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“By who?”
“Silas Archer.”He pauses, then adds, “Who did so under the direct orders of your grandfather, King Theodore.”
My mouth falls open, my heart dropping to the pit of my stomach.I can feel my face drain of color, a thousand questions racing through my mind.
But one in particular is at the forefront.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.Archer’s always remained tight-lipped about that.All I know is, for the past ten years, he’s made it his mission to eliminate anyone who could expose the truth.”He swallows hard.“As has my father.”
“And what’s your father’s role in all of this?”I tilt my head, still reeling from the bombshell Jameson just dropped.
“You know he was once in the royal guard.Correct?”
I nod.
“He was on Prince Nicholas’ team.”
“Let me guess.He was supposed to be on watch that night.”
“Archer gave him a huge payout to turn a blind eye, more or less.But he did more than that.He helped.And after the dust settled, he left the guard and started his own security company with the money Archer paid.You don’t think it’s a coincidence we’re routinely awarded all the big government contracts, do you?My father essentially blackmailed Archer into making sure he gets them every year in exchange for his silence.And loyalty.”
“And Warren Clark?”I press, needing answers.Needing all of this to make sense.
Needing someone to pay.
“Clark observed Kingsley and my father dragging six unconscious bodies from their house and up the mountain.He made sure to document it.”
“Instead of calling the police.Typical paparazzo,” I mutter under my breath.
“I agree.”He meets my gaze, sympathy and compassion filling his orbs.“At some point, they were alerted to his presence.He tried to get away, but they pursued and forced him off the road.He died on impact.Kingsley and my father confiscated the camera they found in the passenger compartment.Thought he was only shooting stills.”
“But he had a video camera,” I say, filling in the blanks.
“He must have hidden it somewhere else in his car.And for nearly twenty years, that video was stored away in a box of his belongings.Until Jack Sloane found it.”
“How did you learn he had it?”
“He reached out to a friend whose cousin worked for the royal household.Thought he was doing the right thing by exposing this huge coverup.Unfortunately for him, that person was Gianna Vale.”
I close my eyes as another puzzle piece snaps into place.
“Even worse, he told her the copy he’d given her was just that.A copy.That he was hanging onto the original for security purposes and would be going to the media if nothing was done to right this wrong.She told Archer about it and he had Kingsley do what he does best.”
“Kill him, but make it look like an accident.”
Jameson nods.
“And Callie?”
He runs a hand over his face, his shoulders falling.“Until that point, I had no idea about any of this.After they killed Jack and couldn’t find the recording, they targeted his sister.Thought she was the most logical person who might have it.But they couldn’t keep killing people.That wouldn’t make the recording appear if it was hidden.So my father recommended they change tactics.Suggested getting someone close to Callie.And since I had a way with the ladies once upon a time…” He laughs under his breath, which soon turns into a coughing fit.
“They asked you to get close to her to find the recording.”
“I thought I was protecting my legacy,” he says in a strained voice once he gets his coughing under control.“I knew what they’d done was wrong.But I’d also grown accustomed to a certain…lifestyle.I didn’t want to lose that.”
“So you helped cover up the murder of six people just so you could continue buying expensive cars and jetting around the world?”I shoot back, my voice full of venom.
