told I was HIV-positive. The only thing I could think of was a damn
blood transfusion I’d had when I was in a serious car accident.
I checked with the hospital and discovered that several other surgery
patients had contracted the virus during the same time period.
I told Steven everything. ! cared for him so much. I never felt so
much guilt in all my life. I thought he would understand.” Rowe took a
deep breath. “Only he didn’t.”
“He threatened to expose you?” Sidney asked.
“We had come too far, worked too damn hard. Steven wasn’t thinking
clearly, he…” Rowe shook his head in complete despondence.
“He came to my apartment one night; he had been drinking very heavily.
He told me what he was going to do. He was going to tell everything
about Lieberman, the blackmail scheme. We’d all go to prison. I told
him he had to do what he thought was right.” Rowe paused, his voice
breaking. “I often gave him his daily dosages of insulin, kept a supply
at my place. He was always forgetful about it.”
Rowe looked down at the teardrops dropping onto his hands.
“Steven passed out on the couch. While he was asleep, I gave him an
overdose of insulin, woke him up, and put him in a cab for home.”
Rowe added quietly, “And he died. We kept our relationship since
college a secret. The police never even questioned me.”
He looked at Sidney. “You understand, don’t you? I had to do it.
My dreams, my vision for the future.” His voice was almost pleading.
Sidney didn’t answer. Finally Rowe stood up and wiped the tears away.
“CyberCom was the last piece I needed. But it all came with a price.
With all the secrets between us, Gamble and I were wedded for life.”
Rowe grimaced, then suddenly smiled as he looked at Gamble.
“Fortunately, I will outlive him.”
“You double-crossing bastard!” Gamble tried his best to get to Rowe, but
Lucas held him back.
“But Jason found out everything when he was going through the records at
the warehouse, didn’t he?” Sidney said.
Rowe exploded again and directed his tirade at Gamble. “You idiot!
You’ve never respected technology, and it was your undoing.
You never realized that the secret e-mails you sent Lieberman could be
captured on tape backup even if you later deleted them. You were so
damn anal about money, kept your own set of books documenting the
profits trading on Lieberman’s actions. And your enemy’s losses. It
was all buried in the warehouse. You idiot!” Rowe exclaimed again, and
looked over at Sidney. “I never wanted any of this to happen, please
believe me.”
“Quentin, if you cooperate with the police–” Sidney began.
Rowe erupted in laughter and Sidney’s hopes faded completely.
He went over to the laptop and popped out the disk. “I’m now the head
of Triton Global. I just acquired the one asset that will enable me to
accomplish a better future for us all. I don’t intend to pursue that
dream from a prison cell.”
“Quentin…” She froze as he turned to Kenneth Scales.
“Make it quick. She is not to suffer. I mean it.” He nodded in
Gamble’s direction. “The bodies go into the ocean, as far out as you
can. A mysterious disappearance. In six months’ time no one will even
remember you,” he said to Gamble. Rowe’s eyes shone with that thought.
Gamble was slowly led away, struggling mightily and cursing.
“Quentin!” Sidney screamed as Scales came closer. Quentin Rowe didn’t
turn around.
“Quentin, please!” Finally he looked at her. “Sidney, I’m sorry. I
really am.” Holding the disk, he started to leave the room. As he
passed by, he kindly patted her on the shoulder.
Her body and mind numb, Sidney’s head dropped on her breast.
When she looked back up, the cold, blue eyes were floating toward her,
the face completely blank of emotion. She looked around.
Everyone in the room was intently watching Scales’s methodical advance,
waiting to see how he would kill her. Sidney gritted her teeth and
backed away until she was flat against a wall. She closed her eyes and
did her best to hold the image of her daughter rigidly in her mind. Amy