Page 115 of Vows of Ruin

Daisy nods, blinking fast. “I just. I don’t want him to hurt you.”

Wrenley pulls her into her arms, hugging her so tightly that Daisy’s feet leave the ground for a second. Around us, the whole family is silent. Not from shock, but from resolve. Because now we know something new. Sebastian wasn’t running the House of Silk. He was building an empire under their noses. The second Daisy finishes speaking, the room changes. Not loud. Not chaotic. Worse. Silent. Calculated. Predatory. Wrenley holds Daisy against her chest, murmuring something soft and steady into her hair. Wrecker stands behind them like a wall. Torque’s jaw flexes, murder glowing behind his eyes. Riot stops pacing for once, arms folding as he processes the pieces. Margot and Elias exchange sharp glances, the kind that means they’ve already pulled up ten files in their heads.

Max looks at me. I look at him. We both know what Daisy just confirmed. Sebastian didn’t just infiltrate. He’s been building roots, deep, patient, meant to survive. Wrenley sets Daisy down gently and sends her with Doc to get breakfast. The moment the door clicks shut, everything erupts at once.

“She heard that in their building?” Torque growls.

Margot runs a shaking hand through her hair. “That means Sebastian was already embedded in their infrastructure. Possibly their leadership.”

Elias taps furiously at his tablet. “I need to cross-reference the House of Silk employee logs with the timeline—”

“They had orders,” Max repeats, eyes narrowing. “Orders to go after Wrenley.”

Wrenley stands in the center of the room, arms crossed, head bowed slightly. Listening. Processing. Sharpening. I know that posture. She’s turning pain into strategy. Finally, she speaks. “War room. Now.”

No one argues.

Screens glow to life, casting cold electric light across the table. Maps. Timelines. Missing persons. Financial trails. Names we’ve taken down and ones still breathing. Wrenley stands at the head of the table, Max on her right, me on her left. She’s calm. Too calm.

“What Daisy heard wasn’t random,” Wrenley says, tapping her fingers on the table. “There’s a structure to this. A hierarchy. Sebastian’s building something that didn’t end with the House of Silk.”

Elias brings up a digital board. “If Daisy heard the men say ‘The Serpent’, that may have been code for Sebastian—or someone he answers to.”

Torque scoffs. “Sebastian doesn’t answer to anyone but his own insanity.”

“Maybe not anymore,” Margot says quietly. “But he might’ve once.”

The room hums with unease.

Max leans forward, forearms braced on the table. “So what are we dealing with? A network?”

“A network,” Margot confirms. “With enough reach to hide in plain sight.”

Wrecker cracks his neck. “And enough arrogance to think they can come after not just any Black Serpent but our Queen.”

“They already did,” I say. Everyone looks at me. “Wrenley has been on their radar,” I remind them, voice low. “Long before the crash. Long before Noah. Daisy overhearing that wasn’t a coincidence. It was a warning that we were too late to intercept.”

Wrenley meets my eyes. Her expression is unreadable, but her spine is forged in iron.

“Then we intercept now.”

Max exhales slowly, a dark smile pulling at his mouth. “We tear the whole damn network down.”

Plans fly from every direction. Elias suggests digital infiltration, Margot outlining the financial trails, and Riot volunteering more kinetic solutions. Torque offering manpower. Wrecker is ready to raze cities to keep Daisy safe. It’s unified. Focused. Deadly. And at the center of it all is Wrenley. Our Queen. Our purpose. Our focus.

The others disperse to gather intel, leaving just Max and me lingering near the door. He leans against the wall, arms crossed. “You’re thinking about something,” he says.

He’s always too perceptive. “You’re thinking it too,” I reply.

He doesn’t deny it. The hallway feels too small. Too quiet after the chaos.

Max finally asks. “How do we keep her safe, Liam? Really safe?”

I look toward the armory door where Wrenley disappeared to gather her weapons. Then back at him. “There’s only one way,” I say quietly. “And we both know it.”

Max’s jaw flexes, tension rolling off him. “Say it.”

I exhale through my nose.