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“What the hell is going on?” I demand, though my voice is less steady than I want it to be. The knife in my hand feels heavier, a burdensome weight, as I confront this betrayal with sadness and shock in my heart.
“Power, Ever,” she says, as if it explains everything. “You, of all people, should understand the allure of power. After all, isn’t it what you are doing here, aligning yourself with the Cardinals? But here’s something you don’t know—something that will shatter your little world.”
She steps closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, and what she reveals next sends a tremor down myspine. “The real reason your family lost their fortune wasn’t poor investments or unfortunate circumstances. It was us.Oursect. They orchestrated it all years ago, stripped your family of its wealth, its dignity, and they did it with the help of someone your family trusted.”
I feel numb, the room spinning as the enormity of her claim sets in.
“Who?” I manage to croak out, my grip on the knife faltering.
“Ah, now,” Crystal chides, wagging her finger. “That would be telling. Wouldn’t you rather figure it out yourself? The game’s much more fun that way.” Her laughter is hollow, a sound that marks the end of innocence and the beginning of a nightmare.
“Stanley’s family?” I mutter. “The Ashdowns?” It’s the only thing that makes sense, why Stanley was part of his faction, leader, even. But the guys said it was new. Something doesn’t add up here.
She neither confirms nor denies, but I see the flash of fire in her eyes.
“Who are you to Stanley?” I ask.
“Wereyou mean,” she hisses. “I know Alistair killed him.”
“You’re deluded,” I snap, hoping she doesn’t see I’m lying through my teeth.
“Am I?” Crystal’s sneer is the last straw. “It’s you who is deluded, Ever Knight. To think you could be somebody other than a nobody loser. Opening your legs for the most powerful guys on campus doesn’t make you somebody, Ever. It makes you a whore!”
My hands tighten on the knife again as I grit my teeth, but Crystal shifts, and her boot lashes out, connecting with my hand and sending the blade skittering across the marble floor.
I don’t think. I just move. My hand flies toward her smug face, ready to slap that smile off it, but she ducks and comes upwith an elbow that grazes my cheek. Pain explodes in a hot line down my skin.
“You bitch,” I hiss, all fired up now.
I kick, aiming for her knees, while Crystal’s sharpened nails find the tender flesh of my arms. We’re locked in a vicious cycle of scratch and dodge, neither giving an inch.
Crystal grabs a fistful of my hair, yanking me off balance. “Pathetic,” she hisses, trying to land a knee.
Adrenaline pumps through my veins, lending strength to my resolve. I throw my head back, smashing it into Crystal’s nose. She cries out, releasing me as I scream with pain lancing through my head. How do the guys do this? I stumble, spotting the glint of my knife just within reach. I dive for it, snatching it up before Crystal can reach me.
“Done playing?” I spit out, levelling the blade at Crystal.
She wipes blood from her nose, her eyes narrowing with malice. “You won’t do it. You don’t have the balls,” she mocks, standing tall despite the trickle of red staining her teeth, as she draws a similar knife out of the back of her pants.
My hand trembles with a rage so deep it scares me. She has played me this entire time. The fucking bitch. I bet it washerwho burned the student house down and blamed me for it. “Don’t be so sure,” I growl, every muscle coiled tight, ready to prove her wrong.
“Drop it,” Damien’s voice cuts through the tension, cold and commanding. Crystal freezes, and I whirl around to see him standing there, his gun trained on her head. His grey eyes are hard as flint, but it’s not just us he’s watching.
“Damien,” I breathe out, relief flooding through me.
“Ever, don’t move,” he orders, but his attention flickers for a fraction of a second to something beyond my sight. My heart slams against my ribs as I follow his gaze and see the men circling us, closing in like wolves on the hunt.
“You see,” Crystal says. “I didn’t come into this house completely blind.”
“Alex,” I breathe when I see him loom into view, a wicked smile on his face.
“Wrong brother,” he hisses, but it’s filled with pain, not anger.
Before anyone can react, Damien is lunged at, and Alex’s twin grabs me, tearing at my dress. A blade presses cold and threatening against my throat, and I choke on the terror that rises like bile as I drop my knife to grip the arm encasing me.
“You are fucking dead!” Damien roars, fighting them off with a ferocity that sends shivers down my spine.
In the chaos, I catch a glimpse of Crystal slipping away, her figure disappearing into the darkness of the underground chamber. “No!” I gasp, struggling against the iron grip that holds me captive.
