Chapter 13

The judgment. Justice for Evie.

She'd died in silence. Could her killer really buy her way out of everything with a diagnosis?

The Council Elder's gavel fell. The first hearing concluded without ruling. He set a later date.

The moment I stepped out, I went straight for Damien.

"You played me."

He stepped back on instinct. "Sel, I didn't—"

Crack.

The slap carried down the hall. His face snapped to the side.

A red print came up on his cheek. He didn't get angry. He just looked at me, stunned.

I was cold. "Sign the Severance papers."

He came back to himself. Blood still on the corner of his mouth. His voice was hoarse. "I won't."

"You think we can go back?"

"Sel, why can't you get along with Fiona? She's my sister. Her mind… she really is sick. She didn't want to hurt you."

I laughed. Actually laughed.

Not at him. At the joke I'd been for so long.

I didn't bother anymore. I said flatly, "Won't sign? Fine. I'll see you in Council. For as long as it takes."

He stood frozen as I walked away. His fingers were twitching like he was having some kind of fit.

Not far away, Fiona had just come out of the restroom. She saw me, and right there in the hall she started yelling.

"What gives you the right? You had one dead pup and now you think you're some great tragedy? You're not worthy of my brother. You should've been out of Kane Pack long ago—"

Security and the clerk moved in to stop her, but Fiona kept getting uglier. She even dragged Evie's death into her insults.

I didn't look at her.

If I turned around, I'd lose it. I'd kill her.

That night I sat on the hotel balcony a long time.

The night was wide. The city was loud.

My heart was like it had sunk into a frozen lake.

Losing the first hearing was a setback. My patience was almost gone.

What I wanted wasn't a legal ruling. It was real reckoning.

Even if the whole world said she was mad, I'd make sure she spent every moment of that madness in atonement.

Damien thought I'd turn around?

He was wrong.

He killed my daughter. For the rest of my life, I wasn't going to forgive him.

After the hearing, I'd meant to go back to the hotel alone. At the Council door I saw my brother standing in the rain, holding an umbrella.

He was in a dark suit. Calm as always. But something sharp cut through the mist of the rain.

I walked over. He shifted the umbrella to cover me. "Cold?"

I shook my head. My voice was hoarse. "I'm fine."

"Sel." He looked at me, his gaze softening. "You're not going to lose this. We're here."

Something hot ached in my chest.

He got me into the car. We drove slowly without headlights on. The streetlamps made a moving line of light across my pale face in the window.

Suddenly he spoke. "Getting back at Damien can't be limited to Council."

I looked at him, not quite understanding.

"Some things aren't meant to be solved in daylight." He paused and turned toward me. "Don't worry. I don't make moves I'm not certain of. He betrayed you. He should have expected to be betrayed."

I froze.

He stroked my hair lightly. His voice was soft. "He thought he'd walk away from this intact? No chance."

I turned to him slowly. "You… what did you do?"

He didn't answer directly. He smiled a little, reached into the inner pocket of his suit, and pulled out a small encrypted data drive. He held it up in front of me.

"Enough to tear Kane Pack apart."

My eyes widened.

"You never saw how far he pushed you. Tristan saw every step."

My fingers trembled. My throat was tight. I couldn't say anything.

I knew my brother didn't speak empty words. He never moved without being sure.

At the same time, at the Kane Pack House.

Damien came back to his room, drained. He pulled off his tie and sat on the edge of the couch. He didn't move for a long time. His temple kept pulsing. Something was driving a headache through his skull.

The door opened quietly.

Fiona walked in in soft slippers. She was wearing a loose silk robe with the collar pulled open deliberately. Pale skin. Thin collarbone. Sharp shoulder blades.

"Big brother," she said softly, sitting down next to him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

He shifted slightly away.

She pretended not to notice. She looked up at him. "At the Council today… you really still can't let her go?"

"…"

"She slapped you and you still won't sign? Big brother, is she really that important?" Fiona blinked. "Didn't we agree? She's just a cover. Just the face for it. She leaves, we find someone easier to handle."

Damien's brow moved. He said nothing.

"You've done so much for me already…" She took his hand and rubbed it gently. "You love me the most. Like when we were pups. You'd give me whatever I asked for."

Damien stood up and walked to the balcony.

"Big brother?" Fiona hesitated. "Are you upset?"

"It's late. Go to sleep."

His voice was empty. He didn't even bother looking at her.

Fiona bit her lip, then made a small huff and stalked back to her room.

The house went quiet.

Damien couldn't sleep.

He sat at his desk. His phone screen was lit. The feeds were boiling.

DamienKaneCheatingAllegation

KanePackAccusedOfBuyingTheCouncil

The hashtags went into his eyes. His head was pounding harder.

He rubbed his brow, about to shut the screen, when a new notification flashed. Anonymous email.

Subject line, four words.

"The truth is here."