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A rough scoff gritted my teeth. “What did I tell you?” Levi crowed. “She’s a psycho. Nothing she said is true.”
“You’d like everyone to believe that, but no. I didn’t have to lie about any of it because the truth was right there for everyone to see. Your ex confessed to Iris that you attacked her.” I flicked to the crowd. “He really wants you to forget that part.”
“That was another photoshopped pic. You got to Sadie,” Levi announced, raising his voice. “Told her she could get revenge against her cheating ex. All she had to do was back up your lies.” He fished his phone out of his pocket. “Go ahead and call her. Anyone. Sadie’s finally telling the truth now. I never touched the chick and you can hear it straight from her.”
My chest tightened. “You got to Sadie. What did you do to her? You put her through enough.”
You had to be looking closely to see it.
The gleeful malice in his eyes.
“The only thing I did is expose that you’re a lying bitch. You made up that stuff with Sadie, and you lied about me and Ashton. Saylor knows the truth now.”
“Saylor knows you’re full of bullshit because she is. She’s never going to reinstate your family, because she knows nothing I said about her crew was a lie. So why would I have lied about you?”
“It is lies and no one believes them,” Saylor snapped. “That Book Lady site was faked. So was that stuff about Piper and the pills.”
Saylor rested her hand on Piper’s arm. “I told you it wasn’t me. This all happened because Katie let this psycho near us.” She swung to her. “I’m hoping we don’t have to tell you again to stay away from her, Katie. Do you finally get that she’s crazy?”
“I...” Hesitating, Katie looked from me to Saylor. It shocked me that there even was a hesitation. It was hard to be sure amid her daily insults... but Katie really did see me as a friend. “She...”
“I’m not crazy, Saylor, and I’m not a liar,” I said calmly. “But that’s what you and Thompkins were hoping. That I’d go off on some teary rant—shouting and losing my mind on you Royals. Maybe even give a speech on how you’d all rue the day you set eyes on Winter?” I chuckled. “Then I’d lose all credibility. Sorry, no. That’s not how it’s going down today.”
Saylor rose from her seat. “No, I’ll tell you how it’s going down. You came into our house and fucked with us. I don’t care what happened to your sad, pathetic sister. She shouldn’t have started a fight she couldn’t win, and neither should you.
“You trapped one of our own in an engagement. You assaulted me and destroyed my property. You manipulated one of my friends,” she said, squeezing Katie’s shoulder like she cared about her. “And you tried to ruin the reputations of the others. One of those was enough to end you, but all of them?”
She shook her head, appearing almost disappointed. “You left me no choice, Sinclair. I won’t have you sneaking around my town, taking your vendetta out on innocent Royals because you don’t know what suicide is. No one killed your sister. She jumped off that bridge all on her own. For all we know, it’s because she wanted to get away from your sick, twisted self.”
“Saylor, easy,” Katie hissed.
“You’re out.” Saylor towered over me—ever the imposing queen. “Jack Bowden is removed from the Royal line. His land will be repossessed. His business ties dissolved. Since the dean knows what’s good for him, you can consider this your expulsion letter. You don’t go to Regalia University anymore.”
You could see it clear as day now—the gleeful malice in Levi’s eyes.
“Victor Wilson can still marry who he wants, but since a Wilson can’t and will never override a Burkhardt, I doubt he’s interested in moving to be with you, because you, the housekeeper, and the tire salesman have one week to pack your shit and leave. None of you are allowed to set foot in my town again.”
“Wow,” I said, tone even. “I didn’t know until now that you had this power, Saylor, but I see how effective it is for keeping people in line. You really are the queen of Regalia—handing down sentences to everyone who crosses you.”
“That’s correct. Too bad you didn’t figure out you shouldn’t be one of those people.”
I kept going like she hadn’t spoken. “But like any queen, you can’t resist handing down those punishments in front of an audience. You have to so that everyone knows to stay afraid.” My grin widened. “I was counting on that.”
“Excuse me? What are you talking about?”
“I knew you’d find out that I was the one behind it all, and that you and your friends would deny everything and call me a liar in front of the other Royals. But answer this for me, Saylor...” I got to my feet, squaring her off. “You also just told everyone that I only know what I know because I hacked you.
