Chapter 7
Marcus denied preparing any vote.
Then I gave him Thomas’s name.
He stopped.
I leaned back.
“Try again.”
Marcus rubbed both hands over his face.
“It wasn’t a coup.”
I almost smiled.
“Men only say that after planning something that resembles one.”
He looked at me.
“I wanted protection.”
“From me?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
“Old Romano captains.”
Interesting.
I waited.
Marcus continued.
“They hate how centralized everything became after you took over.”
“So?”
“They wanted a family oversight council.”
I laughed softly.
“A polite word for people who miss power.”
“Yes.”
Honest.
Good.
“What did they offer you?”
“A seat.”
“Of course.”
“And Bianca?”
He looked away.
“She would be the family bridge.”
I understood.
If she married me, Marcus gained permanent access.
If she gained Lucy’s obedience, she gained influence over Sofia’s shares.
Not formal control today.
Long-term leverage.
“They wanted Lucy’s future vote.”
“Yes.”
I stared.
“And Bianca decided the easiest way to secure it was to become her mother.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“I didn’t know about the dog bowl.”
“Stop using that sentence.”
His eyes opened.
“I mean it.”
“You knew she was conditioning Lucy.”
Silence.
“You knew she punished her for saying Sofia was her mother.”
“Yes.”
“Then the bowl is only the part that embarrasses you.”
That hit.
Good.
Marcus looked at me.
“The council was supposed to protect the family if something happened to you.”
There it was.
The phrase.
If something happened to you.
I had heard it too many times in too many families.
Never “when you retire.”
Never “if you choose.”
Always something vague enough to contain death.
I leaned forward.
“Who started discussing my absence?”
Marcus’s breathing changed.
“Bianca?”
Nothing.
“Old captains?”
Nothing.
“Your mother?”
His face went pale.
Interesting.
Marcus and Bianca’s mother, Celeste Hale, had been dead five years.
At least that was what everyone believed.
I stared.
“Why did that question scare you?”
Marcus looked away.
Then whispered:
“Because our mother isn’t dead.”
May you like
The room went completely still.
One secret had just opened another.
