to you and your estranged family and started to investigate a suspicion he had. He got too close to the truth, and Granddad had him removed from the picture. And like with everyone else, the old man planted enough evidence to make it look like Mark had quit law school due to not being able to handle the stress, and that he moved away to start a new life. Since he had grown up in the foster care system, it was a lot easier to make him disappear.

The FBI probably doesn’t have enough information to figure out who was responsible for the deaths of all three men. I do. I have the evidence for that, maps to show where their bodies were buried, and evidence for so many other crimes that our grandfather was responsible for. Evidence that will ensure the Orlov crime family is forever destroyed. The family has resulted in so much loss over the years, including the death of my parents, Dimetric, and Nadia. It’s time for it all to end so that you can truly start anew.

Just remember this: X marks the spot.

I am so proud of you, Chloe. No matter where I wind up after my time on earth ends, I want you to always remember that.

Nikolai

Chloe wipes the heel of her hand against her wet cheek. I wrap my arm around her waist, providing her with my good shoulder to lean on for now. And later, once we’re home, to cry on.

And I’m positive Whiskey will be delighted to lick away her tears.

“X marks the spot.” With tears still running down her cheeks, she turns around, scanning our surroundings. “Aye, aye, Captain.” Her tone is that of a pirate—a pirate muttering to herself.

As if in a trance, she pulls away from me and walks away from the cabin. Adam, Agent Ramsey, and I exchange looks and follow after her.

We end up at a large tree with an X carved in the bark. The letter isn’t even an inch tall—easily missed if you don’t know what you’re looking for. At the bottom of the tree is a hollow opening.

“The night Nikolai and I talked about wishing on a shooting star, I’d asked him if he could wish for anything, what would it be. He said to be a pirate. The next day, we searched for the