Baron correctly guesses that this is the moment to step in.
“It means you’re going to be keeping this secret forever.” He holds up a briefcase before opening it and taking out a stack of paper so tall it can’t not be intimidating. “I’m Baron Alton, I’m the Chair of Law. And as of right now you’re the Heir of the Chair of Information. Let’s have a seat.”
I pull him toward the far corner of the room where there’s a little coffee table, and sit next to him.
“You’re going to have to sign a lot of stuff,” I explain quietly. “Basically, all of it says how you’re going to regret it very much if you ever breathe a word about the Turris to anyone.”
“But what the hell is the Turris?” Lex demands, and though it does sound agitated, at least he whispers.
I know Iris is out in the hallway, making sure no one comes in, as well as Zack and Beatrice, Shirley and Baron’s respective Heirs.
Harry steps up this time.
“Hey, Lex. Sorry to see you again under these circumstances. In a nutshell, we try to keep the city thriving. We’re all in charge of one area, and like Eli said, I truly hope you won’t be part of this for long, but we can’t afford to have a Chair without an Heir. There’ll be a meeting on Monday, where we can answer all the questions you might have.”
“Okay,” Lex whispers, barely audible, before he nods a few times then looks at me and repeats. “Okay. I trust you angel. I know you wouldn’t let me sign anything bad.”
“I really wouldn’t,” I rush to agree. “I promise as long as you never tell anyone about thisever, you won’t have to remember anything about it. Honestly, I barely talk about it with my dad unless we’re in a meeting or on our way to one.”
Lex keeps looking at me for a long moment before nodding again.
“And your dad really is okay? In surgery?”
I exhale roughly, straighten in my seat.
“Yes. The doctor was telling me about the procedures they’re going to do when they got here.” I gesture to the other Chairs. “I had to sign off on everything because Dad has always said that the one person he trusts the most is me. That’s why he made me his Heir too. The surgery’s going to be long, so I really want us to go back to your mom after we’re done with this.
“But yeah, it’s really important that I have an Heir in the meantime. But who knows? Maybe Dad’s all good by Monday and you won’t even have to go to a meeting?”
That’s wishful thinking and everyone knows it, but no one scoffs at my delusion.
“Fine then, fuck it.” Lex holds out a hand, palm up, to Baron. “You probably have a pen?”
“I do,” Baron says with some amusement.
I’m just starting to let out a breath when my phone goes off with an alarm that chills me to my bones.
I know what it is before I look at the screen.
My taunting words from earlier in the week flash through my mind like a mocking nightmare.
You’ll never get through me, and I’ll always be here.
But I’m not there.
“Fuck,” I hiss loudly.
“What is it?” Harry asks.
“ECS is getting hacked again,” I snap while I try to see if I can get anything from my phone. “It’s probably Gotcha, they were all over my systems and now?—”
“Breathe, Eli.” Harry goes for reassurance. “You already beat them once, I’m sure you can again.”
I almost scoff at him. He seriously knows nothing about what I do, but even with some restraint left, I can’t help but bite back a smart remark.
“If they get through my firewall this time, they’re going to be able to connect your servers.” I look around at all of them. “All of your servers. If he shuts us out then we can’t do shit, we’ll all be vulnerable for attacks at your actual offices.”
As guilt starts to sink in, I remember I don’t even have Austin here. How the fuck am I going to get to the office to clean the mess I made?
