Becoming Us(6)

He nods, then disappears into the hallway, with Walt right behind him.

I turn back to Garret. “So I guess that was my uncle.”





2


GARRET

William Sinclair is the absolute last person I expected to find in that room with Jade. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but definitely not him.

“I can’t believe that just happened,” Jade says. “I’m not dreaming this, right?”

“No, it really happened. You just met your uncle. He’s lucky I didn’t beat his face in for luring you here like that. I searched every damn room in this building before I finally found you.”

“How did you know to come find me?”

“I was talking to Sara and she said she’d noticed Walt only showed up at the coffee shop when you were there, like he’d been keeping track of your schedule or following you. I got worried and went to find you.”

“But if you hadn’t found me, you don’t think William would’ve done something to me, right?” Jade has this sad look on her face and I know it’s because she’s so desperate for William to be good, and not bad like Royce. She wants to know more of her family and she was counting on William to be someone she could trust. She was hoping he’d accept her and eventually love her the way Grace does.

“Jade, I don’t know William well enough to say what he’s capable of. I’ve only talked to him a few times before today. But he’s a member and that means—”

“I know,” she says quietly, her eyes on the floor.

I want to tell Jade he’s a good man, but I can’t. I have no idea what he’s like. My dad’s known him for years but they’re not close friends.

“Did William tell you anything else about Walt? I mean, before I got here, did he tell you anything?”

“He just said Walt’s been working with him for the past 12 years. Why?”

“I think Walt’s connected to the organization. If he works that closely with William, he’d have to be.”

“I was thinking that, too.”

Jade goes out in the hallway to check that they’re gone, then comes back in the room. “Did it seem strange to you the way William just left like that? It’s like he was in a hurry to get out of here.”

“He just needs time to process what we told him.”

I don’t want to tell Jade this because she’d feel bad if she knew William thought she was a liar. But honestly, I don’t think William believed her story about Royce, even after I showed up and confirmed it was true. He acted like he believed her, but I could see the doubt in his face. In his mind, he had Jade pegged as a criminal and now we told him his brother is the criminal. It’s a lot to take in. It may take some time before he believes it.

When William said he had to make some phone calls, I’m guessing that means he’s calling people to verify our story. It’s what rich people do whenever someone claims to be a relative. This happens to my dad all the time. People claim to be his long-lost cousin or uncle or aunt. When you have a lot of money, you have to be careful.

But the only people William can call to check our story are Grace and my dad. They’re the only ones who know the truth.

I get my phone out.

“Who are you calling?” Jade asks.

“My dad.” I swipe through the phone and call his number.

“Why?”

“Because your uncle’s going to call him in a few minutes.”

“Why would he—”

“Hey, Dad.” I walk over and shut the door.

“Garret, I’m busy. You need to make this quick.”

“I think you’ll want to make time for this.”

“What is it?”

“You’re never gonna believe this, but William Sinclair just showed up at our school.”

“He knows about Jade?”

“He does now. He’s had his security guy following her. He thought Jade was trying to pull some kind of scam to get money from his family.”

“Did William speak with her?”

“Yeah, we both did. He took Jade to a room in one of the buildings here on campus and accused her of trying to con his family. I don’t know the whole story. I got here late. But anyway, Jade told him who she was but I’m not sure he believes her.”

“You’re not?” I hear Jade behind me. I turn around and see the disappointment in her face.

“He believes you, Jade. He just needs to check out your story.”

“Why would he think I lied?”

“He doesn’t. It’s hard to explain.”

I don’t know how to say this without hurting her feelings. This has nothing to do with her. It’s just about the rich not being able to trust people.