AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Vance’s jaw goes slack. "That's...congratulations, man. I wish we found out under better circumstances, but..."
"What do you need?" Ezra cuts him off, shifting into business mode. It's just what I expect, and truly, what I need.
"I've got no credible leads," I say, moving over to the huge floor-to-ceiling window that overlooks the garden. It might just be my mind, but I'm sure I can still see the pool of Alize's blood from here. "All I have so far is half of the fucker's license plate and the back of his head."
Vance crosses his arms, setting his phone down so we have a view of him, and leans back in his chair. "Send it to me," he says. "I'll see what I can find."
"You've got any suspicions?" Ezra presses.
I think for a few moments, pacing the length of the window.
“My father and Alize had a confrontation right before she was taken.” My blood starts to boil as my eyes flick over to the TV playing said footage. I want to tear him limb from limb for touching Alize. "But the person who took her… It was so sloppy. I can't imagine my father coming up with such a stupid plan."
"It worked, though," Ezra shoots back. "It's sloppy, but it worked."
"Whoever it was killed the two security guards manning the video cameras. That shit was unnecessary if the Empire is really behind this." I rub my chin with my hand. "The whole staff here is on our payroll. Getting them to turn a blind eye would've been easy."
“You should confront him,” Vance says off-handedly.
I clench my fists. There’s nothing more I want to do than bash my father’s face in for what he did. But something about it doesn’t feelright.In every situation where I’ve gone toe-to-toe with my father, he never showed his cards like this.
One day soon, I’ll be the leader of the Empire, and a Kingmaker, too. I’ll have to learn to trust my gut if I want to succeed at that.
“My gut tells me that he wasn’t involved,” I reply, and even I’m shocked at what I’m saying. “It was someone else.”
Ezra grunts, the wheels turning behind his eyes.
"Does Alize have any enemies?" Vance asks.
His question reminds me that there's so much I haven’t told them—about the identity of Alize's father, that he murdered my mum. I'd rather not rehash that now, either. "Not that I know of."
"Didn't they send her to Saint Frederic to protect her from her father's enemies?"
I nod. Ezra interjects, "What if it was one ofhisenemies?"
It hits me like a loaded lorry.
I know one enemy of Alize's father very well. I fucking gave him her hair to verify if she was really his daughter. Lev gave me his word that he wouldn't hurt her.
But he wanted Michel’s head, and what better way to get to him than through his daughter? He already made me Head Kingmaker, what’s to stop him from reneging on his assurance to keep her out of it?
"I have to go," I say, my head spinning. "I'll send over the footage and you guys can let me know if you find anything."
Then I end the call and dial Lev's number.
Fuck.
If Lev did this...
If Lev hurt Alize to get to her father...
I know what I'm going to do if it ends up being the truth. The cost will be great. Alize and I will probably have to go into hiding, as assassinating a member of the Kingmaker Society would come with steep penalties.
But it would be the right thing to do.
If he's the one responsible for this, even if Alize is still alive, he'll have to suffer for it. Lev picks up on the second ring while I'm thinking of how I'll dismember him if he ends up being responsible for this.
"I was starting to get concerned," he starts out with. "It's been radio silence ever since I relayed the news to you."
