CHAPTER 38: GRAYSON

Grayson dreams of being trapped in a labyrinth surrounded by suspended glass shards, each reflecting significant figures and objects from his life: the black opal ring, Avery, Emily, Eve, Gigi, and Savannah. He wakes late, checks for updates, and finds none from Xander about Tobias’s List or from Gigi about the files.

Grayson resists contacting Gigi because his current plan depends on timing. Since Grayson changed the passwords on the protected files, Grayson believes Gigi will be stalled long enough for him to obtain a decoy key, better understand the FBI situation, and maneuver Gigi into handing over the files. Grayson also reasons that if Eve has shifted her spy from the Grayson family to him, his presence in Phoenix is serving a purpose.

The next morning, while Grayson is swimming at the hotel, Zabrowski reports that he has arrived. Grayson meets Zabrowski in an alley, where Zabrowski gives him two duplicate metal keys made to match Gigi’s key. Zabrowski then reports that he has not obtained the paperwork for the twins’ trusts, but he has learned that the investigation into Sheffield Grayson includes tax evasion, hidden offshore income, and possible embezzlement.

Zabrowski explains that Sheffield owned only thirty percent of his company, while his late mother-in-law owned the rest. Grayson connects this to Gigi’s earlier comment that Sheffield sold the company after the girls’ grandmother died, concluding that Sheffield may have sold it quickly to keep a trustee from examining inherited trust interests. Zabrowski also says the authorities have not found Sheffield, which reassures Grayson because keeping Sheffield unlocated protects Avery.

Zabrowski then gives Grayson a file on Mattias Slater, known as Slate, the man Grayson identified as Eve’s spy. Mattias has a clean record, but his father had a long criminal history, expensive lawyers, and one final felony conviction that stuck. Grayson suspects a possible link between Mattias’s father and Vincent Blake, then tells Zabrowski to prioritize the trust documents while continuing to investigate Mattias.

Back at the hotel, Grayson finds Gigi standing on a chair and trying to persuade security to identify him. After Grayson intervenes, Gigi reveals that the password-protected files were useless, but Savannah found a fake ID hidden behind an electrical panel in the gym. Because the fake ID gives them the name used to open the bank box and Gigi still has the key, Grayson realizes he must switch Gigi’s key with the duplicate before she reaches the bank.