My dad's explanation resonated deeply with me. This was the closest I'd ever felt to the bastard since I moved in with him after Mamma's death. Foolishly, perhaps, I decided to reveal a little more of my hand to get him to show a little more of his hand.

"What were you doing in the townhouse yesterday? I thought you hated it there because the whole place reeks of Madeline's presence. "

His gray eyes widened in surprise. Then, they sharpened. "How could you know that I was there unless you were there as well?"

I shrugged. "Just answer the question, Dad."

He glared at me in silence for a long moment. I glowered back.

Finally, he relented, "After I caught you snooping around my study the other night, I didn't want to risk leaving anything important lying around at home while I was in DC. I moved a few items to the townhouse for safekeeping since I didn't think you'd ever go there. I see this plan of mine has backfired as well."

The switch in my mind flipped on. Thoughts began to whirl.

Had my dad just admitted to moving other key pieces of evidence, other than Mr. Mazur's lockbox, to the townhouse?

My dad grunted. "Did you find anything of interest, Cate?"

I kept my response purposely vague. "How would I know? Like you said, I never go over to the townhouse. I despise Madeline even more than you do."

My dad didn't look convinced. "If you found something there, give it back. I'll need it for the trial against Harvey."

I paused.

Should Zac and I return the lockbox back inside the filing cabinet before my dad realized it was gone?

Or should we continue holding onto it for safekeeping?

I glanced over to Zac. He cast me a knowing look. We'd definitely need to make a decision about this later.

I hoped my dad would believe me when I lied, "Honestly, I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't been to the townhouse recently."

"If you say so," my dad grunted. Skepticism seeped from his every pore.

Just then, Zac's knee began to bounce in place. His expression tightened with stress. I wondered what could be bothering him.

Was he freaking out about my dad and the lockbox?

In the next moment, he leaned towards my dad and asked, "If I may ask, sir, why are you moving Cate and her siblings to DC next semester? I know you don't approve of my relationship with your daughter, but this is her junior year. Uprooting her from Ashton Wellesley in the middle of the school year will destroy everything she has worked for to get into Stanford. Please reconsider for Cate's sake. I'll go back to New York if it means that she can stay in Wellesley."

My eyebrows rose.

This was what had been bothering him?

Was he trying to negotiate with my dad for me?

I swallowed hard.

Damn, what a keeper.

My dad examined Zac with renewed interest. "I wonder, Zachary, if you're familiar with the saying: 'You come at the king, you best not miss?'"

This appeared to catch Zac off guard. He responded in confused tones, "Yes? I mean, it's a line from The Wire, right?"

"Mm, yes. Such a good program. At any rate, my team and I plan to move forward with the charges in the coming months. In the event we fail to prosecute Harvey or the other individuals on our list, it's entirely possible that my family and I will come under heavy fire. I don't want to subject my children to that kind of circus for the next year and a half for their high school experience. They'll be safer in DC with Andrea and me. Away from Wellesley. Away from the Wyman & Rimmel crowds."

Zac demanded, "Are you sure Cate will be happier in DC?"

"Emerson High ranks as one of the top public institutions in the nations. Their students come from a different stock than the students at Ashton Wellesley. They're more minnow than shark. I believe my children will thrive there. Not to mention, if I end up succumbing to cancer at any point in time, I should like my children, especially Cate, to bond with their new stepmom. Andrea has promised me that she'll fight for Cate in my absence in case Madeline gives my daughter any trouble about her inheritance. It's already outlined in our prenup and my will."

Zac fell speechless after my dad's rousing confessions while I, too, struggled to keep my jaw from hitting the floor. Every word sounded like heaven to my ears. It was so strange to hear these admissions pouring out of my dad, an intimidating figure whom I'd loathed and resented and, apparently, misunderstood for many years. If everything my dad claimed was true, then he wasn't nearly as horrible of a parent as I believed. Of course, the man was nowhere near perfect, but, at least, he cared. At least, he seemed to be trying.

I wondered what inspired this sudden, almost unrecognizable change in my dad.

Was it the fact that his pending investigation was finally closing in on Harvey Waldron?

His marriage to Andrea?

His cancer?

Or was a combination that had been triggered by all the above?

This one-eighty flip in his character gave me whiplash even while I welcomed it. Emily Dickinson once described "hope" as "a thing with feathers," and I felt its sweet, soothing flutter within me as I sat there beside the two most important men in my life. I didn't fully believe in my dad just yet, but there was enough hope inside me that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't completely full of bullshit. Maybe my dad deserved a chance to prove himself to me.

In a stunned voice, I finally broke the silence between us, "Wow, Dad. I can't believe you actually put this much thought into my future. That's just... wow."

"I hope this will be a time of new beginnings for our family," my dad muttered in an uncharacteristically poignant manner.

Right as my heart softened towards the bastard, he went ahead and ruined the moment by reverting back to his old authoritarian ways. In curt tones, he declared, "I believe this should conclude our meeting for today. I have nothing more I wish to say to you. Now, please, to ensure that you'll keep your mouths shut, and allow my team to complete our mission in peace, I'd like to place you two under twenty-four hour surveillance until our case against Harvey and his co-conspirators is safely underway. If you agree to do this for me, your conversations, phone calls, texts, social media, and GPS location over the next three weeks will be subject to review by my agents."

With a gasp, I protested, "Oh, for fuck's sake, you've gotta be shitting me! We're not gonna do anything to undermine your case, Dad! Zac and I wanna see Mr. Waldron behind bars as much as you do!"

"And I believe you, Cate, I really do. To an extent. Regrettably, this case against Harvey is too important to me to leave up to chance. I hope you understand."

Zac sneered, "Again, with all due respect, sir, I'm pretty sure that spying on minors is illegal!"

While maintaining the utmost composure against our outbursts, my dad pulled out two high-tech-looking devices with several dangling wires attached to them. "That's rich, Zachary, coming from a budding criminal like yourself. How much do you want to bet that I can get you arrested, tried, and tossed in juvenile detention for hacking into Walter's computer before you can come after me? Besides, I'm certain you and Cate will be happy to do this once I put forth my conditions."

Zac's face balked. He lost a bit of his bluster the moment my dad mentioned the words "criminal" and "juvenile detention." My boyfriend was clearly down for the count. It was time for me to take aim at my dad's psychotic request.

I glared at him spitefully. "Conditions for what?"

"For allowing the two of you to continue dating. Do this small favor for me, and I'll look the other way if you two want to continue with... whatever it is you do... when you're together. I just hope that you're using the proper form of, ah... protection."

Zac flushed.

My cheeks flamed.

Good God, was my dad actually talking about us having sex?

How mortifying!

I stammered, "What... Zac and I do in our private time is none of your business, Dad!"

"I agree, Cate. The less I know about it, the better," he replied calmly. "I just hope you'll consider my request. If you refuse me, though, I suppose I could always send you to a boarding school... in Switzerland... or something... until the case is over."

Ooh, my dad wasn't messing around. He was playing to win.

I scowled. "Fuck you! I'm not going to Switzerland."

He smiled faintly. "That's what I thought. Have we come to an agreement, then?"

Zac and I glanced at each other in dismay. It felt like we had been conned. My dad buttered us up by letting us in on his plans, and then went in for the kill with an offer that we couldn't easily refuse.

Zac and I turned back to my dad with a look of defeat. "Yes?"

"I promise this will only be a temporary inconvenience. You may remove these devices once Harvey has been brought into custody. Look on the bright side. You should be proud of this opportunity to help the FBI bring criminals like Harvey to justice."

Even though we already surrendered to my dad's tyranny, I couldn't resist taking one last swipe at the bastard. "Are you really going to waste valuable FBI manpower to monitor Zac and me, a pair of dumb high schoolers, instead of trusting us to do the right thing?"

"Oh, don't flatter yourself, Cate. I'm really not planning to monitor you that closely. My men will just be checking in from time to time at random. These devices are intended to serve as a reminder. To always be vigilant and mindful of what's at stake here."

Zac groaned under his breath, "Fucking hell. I can't believe this is happening right now."