Settling into a quiet corner table, Violet ordered two glasses of sparkling water with lime and an olive pâté appetizer to share. She then turned to her sister.
“Something is obviously bothering you,” Violet commented.
Scarlett gathered a large breath and began. “I told you how Tiberius had left me his files.”
“Yes. Have you had a chance to dig into any of them?” Violet’s eyes were bright with interest. “What kind of dirt did he have on people?”
“I haven’t had time to look at more than a couple.” This was the part that was tough. “There were files on our father and you, Harper and me.”
Violet didn’t look surprised. “I can only imagine what he dug up about Ross.” Unlike Scarlett, Violet had known from an early age that she was Ross Fontaine’s illegitimate daughter. She’d never had any contact with him, but was pretty sure he knew he was her father. That he’d refused to acknowledge her had been hard on Violet.
“Quite a lot. But none of it was that damning. I mean, we all know he was a philandering jerk, but mostly Tiberius was interested in keeping an eye on his running of Fontaine Hotels and Resorts.”
“So the reason you’re upset has nothing to do with Ross?”
“Not directly.”
“Spill it.”
“The files were stolen last night.”
“That’s what the thief was after?”
“I don’t know for sure. He took other files as well. Ones that had nothing to do with us. Tiberius was keeping an eye on his brother-in-law. Almost half the box was filled with stuff on Stone Properties. Financials. Their employees. I just glanced at it.”
Violet nodded. “Tiberius hated Preston for the way he treated his sister. Blamed him for her death.”
Scarlett’s pulse jerked. “Why is that?”
“Preston’s priority was the company he took over after his father-in-law died. He wasn’t much of a father or a husband. Unfortunately, Fiona Stone adored her husband and couldn’t handle his neglect. She turned to drugs and alcohol to cope and died of an overdose when JT was about twelve.”
JT Stone ran the family’s operations in Las Vegas. A handsome, enigmatic businessman, he didn’t socialize with the Fontaine sisters, but Violet had gotten to know him a little because he was Tiberius’s nephew.
“How awful to lose his mom so young,” Scarlett said, thinking of all the substance abuse she’d seen ruin lives during her years in Hollywood. “Anyway, in addition to those files, the guy grabbed the files Tiberius had on all of us.” Scarlett noticed Violet wasn’t at all surprised. “You knew?”
“I suspected.” She grinned. “Anything interesting?”
Scarlett felt a little of her dread ease. “There was a great deal on my time in L.A. Nothing too shocking there. I kept the paparazzi busy for several years during my dark period. Your file was the thinnest of the bunch.”
Violet sighed. “I’m deadly dull.”
“You should do something to fix that,” Scarlett teased before growing serious once more. “But getting back to the problem. Last night the thief stole all our files. Including one I pulled on Harper’s mother.” She paused, still unsure how much to share what she knew with Violet.
“If there’s nothing much in the files, why would he risk getting caught stealing them?”
“He might have been fishing. I don’t know if he went there looking for other files and just grabbed up whatever he could get or if he came specifically to take our family’s files.”
“But you said there was nothing of interest in them.”
Again Scarlett hesitated. She knew she could trust Violet, but didn’t want to anger Harper by spilling her secret. If it even was a secret. Maybe Harper knew. Maybe Grandfather knew. Maybe Scarlett and Violet were the only two in the dark.
But she didn’t think that scenario was likely. Family meant too much to Henry Fontaine. It’s why he’d given his illegitimate granddaughters the same shot at running Fontaine Hotels and Resorts as he’d given his legitimate one. Scarlett wasn’t sure how he’d react if he found out Harper wasn’t his granddaughter.
“Scarlett,” Violet prompted, her tone tinged with alarm. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“It’s not about you. It’s about Harper.”
Violet laughed. “Harper? If anyone doesn’t have skeletons in their closet it’s her.”
“It actually has to do with her mother. And what I discovered in the files has the potential of turning Harper’s world upside down.”