Chapter 8
I released three of the seven.
Not from consequences.
From the room.
Elaine.
Francis.
Peter.
They had raised their hands.
They had betrayed my trust.
But they had also talked.
And right now, I needed people moving through the house who understood one thing clearly.
Damian was finished.
Marguerite objected.
“You're rewarding weakness.”
I looked at her.
“No.”
Then at Damian.
“I'm rewarding usefulness.”
That frightened them more.
The remaining relatives stayed seated.
Leonard stayed tied.
My children stayed upstairs.
And I began rebuilding the room.
Not the furniture.
The loyalties.
“Francis.”
He stopped at the door.
“Yes?”
“Who did Damian ask you to contact after the council?”
His face changed.
“A man named Victor Hale.”
“Family?”
“No.”
“Business?”
“Sometimes.”
“Where?”
“North side.”
That was enough.
A rival intermediary.
Someone close enough to trade information.
Far enough to deny it.
I looked at Leonard.
“Victor Hale?”
His face stayed still.
Too still.
I nodded.
“Good.”
I didn't need confession anymore.
I needed reaction.
Marco leaned close.
“We can bring Hale in.”
“No.”
Damian looked at me.
“Why not?”
I almost smiled.
“Because whoever is behind Leonard still thinks tonight worked.”
Leonard's expression changed.
There.
He understood.
I continued.
“They think Damian exposed seven disloyal relatives.”
Silence.
“They think I reacted emotionally.”
Marguerite stared at me.
“They think the family is divided.”
I looked around the ruined dining room.
“They should continue believing that.”
Damian laughed.
“You need me.”
“No.”
His smile faded.
“I need people to believe you're still useful.”
That hurt him.
Good.
I ordered every broken platter left where it had fallen.
Every coat left on the floor.
Every overturned box untouched.
Then I had one photograph taken.
Not of faces.
The room.
A family banquet destroyed from the inside.
I handed the phone to Marco.
“Send it through Leonard's channel.”
Leonard leaned forward.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“You don't know what you're doing.”
“Then help me.”
He said nothing.
I nodded.
“Send it.”
The message was simple.
ANTHONY LOST CONTROL.
No signature.
No explanation.
We waited.
Three minutes.
Nothing.
Five.
Then Leonard's phone vibrated.
One message.
GOOD.
Another.
HOW MANY STOOD WITH DAMIAN?
I looked at the seven black coins.
Then at the raised-hand relatives.
I typed:
SEVEN.
The reply came immediately.
KEEP THEM CLOSE.
I looked at Marco.
“Why?”
He read the next message aloud.
“Because when Anthony falls…”
He stopped.
I took the phone.
Finished reading.
“…we'll need people his children already know.”
Every part of me went still.
This was not just about removing me.
Someone had been studying my children.
Who they trusted.
Which relatives they recognized.
Who could approach them without fear.
The empty plates had been a loyalty test.
May you like
But not only for my family.
They were also identifying which traitors could get close to my children after I was gone.
