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“He’s dead now, isn’t he?”
“Yep. At least he knew when his time was up. My grandfather will hold on by one brittle fingernail. If he could, he’d figure out how to live forever. Sometimes, I think he believes he can.”
Well, getting Franklin Jarvis’ secret is out, but all the other Knights aren’t. If it’s there, that means it can be taken.
We just have to figure out how.
13
Eden
Ishould still be mourning my father. Instead, I’ve exchanged my posh grief attire for something still black but a little more clandestine.
We interred my father in the family crypt yesterday. Mother’s back home, playing the picture-perfect part of the sad widow. I spent most of yesterday staring at her, wondering if she actually feels bad or if she’s just pretended for so long that it comes naturally to her.
She took the suicide story hook, line, and sinker. Never doubted it for a second.
Me? Unless it’s proven otherwise, I believe the Knights killed him, just like they killed my sister.
All I know is I spent another funeral staring at the guests and wondering which one of them killed the person lying in the casket in front of me. If you ask me, that’s one too many.
Oliver rolls a whiteboard into the main room and sets it off to the side so it doesn’t block the fireplace.
“Are you serious?” Leo grumbles.
“When am I never not serious? We have planning to do.”
God, I love him. He’s so serious about this. He’s stayed with me through every harebrained idea I’ve ever had, never once telling me that I was fucking insane. If I had romance advice for anyone, it’d be to get a person like this—someone who buys a whiteboard so you can systematically break down your plan for how to get powerful people’s secrets because they may have killed your sister…and father.
I must admit, when the guys told me their idea, I was excited. A little sad that I missed the entire conversation, but I was also just glad that we had a route to take—something to fall back on when things get scary or too intimidating.
On the whiteboard are names written in green. I recognize them from the list Leo rattled off the other day. They are all the Elders that were most likely attending Eden’s final Trial.
Surprisingly, Leo’s taken to the idea of the whiteboard. He stands next to Oliver, takes a blue marker, and starts writing out short, clipped sentences under the heading The Secret File.
Castle
Fingerprint sensor
Blood sensor
Key
Alarm code
Cameras
Castle servants
My stomach plummetswhen I read his list.
“What we need to overcome to get the file,” Leo confirms.
“So, nothing too bad?” I joke, rolling my eyes. How in the world are the four of us supposed to overcome all of that? I feel like kicking a hole straight through this stupid whiteboard.
“I know people,” Leo says. “Plus, Alaric’s money buys people who know things like this.”
“I have money,” Oliver offers.