{"product_id":"trust-fundisbn-9780345428301","title":"Trust Fund","description":"A deathbed reconciliation with his estranged father brings Bo Hancock home to make   amends for the wild ways that turned him into a political liability. Once the black   sheep of Connecticut's most influential clan, Bo is now back at the helm of Warfield   Capital, the multibillion dollar investment firm at the heart of his family dynasty.   But his return sparks a rapid-fire chain of events that could destroy the family   and its vast fortune.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e First, Warfield is left vulnerable to every Wall Street shark   out to make a killing. Then a sudden rash of real killings forces Bo to confront   the specter of a sinister conspiracy—and brings him face-to-face with one shocking   truth after another, shattering the world and the family he thought he knew, leaving   him utterly alone and running for his life. . . .\u003cb\u003e?[A] HIGH-FINANCE THRILLER . . . THE TWISTS AND TURNS OF THE PLOT COME RAPIDLY.?\u003cbr\u003e?\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eStephen Frey is a principal at a Northern Virginia private equity firm. He previously worked in mergers and acquisitions at J.P. Morgan and as a vice president of corporate finance at an international bank in midtown Manhattan. Frey is also the bestselling author of The Takeover, The Vulture Fund, The Inner Sanctum, The Legacy, and The Insider.\"Give me more,\" the young woman murmured.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBo Hancock smiled in his measured way, the hint of emo-tion\u003cbr\u003eveiled by midnight. He was enjoying the multitude of bright\u003cbr\u003estars filling a moonless sky, the scent of Melissa's perfume blend-ing\u003cbr\u003ewith the sweet smells of spring, and the absolute serenity of\u003cbr\u003ethis place he dearly loved. They might have been the only two\u003cbr\u003epeople on earth, but that was the estate's charm. It made him\u003cbr\u003efeel safe.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBo had grown up here, exploring every corner of the es-tate's\u003cbr\u003evast forest as a child. He knew it better than anyone. He'd\u003cbr\u003eplayed touch football on the great lawn in front of the playhouse\u003cbr\u003ewith his father, brothers, uncles, and cousins before Thanksgiving\u003cbr\u003edinner each year, the soft grass blanketed thinly by snow some\u003cbr\u003eNovembers, bathed in warm sunshine others. He'd canoed and\u003cbr\u003eswum in the cold, clear lake in summer and played hockey on its\u003cbr\u003eice in winter. And he had experienced his first kiss beside the lake\u003cbr\u003eat fifteen, hidden with the girl in a grove of sweet-smelling cedar\u003cbr\u003etrees.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"What do you mean, Melissa?\" Bo asked, his gravelly voice\u003cbr\u003emade even rougher by his fondness for alcohol and tobacco. \"Give\u003cbr\u003eyou more what?\" He knew exactly what she meant.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe young woman brushed against him as they stood on the\u003cbr\u003esmooth granite of the mansion's back veranda. \"More of your\u003cbr\u003ewords-to-live-by,\" she answered, mesmerized by his voice. It was\u003cbr\u003egruff for a young man, but oddly reassuring too. Like a shovel\u003cbr\u003escraping rock and a cat purring at the same time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Oh, I see,\" Bo said, drawing his words out. He took a drag\u003cbr\u003eon his cigarette before beginning. \"The best relationship you\u003cbr\u003eever know will be the one in which you love each other for your\u003cbr\u003efaults--not despite them.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"That's nice,\" Melissa said as his words dispersed slowly in\u003cbr\u003ethe stillness of the evening, her voice all at once as raspy as his.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBo chuckled softly. He had finally broken through her ve-neer\u003cbr\u003eof detachment. He understood why she needed that barrier,\u003cbr\u003ebut it had gotten in the way of any meaningful conversation be-tween\u003cbr\u003ethem. He looked away from the many points of light sus-pended\u003cbr\u003eabove them to admire her silhouette. She was tall and\u003cbr\u003estatuesque, with long, jet-black hair and eyes as dark and mysteri-ous\u003cbr\u003eas the surrounding woods. \"You weren't expecting anything\u003cbr\u003equite so romantic,\" he said. \"Were you?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I don't know,\" she answered, trying to sound indifferent.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"How about this one?\" Bo suggested, his tone lighter. He\u003cbr\u003erealized that he had caught her off guard and that she needed a\u003cbr\u003elifeline. Saving people was one of the two things he enjoyed most\u003cbr\u003ein life, particularly when he had introduced the danger. And that\u003cbr\u003ewas the other.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe took a swallow of scotch. \"Make certain you approach\u003cbr\u003eboth love and cooking with reckless abandon.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMelissa's laugh was genuine. \"What on earth does that\u003cbr\u003emean?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It means I'm willing to risk burning down the kitchen\u003cbr\u003ein pursuit of the perfect meal,\" he answered, a wry smile on his\u003cbr\u003efull lips.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMelissa tried to suppress her answering smile, but couldn't\u003cbr\u003ehelp herself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe liked the way her eyes caught the starlight, and the way\u003cbr\u003eher long black hair shimmered down her back. She was a beautiful\u003cbr\u003ewoman, and on one level he understood his brother's need for\u003cbr\u003eher. \"It means approach every day as if it's your last. Never second-guess,\u003cbr\u003enever look back.\" Again Bo's words resonated in the silence\u003cbr\u003eof the night. \"It's all those things.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMelissa tried to regain her composure, but Bo had a way\u003cbr\u003eabout him. She wanted to confide in him, to feel his powerful\u003cbr\u003earms wrapped around her. She sensed that he would understand\u003cbr\u003eher anguish. But none of that was possible.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBo took another sip of scotch. \"You like me, don't you?\" he\u003cbr\u003easked, leaning forward to catch her eye.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I don't like anyone,\" Melissa replied curtly, annoyed with\u003cbr\u003eherself for entertaining the fantasy. They had known each other\u003cbr\u003ecasually for almost a year, but tonight was the first time they had\u003cbr\u003ebeen alone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yes, you do. Come on, admit it.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You're so damn sure of yourself, aren't you, Bo Hancock?\u003cbr\u003eYou think you know everything. Well, you don't.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I know you were the one who sent Paul off to make his\u003cbr\u003ephone calls.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMelissa shut her eyes tightly, regretting the fact that she had\u003cbr\u003easked Bo to come out here on the veranda alone with her. She\u003cbr\u003efound herself drawn to him, which wasn't good.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Admit it.\" A confident smile played across his lips. \"You\u003cbr\u003elike me.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Maybe,\" she said quietly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom where they stood on the edge of the veranda a neatly\u003cbr\u003emanicured lawn sloped gently down to the lake. Melissa gazed\u003cbr\u003esteadily at the reflections in the black water, then turned to face Bo.\u003cbr\u003eAlthough he was only in his midtwenties, his natural sophistication\u003cbr\u003eand charm—benefits of a monied upbringing, she assumed—made\u003cbr\u003ehim seem older and more insightful than a man just a few years re-moved\u003cbr\u003efrom the ivy of Yale. He was about six feet tall, with broad\u003cbr\u003eshoulders, a barrel chest, and the forearms of a blacksmith. His\u003cbr\u003ehandsome face was wide and strong, dominated by an imposing\u003cbr\u003eforehead with a small scar above one brow and piercing sapphire\u003cbr\u003eeyes. He kept his short dark hair neatly parted to one side, and\u003cbr\u003etonight, as usual, wore a casual shirt and old jeans. She had rarely\u003cbr\u003eseen him in anything else.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Are you seeing anyone?\" Melissa asked, trying to move the\u003cbr\u003econversation to safer ground.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBo nodded. \"Yes. A woman named Meg Richards.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"What company does her daddy own?\" Melissa asked sarcas-tically,\u003cbr\u003eregaining her hard edge. \"How many millions does she\u003cbr\u003ebring to the table?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"She doesn't. Meg's a middle-class girl from Long Island,\" he\u003cbr\u003eanswered, rattling the ice cubes in his glass. \"Her father is a high\u003cbr\u003eschool principal who's depending on his pension for retirement.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"How did you meet her?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"At Yale. She was there on an academic scholarship. I fell for\u003cbr\u003eher the moment I saw her walk into my political science class first\u003cbr\u003eyear.\" Bo's voice took on a distant tone as he relived the moment.\u003cbr\u003e\"I didn't get up the nerve to ask her out until second year, but\u003cbr\u003ethen we were inseparable for six months. We were out of touch for\u003cbr\u003ea while after graduation, but I never lost that feeling I had the first\u003cbr\u003etime I saw her. That's how I knew she was the one. About a year\u003cbr\u003eago I tracked her down and we picked right back up.\" Using the\u003cbr\u003eresources at his disposal, he had asked the Hazeltine Security peo-ple\u003cbr\u003eto locate Meg. Hazeltine handled sensitive business projects\u003cbr\u003efor Bo's father, James \"Jimmy Lee\" Hancock, and, on occasion,\u003cbr\u003ehelped the family with personal matters that required discretion.\u003cbr\u003e\"I haven't thought about anyone but her since.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Sounds serious,\" Melissa observed, a shard of jealousy en-tering\u003cbr\u003eher voice. She took a sip of wine.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I think it is.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"But you aren't sure.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I'm sure, I just don't know if she is. I don't know what she'll\u003cbr\u003esay when I open the black velvet box.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Give me a break,\" Melissa groaned. \"What's any middle-class\u003cbr\u003egirl going to say to a Hancock son offering her five carats?\"\u003cbr\u003eShe glanced over her shoulder. \"Is she really going to turn down\u003cbr\u003eall of this?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe huge structure rising behind them stood at the center of\u003cbr\u003ethe Hancock family's secluded thousand-acre compound in Con-necticut's\u003cbr\u003erolling woodlands, forty miles northeast of New York\u003cbr\u003eCity. On the estate were stables for thoroughbred horses, miles of\u003cbr\u003eriding trails weaving through the dense forest, a nine-hole golf\u003cbr\u003ecourse, tennis courts, the twenty-acre man-made lake stretching\u003cbr\u003eout before them, a boathouse on the far side of the lake, as well as\u003cbr\u003efive other mansions in addition to the playhouse, in the shadow of\u003cbr\u003ewhich Bo and Melissa now stood. Inside the playhouse were two\u003cbr\u003emore tennis courts, a pool, a fifty-seat movie theater, a formal din-ing\u003cbr\u003ehall, a billiard room, and several guest suites. Surrounding the\u003cbr\u003eentire compound was a tall chain-link fence topped by razor\u003cbr\u003ewire, obscured by the trees and constantly patrolled by a full-time\u003cbr\u003esecurity force, never seen but always present. Every bit of it was\u003cbr\u003eavailable to Bo, his older brothers Teddy and Paul, and their sis-ter\u003cbr\u003eCatherine, whenever they wanted it. It also belonged to Bo's\u003cbr\u003eyounger sister, Ashley, but she seemed to have no interest in enjoy-ing\u003cbr\u003eit. She had moved to Europe after finishing Harvard three\u003cbr\u003eyears ago and had yet to return.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Meg doesn't care much about material things,\" Bo finally\u003cbr\u003eanswered. \"If she did, I wouldn't care about her so much.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOf course you wouldn't, Melissa thought. It only made sense\u003cbr\u003ethat of the three Hancock brothers, Bo would be the one to\u003cbr\u003emarry for love. \"How did your family get so rich?\" she asked.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBo flicked an ash from his cigarette and watched it streak to\u003cbr\u003ethe granite, where it glowed red hot for a few moments. He was\u003cbr\u003ethinking about Ashley. They had been close growing up, but after\u003cbr\u003ecollege she had rebelled against the money and their father's need\u003cbr\u003efor control. He understood her desire to escape, but it didn't make\u003cbr\u003eher absence any easier. \"Oil and railroads back in the eighteen-hundreds,\"\u003cbr\u003ehe said hesitantly. He'd always been self-conscious\u003cbr\u003eabout the money. \"More recently the stock market, now that it's go-ing\u003cbr\u003eup again.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMelissa fanned her face. It was an unusually warm night for\u003cbr\u003eApril. The heat of the evening, combined with the wine she'd\u003cbr\u003edrunk, was making her cheeks feel flushed. \"How much are you\u003cbr\u003eworth, Bo?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Why do you want to know?\" he responded instinctively.\u003cbr\u003eHe'd been trained by Jimmy Lee from an early age to answer that\u003cbr\u003equestion with this one. The training had come in handy because\u003cbr\u003eso many people wanted to know.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I just do.\" Most people recognized the roadblock and con-tinued\u003cbr\u003eno further, but Melissa had worked for everything she'd\u003cbr\u003eever gotten in life, including information.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBo inhaled deeply. The scotch was filling him with that fa-miliar\u003cbr\u003eglow. \"Why don't you tell me about yourself,\" he said, try-ing\u003cbr\u003eto turn the conversation in a different direction.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I will if you will.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe nodded. He understood the quid pro quo, and there\u003cbr\u003ewere questions he wanted to ask. \"A billion dollars, give or take\u003cbr\u003etwenty to thirty million depending on the day and the Dow.\" He\u003cbr\u003esensed her awe. A billion dollars was a figure most people couldn't\u003cbr\u003ecomprehend—there were simply too many zeros. \"Now you,\" he\u003cbr\u003esaid, uncomfortable about having revealed the amount. He had\u003cbr\u003ebroken one of Jimmy Lee's cardinal commandments. Never give\u003cbr\u003ean outsider the number. Never give an outsider anything that\u003cbr\u003emight make the family vulnerable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"What do you want to know?\" she asked defensively.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I've been impressed with you tonight,\" he answered. \"You've\u003cbr\u003eobviously been to college.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yes, I graduated from St. John's in three and a half years\u003cbr\u003ewith a double major in English and economics. And a minor\u003cbr\u003ein American history,\" she added, proud of how hard she had\u003cbr\u003eworked.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBo extinguished his cigarette in an ashtray set atop the low\u003cbr\u003estone wall that ran along one side of the veranda. He was trying\u003cbr\u003eto think of the best way to ask what he really wanted to know. As\u003cbr\u003eusual, he chose to be direct. \"Then why this line of work?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor some reason men had to know why a woman would turn\u003cbr\u003eto prostitution. They all wanted it to be the result of heightened\u003cbr\u003esexual desire—which excited them immeasurably—and her prac-tical\u003cbr\u003eanswer never pleased them. \"My parents are poor, I had\u003cbr\u003ethirty thousand dollars' worth of school loans when I graduated\u003cbr\u003efrom St. John's, and the Wall Street men in their expensive suits\u003cbr\u003eand fancy suspenders weren't impressed with my resume.\"","brand":"Fawcett","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46303037718757,"sku":"NP9780345428301","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780345428301.jpg?v=1730752830","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/trust-fundisbn-9780345428301","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}