Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 99917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
I flinch away from his touch, but there’s nowhere to go.
“Don’t touch me.”
“Infection would be unfortunate,” the older man speaks so nonchalantly as if he’s commenting on the weather. “Regardless of what you think, we have no desire to cause you unnecessary harm. My only desire is to bring down Richard and Patricia. From what I have seen in surveillance footage, you might feel the same way. We can work together on this.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” I mutter, wincing as the antiseptic stings my cut.
The younger man works efficiently, clinical in his movements. No unnecessary touching, no threatening gestures. Just the impersonal care of someone maintaining valuable property.
“You’ve discovered quite a bit about the Hayes family secrets,” the older man comments while watching me carefully. “Impressive research.”
I say nothing. I know they’ve been watching me through Arson, but have they been watching me in other ways? Following me around campus, hacking into my laptop? Thinking about the lengths they might go to get what they want… makes my skin crawl.
“The offshore accounts. The board manipulations. Medical facility irregularities.” He ticks them off on his manicured fingers. “All threads in a very tangled web. But of course I’ve known about most of that for some time.”
Mother always said knowledge is power, but only if you control who has access to it. I’ve spent time and stress gaining this knowledge. It’s unsettling to have someone else read my hand so easily.
“Sounds like you know everything. What do you want from me?” I ask, trying to keep my voice level.
“Information. Clarification. Your perspective.”
“On what?”
“The Hayes empire. Its vulnerabilities. Pressure points.” He leans forward slightly. “Its heirs.”
And there it is. The twins. That’s what they’re after.
“I don’t know anything,” I lie.
“Miss Hayes.” His smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “We both know that’s not true. You’ve been rather intimately involved with both Hayes men, haven’t you?”
My cheeks heat despite my best efforts to ignore the images flashing in my mind. The implication hangs in the air, heavy and humiliating. Is nothing private anymore? Some part of me had hoped that maybe they weren’t watching the intimacy I had shared with Arson and Aries. A fat chance that was. They need to know everything, so of course they’d be monitoring everything.
“I don’t think what I do or don’t do with either of them is any of your business.”
“On the contrary. It’s very much our business.” He crosses one leg over the other, perfectly at ease. “You see, we’ve invested considerable resources in this venture. And now you’ve become, well, a complicating factor.”
The younger man finishes bandaging my arm and steps back, disposing of the bloodied gauze with meticulous care. His movements—precise and practiced—remind me of a doctor’s. Or maybe a butcher’s.
“I didn’t ask to be involved in any of this,” I point out. At least not with these assholes.
“Yet here you are. By choice, I might add.” The older man’s gaze is penetrating, seeing too much. “You could have walked away when you discovered the truth. Instead, you chose to help Arson destroy your family.”
“They’re not—” I stop myself, but it’s too late.
“Not what, Miss Hayes? Not your family?” His expression shifts, interest sharpening. “An interesting perspective, don’t you think? Care to elaborate?”
I press my lips together, mentally kicking myself. Never volunteer information. Another one of Mother’s rules.
“Don’t worry. We know that the Hayes family has many secrets,” he continues when I don’t respond. “Some buried deeper than others. Your mother has been particularly…creative in her recordkeeping.”
My heart skips a beat.
Are they referring to my mother’s files?
The ones I found hidden in the attic. The ones that led me down this rabbit hole in the first place.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My response is too quick, and I mentally kick myself.
“I think you do.” He leans forward, elbows on his knees. “I think you’ve known for some time that all is not as it seems in the illustrious Hayes household. That certain…truths have been obscured.”
There’s something in his tone, something probing and expectant. Like he’s waiting for me to connect dots I can’t yet see.
“Why do you need me?” I ask, changing tactics. “If you’re backing Arson, if you want the Hayes empire destroyed, why involve me at all? I’m not even a true Hayes, only by marriage.”
“Insurance,” the younger man says, speaking for the first time in minutes. “Leverage.”
“Against who? Arson? Aries?”
“Against anyone who might deviate from the plan,” the older man says smoothly. “Including ourselves.”
That doesn’t make sense.
Why would they need leverage against themselves?
Unless...
“You’re not just Arson’s backers,” I realize slowly. “You have your own agenda.”
A flicker of approval crosses the older man’s face. “Very good, Miss Hayes.”
“What is it? What do you want?”
“Justice,” he says simply. “Restitution. Correction of certain… historical inequities.”
His response is deliberately vague, but there’s an edge to his voice that sends a chill down my spine. This isn’t just business for them. It’s something uglier, something deeper. It’s personal.