Chapter 8
Stephen never reached the gates.
He tried.
That was the important part.
My men found him in the west garage.
One engine running.
Snow blowing through the open bay.
A small wooden lion on the passenger seat.
Stephen sat behind the wheel with a pistol in his lap.
He didn't fire it.
Smartest decision he made all night.
They brought him to me.
I didn't use my father's study this time.
I took everyone back to the dining hall.
Same table.
Same ruined decorations.
Same bread scattered across the marble.
Same chair where Nash had been humiliated.
I wanted them to see it.
Ione.
Merritt.
Graham.
Stephen.
Daniel Crest.
Five people.
Five different versions of betrayal.
I stood at the head of the table.
Nash was upstairs.
Safe.
That mattered more than anything downstairs.
I placed the wooden lion on the table.
“Open it.”
Stephen said nothing.
I looked at him.
“Open it.”
“I don't know how.”
I picked it up.
Heavy.
Smooth wood.
A faded scratch near one ear where Nash had dropped it as a baby.
Camille had loved puzzles.
I hadn't.
Marriage is often two people tolerating each other's unnecessary talents.
I turned the lion over.
There was a shallow notch beneath one paw.
I pressed.
Nothing.
Twisted the tail.
Click.
The body opened.
Nobody breathed.
Inside was not a list.
Not paper.
Not a ledger.
A small voice recorder.
Old.
Simple.
Camille had always hated phones for important things.
I pressed play.
Static.
Then my wife's voice.
“If Cassian is hearing this, I waited too long.”
My knees almost gave out.
I didn't let them.
Camille continued.
“Someone in the family has been meeting Wren.”
Stephen stared at the table.
“I don't know who yet.”
His shoulders loosened slightly.
Too early.
Camille's voice continued.
“But Stephen knows.”
His head snapped up.
There it was.
Not the traitor.
The witness.
Interesting.
“I asked him to help me confirm it.”
I looked at Stephen.
His eyes filled.
“I tried.”
I raised one hand.
The recording continued.
“Stephen thinks Graham is involved.”
Graham's smile disappeared.
“Daniel may be helping him.”
Daniel swore.
I ignored him.
Camille continued.
“Ione knows pieces but not the whole thing. Merritt knows more than he admits.”
Merritt looked toward his wife.
Her face broke.
Then:
“The person keeping Wren connected to this family is not doing it for money.”
Pause.
“They believe Cassian should never have become boss.”
My skin went cold.
I looked around the table.
Five people.
One empty seat.
Camille's voice softened.
“If I'm right, the person closest to Cassian is the one he will least want to suspect.”
The recording ended.
Nobody moved.
I stared at Stephen.
“You stole this because?”
“To give it to you.”
“By running?”
He laughed bitterly.
“Three cars came through the gate. Graham's men were already below the house. I didn't know who still belonged to you.”
Fair.
“Why didn't you tell me about Camille?”
“Because she asked me not to until she was sure.”
“She died.”
His face changed.
“I know.”
“How?”
Nobody answered.
I looked at Dr. Mercer.
He had remained near the far wall.
Camille's sudden illness.
The private doctor.
The medication.
The nights Elias carried her upstairs when she was weak.
No.
I hated myself for thinking it.
Then Stephen said quietly:
“Camille wasn't sick.”
The room disappeared.
“What?”
“She told me three days before she died that someone was putting something in her tea.”
I stared at him.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Who brought it?”
He looked toward the door.
“Usually staff.”
“Usually?”
He swallowed.
“Sometimes Elias.”
Every instinct in my body rejected it.
Elias had been beside me fourteen years.
He saved my life twice.
Carried Nash out of the hospital.
Buried my father with me.
Then the dining room doors opened.
Elias walked in.
Alone.
He looked at the people seated at the table.
Then at the recorder in my hand.
His face didn't change.
That was worse.
I said:
“Tell me Stephen is lying.”
Elias closed the doors behind him.
“I wish he was.”
I felt something inside me break quietly.
“Did you kill Camille?”
“No.”
“Did you know someone was poisoning her?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
I took one step toward him.
“And you said nothing?”
“I was trying to find who.”
“While my wife died?”
His jaw tightened.
“I failed.”
I nearly hit him.
Nearly.
Then he said:
“But Camille found the answer before she died.”
I stopped.
Elias looked past me.
Not at Graham.
Not Stephen.
Not Daniel.
At Merritt.
And said:
“She found out Wren wasn't the one giving orders.”
Merritt went white.
May you like
Elias continued.
“Wren was taking them.”
