Page 56 (1/2)

"Yes?"

"I have a strong reason to believe that Brian Sherwood is working with Alexander Sturm"

"Fuck"

"Yep"

"Why?"

"He wasn’t satisfied with the way his fahter is an empath, which is useless as far as he’s concerned Kyle has no ic, and it threatens Brian His parents raised Brian as their golden child, whose only value was in his talent, which would ensure he would inherit BioCore and beco His entire self-worth is tied up in being Brian Sherwood, the brilliant herbaos Prime and Head of House Sherwood Brian knew since birth that he is special and he has grown accusto it He hates the idea that soht question his ability to sire Pri as Olivia Charles was alive, he didn’t dare to make any waves in that placid pond And since his wife became a social pariah, now he views her as a liability"

He thought about it "Olivia is dead Why not just divorce Rynda?"

"Because Edward told him that Brian has certain responsibilities as a husband and father and if he shirked those responsibilities, Edould retire, leaving BioCore in Brian’s hands Brian can’t run that company He has no idea how to do it If Edward retires, all of Brian’s prestige evaporates He knows he will run BioCore into the ground He would no longer be treated with deference Nobody would think he was ian’s eyes darkened, his expression harsh "But if sos line up rather nicely"

"Yes He wouldn’t hire a hit man It’s too risky and he doesn’t even knohere to look for one He’s probably terrified that if he tried to find someone, they would turn out to be an undercover cop and he’d end up in prison This way everything is taken care of: his new violent friends get what they hile he cools his heels in soe, Rynda is tragically killed"

Rogan nodded "If not at the exchange, then shortly after Perhaps the children die with her"

"Yes He’s then free to pursue his new life, and nobody is the wiser"

"It’s plausible How solid is this?"

"We know that the kidnapping occurred in view of one of only three ca said

"We can put Brian and Stur," Bern said "We also know that so Brian’s credentials, while Brian and Rynda were out"

"We have Edward Sherwood, who told me about the conversation he had with his brother He didn’t lie And, the ear they sent us doesn’t belong to Brian," I finished

"Have you told Rynda?" Rogan asked

"Not yet But I will She’s my client, and her life and the lives of her children er"

"If she’s so e?" Grandma Frida asked

"I listened to the initial interview," I said "She never said, ‘Brian loves me’ She said Brian takes care of her and the kids She talked about how much the kids miss him I think she sensed the resente happened in the first place Rynda didn’t need his money, and as much as she craved stability, I find it hard to believe she saw soan said

"How did you figure it out?"

"I asked my mother Rynda is an NPTN WC variant"

"What does thatneuroplastin, a protein Soence," Rogan explained "Noric is passed on from parents to children, and it’s hereditary in power and type, which is e have Houses"

That es, their children likely would be water es as well There was some variation, but the talents didn’t vary widely Tater ht have a child who is psychrokinetic, able to control ice, orBut they wouldn’t make a truthseeker, for exaan said "WC stands for wild card Their children ic, and those who have power are unpredictable If Rynda’s children have ht be es, or harmonizers There is no way to predict the exact nature of it My father illing to roll the dice with Rynda, because he was confident in our genetic line He figured that at least one oftelekinetic, and if anyone could produce a telekinetic telepath, it would be Rynda"