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CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

JADE

Monday morning we wake up to someone knocking on the bedroom door. I check the clock. It’s only nine and our plane doesn’t leave until one.

“Garret. Jade. I need you to get up.” It’s Pearce. He should’ve left an hour ago for the organization’s meeting. He knocks again. “Are you awake?”

Garret shoves the covers back and gets out of bed. “Yeah, I’m coming.” He yawns as he opens the door. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at the meeting?”

“Something came up. It’s been delayed until later today.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Katherine told the organization about Jade. She told them Jade is Royce’s daughter.”

“She what?” I stumble out of bed wearing sleep pants and a t-shirt. I grab my sweatshirt and yank it on as I go to the door. “Why would she do that?”

“She’s trying to get back at my dad and William for setting her up,” Garret explains, like he’s not surprised that this happened. “I assume she told them that you and William knew about Jade?”

Pearce nods. “Yes. She’s hoping William and I will be punished for knowing this information and not telling the organization. Katherine is irate over her punishment and she wants revenge. If she’s going down, she wants to take William and me with her.”

“When did she tell them?” Garret asks.

“Last night. She reported it to one of the high ranking members, knowing the meeting was today. She knew they’d try to take her money and thought if she shared this secret, the organization might reward her by letting her keep it.” He checks his watch. “Get dressed and come down to my office. I have more to tell you. And hurry up. We don’t have much time.”

We take a quick shower and get dressed and meet him in his office.

“So what are they going to do to you and William?” Garret asks.

“Nothing. They called me early this morning and I explained that I had no idea who Jade was until after Royce’s death. I talked to William just now and he told them the same thing. According to the rules, we aren’t required to disclose secrets we learn about another member after that member is deceased. Katherine wasn’t aware of that rule, and now that she is, I’m sure she’s furious that William and I will not be punished.”

“But Katherine knows the truth,” Garret says. “Why didn’t she tell them you knew about Jade a long time ago?”

“Because if she did, I’d tell the members that Katherine has known about Jade for as long as I have, and then Katherine would be in even more trouble. She insisted that she just recently found out about Jade, and I didn’t refute her story. As long as we both keep this secret, we’ll be fine.”

“So Katherine’s trick didn’t work. Nobody’s being punished.”

“It did work, but in Katherine’s favor. By sharing this information, Katherine will be allowed to keep some of her money. And as for the punishment, it’s being handed down to Victoria, not William or myself.”

“Victoria?” I ask, trying to keep up with his story. With all the secrets and cover-ups and blackmail, I can’t keep track of it all. “What does Victoria have to do with this?”

“She knew,” Pearce says.

“She knew about Jade?” Garret asks. “Royce told her what he’d done?”

“No. Years ago, Victoria got an anonymous letter in the mail, saying that Royce had a daughter with another woman.”

“How do you know this?” Garret asks.

“William told me when I talked to him this morning. He said that last week, Sadie called him to complain that the credit card Grace gave her had been canceled. Grace took it away to punish Sadie for treating Jade the way she did when they met that night of the memorial service. Sadie asked William to talk Grace into giving her the card back. William refused and Sadie got angry, yelling and screaming about how Jade has ruined everything. Sadie still didn’t believe Jade was her sister and was determined to find out the truth. She searched through some old boxes Royce had stored away, and that’s when she found the letter.”

I look at Garret, then back at Pearce. “I don’t understand. Hardly anyone knew about Royce and my mom, so who wrote the letter?”

“It was anonymous but I assume your mother wrote it. It was postmarked right after you were born. The letter didn’t say he raped your mother. It just said he fathered a child, then pleaded for Victoria to convince him to leave the child alone. Your mother obviously thought Royce might come back and harm you. I’m guessing she thought Victoria, being a new mother herself at the time, would keep Royce from doing anything to an innocent child.”

“So Victoria didn’t know I was that child,” I confirm.

“I think she knew when she saw you at the fundraiser I had for Royce last year. You look like Royce, and Victoria knew he had a child out there so I’m guessing she put it together.”

“If Sadie has the letter, how can William prove it exists?” Garret asks.

“When Sadie told William about the letter, he told her it might be fake and that she should send it to him so he could have it verified. So she did, and now William has the letter. He scanned it and emailed it to the organization. The ruling council is reviewing it as we speak.”

Garret smiles. “Shit, William really wants to get back at Victoria.”

Pearce nods. “There’s a history there, but I don’t know the details. Anyway, now that the members are aware of this, they’ve decided to punish Victoria. Someone has to be punished for Royce’s failure to disclose this, and since Victoria was in on this secret, the organization felt that she should receive the punishment.”

“Is anything going to happen to Jade?”

“No, but she does need to do something. That’s why I woke you up. You can’t go home today. You’ll have to leave tomorrow. Don’t worry about rescheduling your flight. You can take my jet back to California.”

“Why are we staying here?” Garret asks.

“They need to talk to Jade.”

“Who?”

“The organization. They’ve summoned Jade to the meeting.”

“Are you serious?” Garret stands up. “And you agreed to this?”

“We don’t have a choice,” Pearce says.

Garret huffs. “No. Forget it. I’m not letting her get anywhere near them.”

“Garret, they know she’s a Sinclair. They can’t hurt her now. It’s against the rules. When your grandfather got his promotion, he instituted a rule forbidding a member from causing physical harm to other members or their families.”

“I don’t care! They tried to kill her, and you seriously want her around those people?”

“She’s already been around them. She’s met them. She’s seen them at parties. She just didn’t know they were members.”

“Why do they want me to go to their meeting?” I ask him.

“Technically, it’s not a meeting. It’s a sentencing. They want you there when they hand down their punishment to Victoria. They ordered the whole Sinclair family to be there. They’re probably going to ask you a few questions and then they’ll hand over Victoria’s punishment.”

“What kind of questions?” My stomach knots just thinking about having to talk to these people.

“I don’t know for certain, but I’m assuming they’ll be questions related to Victoria, such as if she ever showed any signs that she knew you.”

“So Victoria will be there? And all of her daughters?”

“Yes. And William will be there. Grace is excused since she was given such short notice and couldn’t get here in time.”

“Jade’s not going,” Garret says. “She doesn’t need to be there. I’ll go in her place.”

“They won’t accept that. Jade’s a Sinclair. She needs to be there. I told them you’d want to accompany her and they agreed to it, so all three of us will be going.”

“No. Forget it, Dad. I don’t trust them. This is just one of their sick games and I’m not playing it.”

“They won’t harm her, Garret. I promise you, they won’t. And we’ll both be there with her. We won’t let her out of our sight.”

“Garret, it’s okay.” I pull on him to sit down. “Let’s just do it. I don’t want to get on their bad side and have them come after us again.”

“Jade is right,” Pearce says. “If you’re cooperative, they’ll be more likely to leave you alone in the future. Jade being a Sinclair changes things. She’s considered one of us now. And they don’t want to waste time going after their own. They’ll stop trying to scare you. They’ll let you live your lives. This is a simple request. Do this and you’ll be done dealing with them.”

“When’s the meeting?” I ask him.

“Today at noon. We’ll leave here at ten-thirty. It’s an hour away and we don’t want to be late.”

“Do I need to prepare for it? And what am I supposed to wear?”

“You don’t need to prepare anything. Their questions will be very basic. You just need to go along with the story I told you about how William and I didn’t know about you until after Royce died. And don’t tell them about the rape. Go with the story of it being an affair. As for dress code, you need to wear a black dress. Everyone wears black to the hearings and sentencings.”

“I don’t have a dress. I’ll have to go get one.”

He gets his phone out. “I’ll have one sent over. It’ll be here within the hour.”

We wait for him to text whoever’s buying me a dress and then Garret says, “Dad, you should tell Jade exactly what you told the organization about Royce so she doesn’t accidentally say the wrong thing in case they ask her about it.”

Pearce agrees and goes over the story he and William told the organization. Then my dress arrives and Garret and I go upstairs to change. We skipped breakfast. I don’t feel like eating after hearing I’m being summoned by the organization. I don’t know if I can do this. But I need to. If doing this will get them to leave us alone, I’ll do it.

I put on my dress and Garret puts on one of the suits he still had in his closet. When we meet downstairs to leave, it looks like we’re all going to a funeral. I’m in my black dress and Garret and his dad are both in black suits.

A black car with tinted windows arrives to pick us up. Normally, Pearce would drive himself to the meeting, so I’m not sure why the organization isn’t allowing him to now. Is it because of me? I asked Pearce, but he didn’t answer, so I assume it’s because of me.

The driver is wearing a black suit. I don’t know if he’s a member or just a driver. Pearce instructed me not to talk on the way there. The car has microphones and cameras inside and he doesn’t want the people watching and listening to us getting any kind of information about us, even if it’s just normal things, like stuff about school. So we sit there in silence for 55 minutes. I can’t tell where we are because I can’t see out the windows. They have some kind of covering over them that blurs the view. Some light filters through but I can’t see the outside. There’s a partition up between the front seat and the back seats so I can’t even see out the front window.

The car slows down and the driver’s voice booms through the back speakers. “Put the blindfold on the girl.”

Pearce picks up a piece of black fabric from the seat. I hadn’t even noticed it was there because the seats are black so it blended in.

Garret takes it from him. “Dad, what the hell? She’s not wearing this. She’s not going to tell anyone.”

“Garret, they won’t let her in without it. You know the rules.”

He sighs. “But she takes it off when we get inside, right?”

“Once we’re in the room, she can take it off.”

I’m feeling sick to my stomach. I don’t like this at all. The black clothes. The black car I can’t see out of. The blindfold. I feel like I’m being taken to my execution.

“I don’t feel good,” I say quietly to Garret.

He holds my hand. “It’ll be okay. I’ll be with you the whole time.”

“I really have to wear that?” I point to the blindfold.

“Not for very long. Just until we get to the room.”

“Why aren’t you wearing one?”

“I’ve been there before. I’ve already seen where it is.”

I nod and let him put the blindfold on me. As soon as it’s on, the car moves again. A few minutes later it comes to a stop.

I hear the driver through the speaker. “Mr. Kensington, your son will go first, followed by the girl and then you. The blindfold must remain on the girl until they tell you otherwise.”

I hear the door open. Garret helps me out, then takes my hand and I slowly walk forward, with him ahead of me. I feel Pearce behind me, his hand on my shoulder. I’m shaking now, fearful of what’s going to happen. Why do they want me here? I don’t understand this.

I hear another door open. It sounds heavy. It makes a loud creaking noise as it opens. We must be walking through it because the air suddenly changes and becomes damp and musty, like we’re in an underground tunnel. We keep walking, not saying a word. I’m gripping Garret’s hand and he’s rubbing mine with his thumb, trying to calm me. Pearce’s hand is still on my shoulder, so at least I feel somewhat protected having both of them surrounding me.

We finally reach another door, and as it opens, I feel warm air coming out. We go inside and the wet, musty smell is gone.

“Right this way,” I hear a man say. “Pearce, you may go to your seat.”

Pearce’s hand leaves my shoulder and I suddenly feel exposed, like someone’s going to come up behind me and do something. Garret leads me forward, taking several small steps and then stopping.

“Turn her around,” a man says.

Garret turns me the other direction, our hands still attached.

“Now go sit by your father,” the man says.

“No,” Garret says. “I’m not leaving her down here alone.”

I hear someone walking and then, “Garret, you need to sit down.”

He sighs, then I feel his hands on my face, his breath over my lips as he whispers, “I’ll be right behind you, okay?”

I nod, my body still shaking.

He kisses my forehead. “I love you.”

As soon as I feel his hands leave my face, I panic. I don’t know where I am or what they’re going to do to me. Someone’s behind me now, taking the blindfold off.

“Don’t turn around,” a man says. “You must remain facing forward at all times. Do you understand?”

I swallow hard and nod. I squint at the bright light shining down on me. I look up and see three rows of tiered seating ahead of me. It looks like it continues around the room, although I don’t dare turn back and check. I keep my eyes forward. The seating area is dark, but there’s enough of a glow from the spotlight in the middle of the room that I can see figures in front of me. They’re sitting down, wearing black robes with large hoods that cast shadows on their faces so I can’t see them. Why are they wearing robes? Are they the judges? Or is everyone wearing robes? I can’t look behind me so I don’t know.

I’m so nervous I might throw up. I wish they’d just hurry up and start whatever this is so it can end and we can leave.

“Bitch.”

I hear someone whisper it and glance to my right and see Sadie standing next to me. I was so focused on what was in front of me, I didn’t even see her there. She’s staring straight ahead. Did she really just call me a bitch? Maybe I’m imagining things.

“Whore.”

I definitely heard that. But it came from my other side. I glance left and see Sadie’s sister. Her name’s Emily and she’s two years younger than Sadie. I’ve only seen photos of her. She’s also staring straight ahead. I glance farther down and see Tamryn and Camille, the other two half-sisters I’ve never met. They catch me looking at them and glare back at me, but just briefly.

So they all hate me. Not just Sadie and Victoria. All of them. But do they really need to call me a bitch and a whore?

Someone comes through the door. It’s Victoria, blindfolded and guided by another man in a black robe. She takes her place next to Sadie and her blindfold is removed.

“We will now begin,” the man in front of me says. I can’t see him. He’s just a dark shadow like the rest of them. “We’re here to hand down the punishment for Royce Sinclair not disclosing the fact that he had a child resulting from an extramarital affair. As you know, failure to disclose an indiscretion from one’s past, especially one of this magnitude, is against the rules and cause for punishment. Given our plans for Royce, this violation of the rules is even more serious. Based on our earlier investigations, we’ve absolved both Pearce Kensington and William Sinclair from punishment, given our belief that neither one of them were aware of Royce’s illegitimate child until after Royce’s death.”

“That’s not true!” Victoria calls out. “Pearce knew—”

“Stop!” The man puts his hand out toward Victoria. “You will not speak unless spoken to. Am I clear?”

She nods.

“Given that Royce was deceased at the time, William and Pearce were not required to disclose this information, although it is encouraged since secrets are not to be kept from the group. But technically, they did not break the rules. Royce, of course, did break the rules by not telling us about this, but since he is no longer with us, his punishment must be passed to someone else in his family. Typically, punishment would automatically pass to a brother, but given the many years of dedicated service paid by both William, and his father, Arlin, we have decided against punishing him. Instead, we are here today to pass Royce’s punishment to his wife, Victoria Sinclair. We feel Victoria is most deserving of this punishment, given that she knew of her husband’s affair and the child that resulted from it. We have proof that she knew about this years ago.”

“No!” Victoria raises her hand. “That letter was—”

“Enough!” the man yells. “One more outburst like that and your punishment will become much more severe.”

She purses her lips, her eyes narrowed.

“The child who resulted from the affair is here today. Jade Sinclair. Please step forward.”

I stand there, noticing the room is silent. And then I realize what he said. Jade Sinclair. Shit, that’s me! I’ve never heard myself called that before now. I slowly step forward.

“We have run a DNA test and the test showed that Jade is indeed a Sinclair,” he says.

DNA test? What? When did they do that?

He continues. “Which means that she is not to be harmed in any way, given the new rule instituted by Holton Kensington and approved at our meeting last October. If any member is found in violation of this rule, he will be punished. Jade Sinclair, we now have some questions for you.”

Oh, God. I’m definitely going to throw up. I take some breaths, trying to calm my nervous stomach.

“Were you aware that Victoria knew of your existence before Royce’s death?”

“No,” I blurt out.

“When did you first meet Victoria?”

“At a fundraiser for Royce at Mr. Kensington’s house.”

“And how did she act when you met her?”

I take a deep breath so I can speak. My heart’s pounding and it’s making me breathless. “She acted like she didn’t want me around her husband. She gave me an angry look, like I shouldn’t be talking to him. And then she told Royce he had to go give his speech.”

“Looking back, and knowing what you know now, do you feel like she knew you were Royce’s child during that encounter?”

I’m not sure how to answer. I really have no idea. If I think back, I guess it’s possible she knew and that’s why she was trying to keep me away from him. I look a lot like Sadie and a little like Royce, so Victoria had to have figured it out.

I’m not protecting that woman. I’m just going to say it.

“I can’t say for sure if Victoria knew. But given that I look a little like Royce and a lot like Sadie, I think it’s likely that Victoria knew who I was.”

There’s silence, except for the sound of Sadie whispering ‘bitch’ just loud enough for me to hear.

“Sadie Sinclair,” the man says. “Step forward.”

She steps up so that she’s even with me. There’s some whispering among the members.

“You do look very similar,” the man says. “I don’t see how it’s possible Victoria wouldn’t see the similarity and put this together. It just confirms that she knew. And yet even after meeting Royce’s daughter that night, Victoria still didn’t come forward and disclose this. Her goal was to be first lady and she put her own selfish goals ahead of the organization. She knew Royce would be punished and demoted if this were ever revealed, so she hid it from us.”

As he says it, I realize that if Victoria had told them, they would’ve killed me. Back then, they didn’t have that rule about not harming a member’s family. They would’ve killed me because I know things I shouldn’t know. So although she didn’t intend to, Victoria saved me. And now, the members can’t hurt me because of the rule Holton made. How crazy is that? Two of my biggest enemies ended up saving me. If Holton knew that, he’d be rolling around in his grave, trying to claw his way out to come back and kill me.

I’m assuming the protection rule only applies to a member’s blood relatives. Otherwise, Holton wouldn’t have made it. He would’ve made sure it couldn’t apply to me. But he didn’t know I was a Sinclair, and since I am, Holton’s rule does apply to me. As Royce’s daughter and William’s niece, I’m now protected from ever being harmed.

The man in front of me slams his gavel on the table. “Punishment will now be given. If there are any objections to the punishment discussed earlier, speak now.”

The room is silent, so he continues. “Jade, please step back.”

I do as he says. Sadie starts to step back as well but the man stops her.

“Sadie, remain where you are,” he says.

“What? Why? What did I—”

“Quiet! You will not ask questions.” The man’s getting very impatient. “Victoria, step forward.”

He waits until she does, then continues speaking. “Victoria Sinclair, the benefits you and your husband received because of his membership in this organization are now rescinded, and any such benefits received in the past will need to be repaid. We’ve already begun siphoning money from your personal bank accounts and if it’s not enough to cover his debt, we’ll be withdrawing money from your investment accounts. You will not be allowed to take money from your parents or Royce’s family, given that they, too, receive financial rewards from the organization. You will also no longer have access to the clinic. Should you choose to seek revenge via blackmail or selling secrets about us to outsiders, you will be terminated. You are no longer under the newly instituted protection rule. As for your four children, they may continue to receive money from either side of the family, but if we find that any of that money has been given to you, they will no longer be allowed to receive that money. Do you understand?”

Victoria clears her throat. “Yes.”

“Sadie Sinclair. Because of your parents’ actions, we are no longer considering you one of our options for Evan’s future wife.”

“But—” She stops when he puts his hand up.

“Your relationship with him has now ended and he will be notified. You are not to contact him in any way from this point forward. If we find out you disobeyed, there will be consequences.” He pounds his gavel. “This ends the sentencing. They may now be escorted out, except for Jade Sinclair.”

What? I can’t leave? Why can’t I leave? I answered their questions. I’m done.

Two robed men appear with blindfolds. They place them on Victoria, Sadie, and her sisters, and lead them out of the room. I remain standing there under the hot lights. I close my eyes a moment to escape the harsh glare.

“Yes, Pearce.” I open my eyes when I hear the man talking again. I didn’t hear Pearce say anything. Maybe he raised his hand.

“Jade has answered your questions regarding Victoria,” Pearce says from somewhere behind me. “I request that she be allowed to leave now.”

“We have other questions for her. Please sit down.” He pauses, probably waiting for Pearce to sit, then says, “Jade, the members would like to know why it is you re-entered into a relationship with Garret Kensington after his actions and behaviors last spring?”

Shit. What kind of question is that? I’m not prepared for this. I don’t know what to say. I feel like I have to craft each word perfectly for these people or I’ll screw up and get myself in trouble.

“Ms. Sinclair?” he says, waiting for my response.

“It’s Kensington. Jade Kensington. Garret and I are married.”

Dammit. I shouldn’t have corrected him like that. Now I’m going to get in trouble.

“We know your name is Kensington. We used Sinclair just to avoid any confusion while discussing this case. Now, please answer the question.”

“I um—” I’m so hot under these lights I feel dizzy. Or maybe it’s just because I’m nervous. “I love him.” I take a breath. “I love Garret and I forgave him for what he did. He’s young, and people tend to do stupid things when they’re young. He needed to do all that stuff and get it out of his system.”

“And is it out of his system? Is he no longer doing those things?”

I hesitate. If they think Garret’s a new man who doesn’t do anything bad, they might try to get him back.

“Garret isn’t perfect,” I say. “He still has some issues to work through.”

“What kind of issues?”

“You’ve asked her enough,” Pearce says. “She doesn’t have to answer your questions. Garret is no longer a member. His issues are no longer your concern.”

“That may be true,” the man says. “But you’re still a member, Pearce. And what your son does could affect us. We don’t want more images of him on the news, crashing cars and destroying hotel rooms.”

“He’s not doing that,” Pearce says. “And if he does, I will stop it before the media gets word of it.”

“Jade.” The man pauses. “I trust that Garret and Pearce have informed you that any and all information you know about this group must be kept confidential, and that if you ever share this information with others, your protection under the newly instituted rule will no longer be valid, putting you at risk.”

“Yes. I understand.”

The man nods at someone on the side of the room. “Jade and Garret may leave now.”

I look to my right and see a robed man walking toward me, holding a blindfold.

“Oh, and Jade.” The man with the gavel is speaking again.

“Yes?”

Beneath the hood, on his dark shadowy face, I see his mouth curve up just slightly. “Welcome to the family.”

An icy chill runs down my spine as the blindfold is wrapped around my eyes. Why did he say that? What does that mean? Is it good or bad? I need to get out of here. I know they said I’m safe, but I don’t feel safe and I want out of here as fast as possible.

I feel Garret’s hand around mine. He leads me out of the room into the cold, damp hallway and back outside. Garret helps me into the car and I feel it drive away. After we’ve been driving a while, Garret takes the blindfold off me.

We still can’t talk because of the microphones in the car. So I just lay against him and close my eyes and try to calm down. That whole experience totally freaked me out. The only good thing that came out of it was that Victoria got punished. Making her poor doesn’t seem like that big of a punishment, but I guess to her it is. And now Sadie won’t be first lady.

I smile at that. I used to want to try to be friends with my half sisters but not anymore. I’m done trying. Like Garret told me before, you don’t have to be friends with your family. And after today’s events, I know for sure that Sadie and I will never be friends.