The Valiant Read online

  After I end the call, I open Clarice's journal and start reading. Clarice was very clearly a free spirit in all ways, including the men she slept with and wrote about in entirely too much detail for my liking.

  Most of the journal reads like an erotic novel. I'm surprised Ari wasn't glued to its pages. Maybe he has more substance than I originally thought. I haven't seen him this morning, making me wonder what he's up to.

  I come across a small entry in the diary about Ophelia. I tag the page and keep going, marking anything that I want to refer back to. By the time I'm done, my stomach is growling, and my phone is ringing.

  A look at the time tells me I've been so enthralled that I completely missed lunch.

  "Wow, two calls in the same day. To what do I owe this pleasure?" I ask Daniel, genuinely shocked to be hearing from him again.

  "There's something I didn't tell you when we talked before. Our government keeps an eye on its citizens when they are in other countries."

  "Are you saying the United States government is watching me?"

  "I can say that you are a person of interest," he says seriously but then adds, "and by that, I mean, your ass is of great interest to me. I don't want it to end up dead."

  "Why are they watching me, Daniel?"

  "I would assume it's because you are Ares Von Allister's daughter."

  "Even though I didn't believe it at first, we've proven it."

  "What do you mean?"

  "We found DNA from his home, which was used in a test. Seriously, Daniel, why would they care about me?"

  "I can tell you that they watched your father."

  "My father sold products to our government that helped protect its soldiers," I counter.

  "Do you even understand his business? Or are you just having fun spending his money?"

  I put my head in my palm and rub my eyes, trying to stick with my cover. "The latter, of course. We have stock holdings in companies from what I understand, but it's not like we have a say."

  "You do when you own the majority, Huntley. And a vote is coming up. Were you notified?"

  "Um, no." I squint my eyes, wondering why we haven't been.

  "A lot of the things your father invented were done with research dollars from the US government. With that came exclusivity agreements, meaning he could only sell those cutting-edge products to us for a set amount of time. Many of those deals are coming to the end of their term."

  "Which means it's not cutting edge anymore. What's the big deal?"

  "They trusted Ares for the most part, but the government has requested an extension on a couple of their more sensitive contracts. They are worried they won't get it. It's believed you might have been informed of the board meeting via a letter that you probably won't receive until after the vote."

  "Daniel, how do you know this? Are you working for our government?"

  "My father's the president; I'm not."

  "I mean, the CIA, Daniel," I say seriously.

  "Um," he stutters, meaning he clearly isn't trained, probably just recruited for this.

  "I see," I say disappointedly.

  Whether or not I want to admit it, the fact that Daniel might be my friend only for information bothers me. And it shouldn't when, clearly, I set out to use him to advance my mission.

  "It's complicated, Huntley," he says with a sigh.

  Even though I know exactly how he feels, I have to say, "I bet it is. Bye, Daniel."

  "Wait. Don't go. I don't work for them. I don't get paid or anything."

  "Just doing your civic duty? Getting information from me and passing it on to them?"

  "Remember, in the bathroom, when I invited you to the White House?" he asks, indicating when I told him the truth about Ophelia. "That's when it started."

  "Not before?" I ask, my heart hoping he's telling the truth.

  "Like I have time for that shit, Huntley. It's only a few days until the Olympic Trials. Do you know what a disgrace it would be for me not to make the team? I'm not as fast as I was last year. My trainer says I've gained too much bulk, and it's weighing me down in the pool, so I'm trying to lose weight and stay strong and eat. It's my focus. You of anyone should understand my commitment. And it would mean a lot to me if you came to Omaha. From a civic-duty standpoint, I need you to meet with my dad. I need you to understand what's going on in your father's company, and I need you and your brother to wield the power that your father gave you to help us."

  "Why don't you tell Mike to give me a call himself?"

  "You know the director of the CIA?"

  "Yeah, we've met a few times. He tried to recruit me in fact."

  "Well, that pisses me off. He acted like he didn't know you."

  "You should never trust a spy, Daniel," I tell him, feeling bold. "Next time you see Mike Burnes, tell him to be a man and ask me himself."

  "You're crazy," he says with a laugh.

  "I don't want you mixed up in anything dangerous."

  "Why not?"

  "Because I happen to like your body just the way it is regardless of what your trainer says. As does most of the world. As long as you make the team, just showing up at the Olympics in that little patriotic swimsuit will make all the women in America happy. We really don't care that much if you win; we just like to watch."

  I can practically hear him rolling his eyes.

  "See you soon, Huntley. Just for the record, I'm glad you're not dead."

  "I love you, too."

  "You and every other woman," he teases as he hangs up.

  I close my eyes and absorb everything Daniel said and didn't say, my eyes shooting open.

  I pick up the journal and run down to the basement.

  When I get there, I find Terrance tacking photographs up on a bulletin board, and my brother is writing locations on the whiteboard next to it.

  "What if my mother was investigating Ares?" I blurt out.

  Ari turns and points the marker in his hand in my direction. "What makes you say that?"

  "I got a call from Daniel; something he said just made it all click. And I've been reading Clarice's journal. I found some things."

  "Ellis should be bringing us a late lunch down shortly," Terrance says, taking a seat and motioning for Ari and me to do the same.

  But Ari continues to pace. I think it's how he does his best thinking.

  I set the journal on the table and open it to the first page I marked. "Okay, so we're starting with last May. I'll just read it aloud.

  "1 May

  "Today, we celebrated Montrovia's national holiday. Ophelia is becoming unbearable. She's already a bossy know-it-all, but now, she acts like she will be queen someday.

  "I told her, if I were ever called upon to serve, I'd abdicate the throne. Too much responsibility, too many people watching you with high expectations. No, thanks. But she told me that I should think deeper about all the things I have rambled about being interested in--from the protection of animals to living in peace--and how it could all be possible with the right person in charge. That made me laugh.

  "The only way I'd ever become queen is if Enzo and my sister died early deaths before having heirs. If my sister were queen, she wouldn't die just to spite me. And Montrovia would not be the wonderful place it is today, equal and just. Ophelia would rule with an iron fist. When we were young, our father used to jokingly call her the little fascist because it was her way or the highway.

  "And although she pretends to hate this place because of our father, she loves being royal. I don't care as much about that, but I love that I have money and freedom and a place in society.

  "Her suggestion did give me pause though. Maybe I should be more proactive. I talk about change all the time, but that is all it is--talk. Maybe, someday, once I know more about the world, I'll do something to bring about change."

  "And what did you consider a clue in that?" Terrance inquires.

  "Not really a clue. Just let me keep going.

  "28 January

  "My fath
er passed away exactly two months ago. I haven't written anything about it until now because I haven't felt strong enough to put it onto paper. For some reason, I felt that if I wrote it in my journal it would make it true, and I'm still holding out hope that he'll walk in the door and ask me how his little princess is doing.

  "I love my mother, but I also resent her a little. She took us away from our father when we were young. The minute I turned eighteen and was old enough to call the shots in my own life, I told my mother I was moving to Montrovia. Everyone thinks it was my sister's idea, but it was not. While I've always blamed my mother, Ophelia believes our father didn't want us around--which I know in my heart isn't true. She decided to come with me to protect me from the evil Montrovian royal family, who she said would eat me alive. But I have found just the opposite. I love my family and this country, and they have made me feel nothing but welcome, like I finally have a home.

  "I'm told my father killed himself, but I don't believe it and, if I didn't know better, I'd think my own sister was behind it. She's been going on about how, when Uncle Gio passes, Lorenzo will not be fit to rule. That she could do better. And she's just unscrupulous enough to make it happen.

  "Just the other day, I saw her kick our father's dog. The dog he'd loved and allowed to sleep on his bed, something you are not supposed to allow a prized hunting dog to do. Needless to say, the dog has been staying in my room and under my watchful eye ever since.

  "And I'm very worried because, even though it hasn't been announced to the press yet, Uncle Gio came back from the hunting trip he and my father were on as a very sick man. And they don't know if he will survive.

  "It just all seems a little fishy to me. My father always told me that I had to be careful because I was a princess, especially concerning men. That I shouldn't allow a man to use me for my power. Not that I really have any. Mostly, I get to attend charity events and balls and raise money for the queen's causes. And I'm proud of myself. Just before my father passed, he helped me set up my own charitable foundation so that I could start raising money for the kind of causes I found worthy. Like helping to make sure everyone in the world has water and food.

  "Really, I probably wouldn't be writing any of this even now, but today, Ophelia showed me a dollar bill that she intends to give Enzo for his birthday in March--a supposed gag gift. Apparently, she sweet-talked one of the palace guards, specifically the one in charge of the royal vault, to let her borrow the ruler's crown to wear for a photo. The bill features her on it--as queen.

  "When I told her that Lorenzo might not find it funny and that his father might not like the fact that it looks like it might have actually been printed by the Royal Minter, she pointed out the name of the country on her bill was not our great country but rather Arcadia. I let it go, knowing it was no use to argue with her. If she gave that bill to me, it would feel more like a threat than a gag gift.

  "But then, when I was lying in my bed tonight, I thought about the name Arcadia. For some reason, it seemed familiar, but I couldn't recall why. So, I looked it up. I found that, in Greek mythology, Arcadia was the home of the god Pan, which was rustic, an untouched wilderness, and it was said that he lived in perfect harmony with nature. It was considered to be an unspoiled and harmonious world, especially one uncorrupted by civilization--a utopia.

  "That sounds nothing like my sister. She loves the spoils of wealth too much to live like that. Arcadia sounds more like a world of my liking where everyone is happy and free.

  "But, when I clicked back to the search engine page, I noticed something by accident. That the name Ophelia was first used by a fifteenth-century poet named Jacopo Sannazaro for a character in his poem 'Arcadia.'

  "Is that why she chose Arcadia as the name of her pretend country? If she ever did come to power, would she change our country's name?

  "I should not be thinking about or even writing such things in my journal after having one too many glasses of champagne--okay, maybe three or four too many. LOL.

  "Good night, fair journal."

  "Wow," Ari says.

  "Hold that thought, too. Let me keep going. One thing to note is that, from the time her father died to her next entry, she was truly in mourning. She didn't date many people, and it's a noticeable contrast to the great detail about her sexual encounters that she wrote previously.

  "27 March

  "Last night was Lorenzo's twenty-third birthday party. It was a grand affair held at the castle but later moved to the casino where it became much more raucous and fun as we drank and gambled.

  "My sister has been dating Viktor Nikolaevich for a few months. They got into some kind of tiff around three in the morning, probably because she was being her dull, bossy self, but the delicious part is that, after she left, Viktor indicated that he desired me.

  "It was a night I will never forget, filled with the kind of passion I had yet to experience. And it sounds crazy, but I am in love with him.

  "I know what you're thinking, dear journal, because I would also have doubts, but it wasn't the sexual passion that made me fall for him; it was his introducing me to something called the Terra Project.

  "As our conversation went on this morning, he told me to imagine a world where everyone is truly equal and valued. A world with no war or terror. He said he knew it was strange that he, the son of a man who builds warships, would strive for the world to be as such. He confessed that his father would be ashamed of him, and there was such vulnerability in his eyes when he spoke that my heart and soul immediately became his. He told me how he had heard about the initiative through a class he took at university, and since then, he had even visited their facility in Florida. He was enthralled with the idea of a peaceful society and has been donating money to the cause without his father's knowledge.

  "Do I feel guilty about this? Yes, and no. She is my sister, and I was actually quite proud of the fact that she chose not to give Lorenzo the gag gift after all. But she's been acting smugger than usual lately, and she even fired our father's longtime housekeeper this week because she thought she was too nosy. That brings me to the no part. In reality, I don't feel guilty because I know she and Viktor would never last. They are too different for it to work. But we are another story. Together, we will help bring about change in the world. I called him Terra Man and told him that he made me feel, for the first time ever, like my life was on level land.

  "After that entry, most of her entries are about Viktor, but she never mentions his full name again, only calling him TM, short for Terra Man. They had many secret rendezvous and were clearly in love. Well, until he broke her heart.

  "5 May

  "The day I will always remember. TM broke things off with me.

  "Said he's going to propose.

  "Not to me, but to my sister.

  "At the Queen's Garden Party.

  "I yelled, screamed, cried, and begged. None of it makes any sense. But, when I suggested that he had just been using me this whole time, he started crying. He sweetly kissed me and told me that, no matter what, I must never doubt the love we had.

  "Which isn't much of a consolation.

  "So, we first met Clarice on May 25th. At that point, she had been dating Armend for a few weeks. I thought it was odd that she was taking his shit, but I realize now that she probably latched on to the first boy who had shown her interest even if he was a bit of a jerk. She needed to make Viktor so jealous that he wouldn't propose. When I think back to the scene at the Queen's Garden Party, I was worried about protecting the prince at the time, but now, the things I was hearing take on a different light."

  "It's no wonder Viktor looked so nervous," Ari states, following my train of thought. "Clarice was gabbing about the Terra Project in front of him to anyone who would listen. It must have been her way of threatening him, don't you think? He was probably afraid she was going to tell her sister as soon as he proposed, if not before."

  "So, why did he propose if he didn't love her?" Terrance asks.

  "I
think we need to ask him that," I reply. "I also want to know what the housekeeper she fired knew."

  "And what does this all have to do with your mother investigating Ares?"

  "Just that I've missed so many clues before. Hints that he was under government surveillance."

  "But that makes no sense. Your mother worked for the CIA. If she was investigating Ares, it would have been her mission."

  "You're right. And I think maybe that's why she took a few weeks off. She needed to investigate him herself first. Remember, the CIA didn't know she was really Kelley Bond or that she and Ares were close enough for him to father her children.

  "What if the reason she never introduced me to my father is because he wasn't a good man? And what if former president John F. Hillford Senior had her killed because she had seen or discovered something she wasn't supposed to? What if she hadn't told the CIA because she was afraid the conspiracy went all the way to the top of our government?"

  "Let me get this straight," Terrance says. "Are you saying, you think your mother was investigating Ares?"

  "The picture she had on the disk is of his TerraSphere. He had to be mixed up in it somehow. If you recall, the dean of Blackwood, who was her handler, told me that she'd called him the night we got back home, right before she was murdered. She had set up a meeting with him because she had discovered something--something that 'could end the world as we know it.'"

  "Okay, so that makes sense for back then," Terrance counters, trying to blow holes in the theory to see if it will float. "But both the former president and Ares Von Allister are now dead."

  "Maybe they weren't working alone," I suggest. "Maybe someone is going to finish what Ares started."

  "Or maybe he faked his death," Ari throws in.

  That thought knocks the wind out of me. I literally lean back in my chair like I got punched in the gut. I have never considered that possibility.

  "Why do you look so white?"

  "I just--what if you're right, Ari? That would mean--what would it mean?" I'm dumbfounded.

  "It would mean that you're fighting against your own father." Terrance laughs. "Like Luke, I am your father."

  Ari paces over and picks up the bill with Ophelia on it. "Maybe Arcadia isn't just what Ophelia wanted to rename Montrovia. Maybe it's the name of what's left after the world as we know it ends."