Page 58 of Blood and Thorns (Twisted Ever After #1)

Sebastian

With my mask in place, I watched from the head of the table, the atmosphere in the room apprehensive as everyone felt the strain beneath my attention.

“Honestly, is this meeting really appropriate?” my uncle demanded, eyeing the rest of the table with the snobbery of someone brought up with a silver spoon. “It could’ve been a phone call.”

Caden shot Alexander a glare, father and son holding identical expressions before Alexander finally settled grumpily into his seat.

Feng Zhao sat in the place his mother would usually sit, his grandson sitting beside him despite the burns that marked his flesh. They’d already nodded in my direction, and I’d already given my condolences to the loss of their matriarch.

The other managers of my distribution were here too, as well as a few of the more profound dealers that catered to certain high-end demographics.

They held the highest hierarchy in the separate branches of my empire, employing many below them.

They were men and woman I’d worked with for years, gaining trust and a mutual respect in an industry that promoted corruption.

Any one of them could be the snake, which just meant I’d been too lenient. Maybe I needed to remind them exactly why I held the largest and most successful cocaine trade on the entire continent.

“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 the click, snap, click of 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 coded spreadsheet 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?”

Arabella swallowed, looking back at Chip as if he would help. I suppressed my growl, instead reaching over to cup her jaw.

“I want to see my father.”

There was no hesitation in my answer. “No.”

She stiffened beneath my palm. “You promised me freedom, or am I still just some toy to you?”

“Ara…”

“He’s still my father.”

“He tried to have you raped,” I snapped, my anger as vicious as a thousand hornets. “He hurt you.”

“I know.” Arabella straightened, holding her head higher. “But I came to you first. I could’ve just gone without telling you, but I didn’t.”

If she thought that comment would help with my fucking resentment…

“Please,” she added. “I need to see him. You keep asking me to stay, but this is what that means, Sebastian. Letting me choose. Letting me make decisions for myself. For you to trust me.”

Her words hit harder than I liked to admit. I wasn’t used to giving space, not when I’d built an empire on control. And letting her go, even for a moment, felt like loosening my grip on something I wasn’t ready to lose.

I clenched my jaw, forcing back the instinct to shut it all down. To lock the world out and keep her where I could keep her safe. But she was right, I needed to trust her if I didn’t want to lose her.

“You’ll take the twins,” I said finally, voice tight. “And Chip. No exceptions. ”

Her upper lip twitched. “That’s a little bit overkill.”

I tried to calm my voice, not wanting to growl when she’d so easily agreed to my rules. “No exceptions.”

Her smile brightened her face, and I was glad that I’d removed the mask because she reached up on tiptoe to press her lips to mine.