“Call him,” Drake said.
“Would he even answer?” I asked. “Knowing that he probably already knows we’re after him.”
“He’ll answer alright when he hears this,” Drake said. “The reason why I text you guys to meet me at the door to head out is because I figured out the password to the flash drive.”
“You did?” I asked.
“Yup, it was right in front of me, too,” I said.
“What is the one place you want to go when you have a heartbreak?” Drake asked.
Dillon and I looked at each other through the reflection of the rear view mirror.
“To a safe Haven,” I said.
“And there it is,” Drake said, typing it into the laptop in front of him. “That’s it, and it’s working.”
“Hey Max,” Dillon said into his phone. “You better pick up when you hear this. We cracked the code of the flash. Call me back.”
“Woweee!” Drake said. “I don’t believe my eyes.”
“Why ‘Haven’ is the password?” Dillon asked. “What’s the connection?”
“It was her destiny to come to Heartbreak Falls,” Drake said.
“How do you know?” Dillon asked.
“It says right here in one of the articles…a document that Haven Hillshire, born to Heath Hillshire, the only offspring to the Hillshire fortune, is the heir to the Hillshire fortune upon the death of Heath Hillshire.”
“Our Haven is an heiress of her own?” Dillon exclaimed. “Not only is she the most desirable woman on her own, but now she’s an heiress?”
“Wealthier than the Bradshaws and us Tritons,” Drake read. “The Hillshire fortune includes noble lands across Europe, invaluable art, hotels, restaurants, casinos, movie studios, tech companies, biotech companies…almost a finger in every industry, including politics.”
“My God,” I said, not believing my ears. “No wonder why the kidnappers want her… so they can control whatever company the Hillshires own. Even politics.”
“This flash drive,” Drake said. “It’s like an inheritance database for her. It’s got all the deeds, statements, legal documents, ownership documents of every company, real estate, intellectual properties, banks, wills of wills, etc. that will belong to Haven."
“What do you mean, ‘will belong’?” Dillon asked. “Isn’t she the heiress already? Her father is gone so doesn’t it belong to her?”
“Her grandparents, well…one of them on the Hillshire side is still alive,” Drake said. “Fuck… no wonder why I fell in love with her immediately. She has such a sense for history, especially family history. The Hillshires go way back, much longer in family history than the Tritons. They went all the way back to the days of Roman England when England were just tribes and villages. The Hillshires may have been from Roman stock, too. Haven…I could see her as a Roman princess.”
“You could see her as anything sexy and beautiful,” Dillon said. “I can too.”
“Okay so she won’t inherit any of it because one of her grandparent Hillshire is still alive,” I said.
“No,” Drake said. “She can inherit even with her Hillshire grandparent still alive. Get this…like Diamond Triton and even Aunt Emma, she will get an inheritance when she turns 19.”
“What’s with it about turning 19?” Dillon asked.
“Back in the old days, which most of these inheritance wills were set, 19 years old was the typical age when high society ladies got married or when they were about to debut into society as an eligible bride. Having an inheritance and a huge dowry only made them more of a catch to wealthy and powerful suitors.”
“But that’s old-fashioned,” Dillon said. “Things aren’t like that with women these days, right?”
“Not in our circle,” Drake said. “The filthy rich are still setting their children up with arranged marriages that are just another business partnership.”
“Haven’s grandparents probably set this up for her, but haven’t been able to be in touch with her since birth because Dr. Hillshire wanted nothing to do with her deceased husband’s family, being the strong-willed independent and free-spirited American woman that she is,” Drake said.
“I don’t get it,” Dillon said. “Why was Haven’s inheritance information so dangerous for Haven to know…for anyone to know?”
“That’s not the only information on here,” Drake said. “The politics side of the Hillshires’ influence is on here too. Who was promised what, who has agents working for them in international operations. Which politicians got paid. Also a network of who’s connected to who? There will be a lot of people who wouldn’t want that information out in public. It would ruin them.”
“So,” Dillon said, “Megan got hold of this flash drive. It was hidden in her purse. She was about to expose whoever was in this flash drive and wanted it kept confidential, when she was killed.”
“For this flash drive,” Drake said taking from his laptop and then putting it back into his pocket. “I’ve just made hundreds of copies of it, guys, which may go public, if anything happens to us because of it. Haven included.”
“Now, how do we get around not having Haven with us when we drop off the deed of our condo to them?” I asked. “Any suggestions?”
“First of all,” Drake said. “We’re not dropping off any deed whatsoever. It’s not what the kidnappers truly want. And we know it. The deed is just what Dad and the useless Detective Holmes want to believe. The kidnappers want Haven. We all know what for. And she’s more valuable to them alive than dead.”
“Get Haven to come with us then?” I asked.
“If she’s willing to do it,” Drake said.
“No way! It’s too dangerous. I won’t risk Haven’s safety for anything, even if it’s just to catch the kidnappers,” Dillon said.
“Not just to catch the kidnappers,” I said. “It’s to avenge our mother’s death.”
“So…” Dillon said. “We need to get Haven back from Max.” Dillon’s phone went off, and he said, “speak of the devil…it’s Max.”
“Put him on speaker,” I said.
“Hey Max,” Dillon said on speaker. “What’s up?”
“You cracked the code?” Max asked.
“Yeah,” Drake said.
“Wow, you’ve got some serious hacking skills,” Max said. “Maybe you can help crack open my SAT results, and…”
“Seriously dude!” I said. “Stop wasting our time. Where’s Haven?”
“If you must know,” Max said.
