windows. “I got involved with the wrong people, Kate.”
“You got involved with the wrong people. That’s your excuse?”
“You have to believe me when I say that it wasn’t supposed to happen this way.”
“Forget the excuses, just tell me the truth, Chad.”
“The truth is that I’m the one they want. They took Sophie to get to me.”
“Who are they?” Marcus might have told her that they were middlemen working for the highest bidder, but she wanted to hear the truth from Chad.
“I think they work for my boss, and they believe I’ve been stealing diamonds from the company I work for.”
“And have you?”
Chad’s gaze shifted to the floor.
“Chad? Have you been stealing diamonds?”
“Yes.”
Kate let out a sharp breath. “How many?”
“Five million dollars’ worth over the past two years.”
“Five million dollars?” Kate glanced behind them. A group of Japanese tourists had entered the cathedral, but none of them seemed to be paying any attention to them. Tourists continued snapping photos. Studying the intricate panels of stained glass. Staring up at the vaulted ceiling. No one knew or even cared what they were talking about. “You can’t be serious. How did you steal them?”
“I smuggled them inside the music boxes I sent to Sophie for her birthday and Christmas. I planned to return and get them eventually, but I wasn’t in a hurry to sell them. It seemed smarter to lay low. Seemed like a perfect hiding place where no one would ever find them, including Rachel.”
A perfect hiding place? Instead, he’d foolishly risked both Rachel’s and his daughter’s lives with his greed.
“And no one noticed they were missing until now?”
“Half of what my company receives is under the table. No paperwork means no paper trail. I’ve managed to cultivate relationships with some suppliers who are happy to let me get rid of their dirty diamonds. We, on the other hand, pay a fraction of the price.”
“Which means more profit for your company, until you decided to keep a portion for yourself.”
Which was exactly what Marcus had mentioned to her at the café. Kate tried to sort through the information she had so far. She’d spent time in Africa and had learned enough about blood diamonds to know that the illegally traded stones funded weapons and wars primarily in central and western Africa. Thousands—including children—were used in forced labor to mine the diamonds. And while efforts had been made to stop the trade and ensure that the gems weren’t funding the violence of war, clearly there were those who had found a way around it.
And she wanted some answers.
“How did you do it?”
“The diamonds are laundered into the global supply by export houses like ours, then cut and sold on the regular market.” There was little expression in Chad’s voice. “I skimmed a percentage of those off the top.”
Kate stared at the blues and purples of one of the stained glass windows. Rachel had shown her the cylinder music boxes Chad had collected for Sophie, with their melodic sound and Swiss precision. She’d taken one of them to a dealer and discovered they were crafted with burr elm veneers and hand-cut designs. And that they were worth at least two thousand dollars each. Knowing what else had been inside the music boxes, Kate realized the value of those boxes had just skyrocketed.
But when Rachel’s relationship with Chad soured after he moved permanently to Paris, she’d packed up the boxes and returned them. Kate had assumed she’d sent them back to Chad. And when Kate had asked why, her sister had told her she wanted a husband who was there for her and Sophie, not one who only knew how to buy his daughter’s love.
“But you have the music boxes, Chad.”
His eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
Kate shivered, wishing for the warmth of outside. “Rachel returned the music boxes to you. All of them. Or at least I thought she did. She told me she didn’t want
“You got involved with the wrong people. That’s your excuse?”
“You have to believe me when I say that it wasn’t supposed to happen this way.”
“Forget the excuses, just tell me the truth, Chad.”
“The truth is that I’m the one they want. They took Sophie to get to me.”
“Who are they?” Marcus might have told her that they were middlemen working for the highest bidder, but she wanted to hear the truth from Chad.
“I think they work for my boss, and they believe I’ve been stealing diamonds from the company I work for.”
“And have you?”
Chad’s gaze shifted to the floor.
“Chad? Have you been stealing diamonds?”
“Yes.”
Kate let out a sharp breath. “How many?”
“Five million dollars’ worth over the past two years.”
“Five million dollars?” Kate glanced behind them. A group of Japanese tourists had entered the cathedral, but none of them seemed to be paying any attention to them. Tourists continued snapping photos. Studying the intricate panels of stained glass. Staring up at the vaulted ceiling. No one knew or even cared what they were talking about. “You can’t be serious. How did you steal them?”
“I smuggled them inside the music boxes I sent to Sophie for her birthday and Christmas. I planned to return and get them eventually, but I wasn’t in a hurry to sell them. It seemed smarter to lay low. Seemed like a perfect hiding place where no one would ever find them, including Rachel.”
A perfect hiding place? Instead, he’d foolishly risked both Rachel’s and his daughter’s lives with his greed.
“And no one noticed they were missing until now?”
“Half of what my company receives is under the table. No paperwork means no paper trail. I’ve managed to cultivate relationships with some suppliers who are happy to let me get rid of their dirty diamonds. We, on the other hand, pay a fraction of the price.”
“Which means more profit for your company, until you decided to keep a portion for yourself.”
Which was exactly what Marcus had mentioned to her at the café. Kate tried to sort through the information she had so far. She’d spent time in Africa and had learned enough about blood diamonds to know that the illegally traded stones funded weapons and wars primarily in central and western Africa. Thousands—including children—were used in forced labor to mine the diamonds. And while efforts had been made to stop the trade and ensure that the gems weren’t funding the violence of war, clearly there were those who had found a way around it.
And she wanted some answers.
“How did you do it?”
“The diamonds are laundered into the global supply by export houses like ours, then cut and sold on the regular market.” There was little expression in Chad’s voice. “I skimmed a percentage of those off the top.”
Kate stared at the blues and purples of one of the stained glass windows. Rachel had shown her the cylinder music boxes Chad had collected for Sophie, with their melodic sound and Swiss precision. She’d taken one of them to a dealer and discovered they were crafted with burr elm veneers and hand-cut designs. And that they were worth at least two thousand dollars each. Knowing what else had been inside the music boxes, Kate realized the value of those boxes had just skyrocketed.
But when Rachel’s relationship with Chad soured after he moved permanently to Paris, she’d packed up the boxes and returned them. Kate had assumed she’d sent them back to Chad. And when Kate had asked why, her sister had told her she wanted a husband who was there for her and Sophie, not one who only knew how to buy his daughter’s love.
“But you have the music boxes, Chad.”
His eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
Kate shivered, wishing for the warmth of outside. “Rachel returned the music boxes to you. All of them. Or at least I thought she did. She told me she didn’t want
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