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“Shut up!” Quinn sprang up, starting to go over the table. “Shut up—”
All hell broke loose in the court.
Guards streamed in from every corner of the room. Four of them surged on Quinn, getting her under control.
“Miss Callas, can you please explain your last statement to the court?”
“Quinn was always supposed to seduce Peter Francis for Calhoun Bastian. But he didn’t trust her to keep her ‘charge’ in control until she had Cyclone, Curt Francis.” Both head lawyers were standing, but Payton took over. She dipped her head down so she could be heard better through the microphone. “Calhoun Bastian only sees males as important, but Quinn couldn’t get pregnant after Seraphina. She lied to Calhoun when she told him that Cyclone was hers. He wasn’t.”
A pause.
A surreal feel came over the room, as if everyone knew what she was about to say was going to change lives, and an awareness spread. Everyone quieted. Everyone waited.
I was starting to stand.
Payton’s eyes found me. “I’m not letting my sister anywhere near him because Cyclone is mine. He’smyson.”
The court was pandemonium after that.
Reporters were rushing from the room. I wasn’t sure, but I could swear we could still hear Quinn screaming. Fitz appeared at our side and cleared his throat. “You need to go.”
“Right.” Matt stood up. “It’s probably not safe, huh?” But as he said it, he was dazed.
I was dazed.
Chrissy—I didn’t know what she was, but she seemed in a daze, too. I slipped my hand in hers and squeezed once. “Did you know?”
“What?”
Those dazed eyes blinked, looked at me, and I had a feeling she wasn’t seeing me.
I nodded toward the stand, where Payton still was sitting, but the prosecution lawyers had surrounded her. “Cyclone. Her revelation. Did you know?”
“I—” Her mouth opened. Her lips did a goldfish impersonation, and she closed them. “I didn’t know. I had no idea. I—she was never going to turn on us. I could see it now. I’d been worried. I had…”
I frowned. What was my mom talking about?
“Mom?” I edged closer to her.
I cocked an eyebrow. She was saying that like it was a revelation to her.
“I thought…” She didn’t finish.
Fitz came up behind her, herding her forcibly, and me with them, to the side door and out. Some of the court guards had fallen in line to help, since we’d only been allowed a certain number of men in the court. We were led out, down a hallway, and we swept through a side exit. There was a handicap ramp, which we hurried down, and then we climbed into the waiting vehicles. Two SUVs today. Once inside, Fitz got into the front seat but turned around to us.
“I got the call moments ago.”
I nodded. “About Payton?”
He frowned. “From Kash.”
Matt jerked forward. “What?”
I was experiencing déjà vu from all the bombs being dropped,but my whole body grew warm. It was also riddled with tension because there were too many factors happening right now. I couldn’t keep up.
Chrissy, though, had jerked out of her glazed-over state. “Chase is with his brother?” she asked calmly.
Fitz paused, growing eerily still, as he took in my mom and what she had just said. His eyelids dipped low, matching his tone. “Yeah. They’re talking to the FBI.”
