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“What the fuck is this?” Senator Marlowe addresses the question to me. Spits it out like bile.
“You’ve been trying to have me killed, Senator.” I cluck my tongue. “Naughty boy. You should know by now that Mackenzie Malloy can’t die. I’m like a ghost haunting your ass.”
He tries to launch himself off the chair, but Tiberius shoves him back down. Senator Marlowe seems to accept this. He crosses his legs and picks up the whisky glass from the table beside him, dangling it from his fingers. I see the decanter is nearly drained. “And if I did? It would be only fair. You killed my son.”
“Really?” I twirl a strand of blonde hair around my finger. “That’s the story you’re going with? A thirteen-year-old girl suggests to Noah that her father might have something to help his brother, an idea planted in her head by her own father all so that he has a scapegoat if it goes wrong. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, you and Howard Malloy had a very different arrangement.”
That gets a reaction. The senator’s jaw tightens. His eyes flick to the door. He’s starting to wonder what’s taking his security team so long.
Noah’s fingers tighten in mine. Still, he doesn’t speak. But that’s okay – I have swallowed enough venom for both of us. “You see, I know a few things about you, too, Senator Marlowe. I know that you came to my father as one of his elite clients – Howard Malloy might’ve made his name in cheap supplements made from supposedly ancient wisdom, but his real fortune came from mixing performance enhancers to order. Drugs to make athletes stronger, faster, better, and that couldn’t be detected in a drug test. A ticket to stardom that only the super-rich could afford.”
“This is absurd. Noah, I don’t know what lies this demon girl has fed you, but you can’t believe I would endanger Felix’s career by doing something illegal. You need to stop this—”
“Oh, Senator Marlowe, don’t you worry – Noah and I did our research. We know that supplements made from antler velvet are legal. No, what I know is that you paid my father a large sum of money to source a massive shipment from New Zealand so he could use the velvet in far higher concentrations than normal. The lab testing showed incredible results but warned of dangerous side effects. You ignored those warnings. You were determined your son would be on the Olympic team no matter what.”
“Being a good father, wanting the best for my children, this warrants you entering my home and putting a gun to my head?” The senator’s eyes flick to the door again.
Noah snorts. It’s the first sound he’s made since we entered the room. I dare a glance over at him, and I can see how tense his muscles are, how the corner of his mouth twitches. His eyes flick to Tiberius’ gun, and I can see the lust for violence burning in them.
Noah has imagined this moment for a long time. I bet he never thought Mackenzie Malloy would be at his side. And she is, in a weird way. The Senator believes Mackenzie is the one behind this because of what he did to her, and I stand here for her revenge, too.
“Without waiting for further clinical trials, you gave the supplement to your teenage son. Felix’s undiagnosed hormone condition reacted to the concentration of growth hormone in the antler velvet. Your son – Noah’s brother – died a terrifying, painful death. You were so determined to make him the best that you killed him, and then you decided to blame a thirteen-year-old girl for your actions so your surviving son would have someone to hate, so that no one would fault you for what you did next.”
The senator laughs – a barking sound that has no mirth to it. His finger stabs at the panic button again. “I’d like to see your proof. All you have is a wild story with no basis in fact.”
“That’s exactly what I have.” I hold up a paper. “I have all the evidence right here. It’s interesting this never came out in the court case. In fact, it’s interesting there even was a court case at all.”
“Mom wanted the trial.” Noah’s eyes flicker to Felix’s portrait, and he squares his shoulders. I wonder what it must feel like to stand here with his father at gunpoint, feeling as though his saint of a brother watches from on high. Noah advances on his father, leaning over him. Tiberius holds out the gun, and Noah watches the barrel as it aims at his father’s cheek. “You tried to convince her to drop it, but she was so distraught that you had to give in. I’m guessing you and Malloy had some kind of agreement. You’d sue Malloy, but he hid the evidence of your involvement and the initial laboratory reports so no one knew who funded the supplements or just how deadly they were. Just a mistake – a terrible, preventable tragedy. You get to appear the concerned father in front of voters, and the court case acts as one giant advertisement for Malloy’s services.”
“Only, Daddy gets greedy when he realizes he holds in his hands these documents that can destroy your career,” I add. “He decides he’s going to blackmail you. Are we close?”
“Answer them.” Tiberius jams the revolver into the senator’s temple.
“Speaking hypothetically,” the senator hisses through gritted teeth as Tiberius’ fingers dig into his neck. “If someone wanted a favor from me, such as overturning drug legislation, those papers would be a good way to ensure compliance.”
“Mmmm. I thought so.” I whip the papers away as Senator Marlowe reaches for them. “I suspect that’s why you hired Brentwood again when Noah told you I was back, and why you sent someone to break into my house, because you were hoping to get your mitts on these papers.”
“This is preposterous. I never—” But his face is pale. He’s properly scared now.
Good. He should be scared.
I smile, slow and creepy-like. “Ssssh. I don’t care to hear you defend yourself. I have the papers, and the only question before us today is, what are we going to do with you?”
Senator Marlowe swipes at me, but I step back just as Noah slams his fist into his father’s stomach. The senator doubles over, choking and spluttering and gasping for breath.
“If you wondered why Brentwood isn’t reporting back…” I hold up my mobile phone to his face as he fights for breath. “It’s because I did this to him.”
He whimpers as he takes in the photograph of Brentwood in the bathtub, his mouth swollen with pills and the stab wounds visible above the scarlet water. I feel a little guilty for taking advantage of someone else’s handiwork, but Marlowe doesn’t have the connections Antony does – he’s unlikely to find out the truth.
I hold the papers up to the light and squint at them, pretending to consider my options. I love the way Senator Marlowe squirms in the chair, his eyes wide saucers.
“Son, what are you doing with her?” he gasps out, a last-ditch effort to save himself.
Noah’s face is dark. “You made me hate her when all this time it was you who killed him. Is that what you’re doing in here every night, Dad? Praying to Felix to atone for your sins? Because he’s not a god who needs to devour the sins of his disciples. He’s not a god. He was an amazing human, he was special and kind and good, but he was human and you took him from me.”
“Son, I—”
“I’ll never forgive you.” Noah steps back, jerking his head toward Tiberius. “Do it. Put a bullet between his eyes.”
