Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 141385 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141385 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
“Yes. The fact that he avoided marriage for so long only to go down the path he did backs up the theor,” Oscar continues. “He has three sons now.”
“Wow. He really didn’t want Daniel’s child to be his heir, huh?” I shake my head. “What about some of the others?”
“Similar stories.” Alec pulls a cigarette box from his pocket, removes one of the contents, and replaces the box before twirling the cigarette between his fingers. “Mostly the eldest children, the heirs, all from first marriages or relationships.”
“How did nobody ever put it together?” Oscar asks, taking the papers from Alec and scanning them. “It’s obvious, isn’t it?”
A bitter laugh escapes me. “Money. It’s always about money. All these people have access to unimaginable funds and can cover up things most people can only dream of.”
“She’s right,” Alec says to him. “You know that yourself.”
“I suppose. It just seems… I don’t know. There’s something barbaric about harming children, isn’t there?” Oscar looks up from the papers. “To actively seek to harm them in such a way for something that is so inconsequential in the grand scheme of things…”
“Because you aren’t evil.” I put my sheets down on the coffee table with a sigh. “I’m not an idiot. I know the two of you do some questionable things on behalf of the Royal Family. Heck, I’ve seen it.” I eye Alec for a moment, and he simply grins in response. “But you aren’t evil. You’re not actively conspiring against people with a goal of hurting them. More to the point, you aren’t hurting children. You’d never dream of it.
“And some of those things are inconsequential to us, but not to them. Take Daniel and the Masons—his family were never able to break into the circles they desired because of prejudice from the upper class, but he’s suddenly one little boy away from having his own son be an aristocrat. That’s a huge deal for someone who probably feels like he’s been snubbed just for being born to the ‘wrong’ person.”
“I suppose,” he replies. “I simply can’t imagine how horrible a person you must be to treat a child that way.”
“Most people can’t. That’s the point. To be that kind of evil is unfathomable for most people.”
“And, like you said, the people who commit such atrocities are rich beyond belief,” Alec continues. “Which makes them extremely hard to chase and catch. And if by some miracle you can catch them, it’s even harder to prove.”
My stomach knots. “Which is a very nice way of telling me that there’s an extremely slim chance of me ever being able to hold Rosalyn accountable for my kidnapping.”
He hesitates and briefly flicks his attention in Oscar’s direction. “You… may be an exception to that rule. You’re engaged to the heir to the throne. For all their money and power, you possess far more.”
“But you will be flirting with politics,” Oscar adds, his tone measured. “And that—”
“The lives and safety of children is not political.” I press my lips into a firm line. “And anyone who strives to make it so should be investigated immediately.”
“I wholeheartedly agree, but others don’t. Don’t forget that politicians and others in positions of power can be the most corrupt of them all. Even Her Majesty struggles against them sometimes.” He runs his hand through his hair, looking away. “I would encourage you to tread lightly.”
I curl my fingers into my palms, and my nails sting as they dig into my skin. I’m angry. Not at him, because it’s not his fault, but because there’s so much corruption at levels it has no business being at. So much self-serving bullshit without a care for others or how it harms them.
How ridiculous that I’m in the societal position I’m in and yet, I can do nothing about it.
I sigh, uncurling my fists. “Very well. I never set out to hold her legally accountable anyway. I always knew it was virtually impossible to do, so I suppose it is what it is.”
“Societally, however…” Alec shrugs a shoulder and replaces the untouched cigarette in the box. He slips it into his pocket and peers over at me with his dark eyes. “You’ve already made a fair start on tearing Jasmine Sinclair to shreds, and from what Marina has told me, she’s rather put out by it. I have to say, I’m very much looking forward to what you intend to do from this point.”
Yes.
He and I both.
Because I have no idea.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE – HATTIE
There’s a certain shift to the air whenever Finn is around. I’ve not quite pinpointed it yet, but I always know when he’s coming because something simply ripples through the very oxygen I breathe.
More than a chill, but less than a warmth.
A peculiar mix of regality and softness that comforts me in a way only my heart truly understands.