Page 124 of Blood and Thorns

“We appreciate you being able to take time to come today,” Caden said, his tone demanding the attention of the room. “You’ve been called because a woman known as Margot Laurent, alias the Enchantress, has been actively trying to take over our territory.”

I watched from my position, no longer Sebastian, but the Beast who was the judge, jury and executioner. I didn’t speak, simply content to watch everyone’s expressions as the information sunk in. It made people more on edge to know they were being watched, more likely to make a mistake if they’re under the impression I was hunting. Waiting for them to fuck up and face the consequences.

“I’ve heard of her,” Qian, the only grandson of the Zhao family, muttered. “I’ve seen that new Enchanted Dust pop up at a few places.”

“You didn’t think to mention it?” Caden asked, his exterior calm, but I could tell there was rage burning beneath the surface. Langdon noticed too, frowning over from his position by the wall. He never joined in with these meetings, simply watching the same as me with theclick, snap, clickof his lighter.

“I didn’t realise I had to.” Qian winced when his father gripped his shoulder tightly. “It wasn’t on any of our guys.”

“Hmm,” Caden hummed, tugging at the sleeves of his jacket in a subtle gesture of frustration. “We believe she’s behind the bombs.”

Feng stiffened at the same time his son’s complexion paled.

“We also believe she’s managed to swap our product with a cheap alternative, one that has been causing these deaths.”

“So the rumours of Cursed Rose being corked are true?” Alexander asked, his lips pursed into a frown. “That would explain the decrease in sales across the board.”

“Which is why we need to reestablish trust in the brand,” Caden added. “We’ll need–”

“This is bullshit,” one of the dealers snapped. “How can we reestablish trust when we’re being made targets? You sit up here with protection, while we’re the ones risking our lives. You’re not doing anything to–ugh!”

I didn’t bother to remain calm, simply shoving his head down so hard it knocked against the wood of the table with a crack. Before he could move, I placed the cold tip of my gun against his temple.

“I think I’ve seen you at parties.” My uncle squinted, wrinkling his nose. “Kill him.”

“Wait! Wait!” The man trembled beneath my grip. “I’m sorry! I take it back!”

“I know exactly who you are,” Alexander continued with a pompous tone. “You run a small team of three, each who have proven to sell more efficiently than you. They understand the dangers of the role, and if the substantial sum of money isn’t enough for you to do your job, then maybe we should look at someone else who’s willing to take the risk.”

Another interesting fact about my uncle is that he takes everything to do with money seriously. Considering his surname is worth nothing thanks to my grandfather, he has an investment in how well everything runs just so he can keep up his lifestyle.

It wouldn’t surprise me that he had a colour codedspreadsheet with every dealer with a rating of how competent they were.

“Anyone else care to interrupt me like this daft muppet?” Caden asked the room.

When he was met with silence, I reluctantly let the man’s head go.

The meeting carried on without issue, and only when everyone had left did I finally unclench my jaw. I didn’t get any suspicious vibes from anyone, but we hadn’t expected Miles to betray us, either. If someone in the meeting had sold us out, they hid it well.

“You’re looking in the wrong places,” Alexander muttered, remaining in his seat. “The dealers only know of their distribution unit, and the distribution managers only know of their own venue, not the others.”

Caden sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “Dad…”

“You know I’m right.” Alexander glanced at me. “Use your brain, not your brawn. Unless they were all conspiring against you, not a single one of them could be the snake. They simply don’t have the information, and that’s for good reason.”

Alexander was right, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t cautious. “We can’t rule anything else out until we get Margot.”

A knock on the door, followed by a gentle squeak of its opening.

Arabella’s eyes widened when she looked across the conference table, a faint blush darkening her cheeks.

“Everyone out,” I demanded, ignoring the surprised looks. “Now.”

Langdon pushed the door further open, gesturing for Arabella to step inside while everyone else left. She refused to look at Alexander, who scowled at her in passing.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, glancing over her shoulder. “I didn’t realise…”

“What’s happened,belle?” I reached for my mask, pulling it off. “Are you okay?”