Chapter 7
Victor called it leverage.
Not kidnapping.
Leverage.
“You’re obsessed with words,” I said.
“They matter.”
“No.”
I looked at Lily’s suitcase.
“Actions matter.”
Victor smiled.
“You think men like Mercer care about your moral vocabulary?”
“I think Mercer cares about territory.”
“And you care about the girl.”
Lily heard that.
The girl.
Not granddaughter.
Not child.
Pressure point.
I looked at Victor.
“You were going to hand Mercer my weakness.”
“We were going to make you reasonable.”
“By taking Lily.”
“Temporarily.”
“And if I refused?”
Silence.
Ethan finally spoke.
“Dad.”
Victor looked at him.
Ethan’s face had changed.
Fear, maybe.
Not guilt.
“What?”
“You said Sebastian would agree.”
“He will.”
I smiled.
“You’re still speaking in future tense.”
Victor realized.
Too late.
Natalie whispered:
“Sebastian.”
I turned.
She looked exhausted now.
Pregnancy gave her a softness that could almost be mistaken for innocence.
Almost.
“I didn’t want Lily hurt.”
“She has a red mark across her face.”
“She wouldn’t cooperate.”
There it was.
I stared.
Natalie heard herself.
I let the silence work.
Then she added:
“She kept ruining everything.”
Lily started crying.
Natalie snapped:
“See?”
“What?”
“That.”
She pointed.
“Every time someone tells her no, she cries and suddenly you become impossible.”
“She’s three.”
“She manipulates you.”
Victor nodded approvingly.
“Finally.”
Natalie continued:
“She knows exactly what she’s doing.”
I almost laughed.
The pregnant adult planning an abduction believed the three-year-old was manipulating the room.
Noah spoke softly.
“Aunt Natalie said something else yesterday.”
Her face changed.
“What?”
He looked at me.
“She said after the livestream, Mercer would know which Whitmore men were ready.”
I frowned.
“Ready for what?”
Noah shrugged.
I looked at Natalie.
She said nothing.
Victor did.
“Some of your men are tired.”
“Of?”
“You.”
My captain at the doorway stiffened.
Victor smiled.
“Mercer isn’t only watching your temper.”
Pause.
“He’s watching who moves when you lose it.”
I understood.
The livestream wasn’t just bait.
It was a test.
Not of me.
Of loyalty around me.
Who defended me.
Who hesitated.
May you like
Who might switch sides.
And Victor already knew some names.
