Page 71 of Crossing the Line

The Red Stone

Hercules Lord

Ihaven’t slept a bit since Sunday, except for when I closed my eyes while sitting at my desk. At the time, I drifted off and then jerked my head up before I tipped forward, back, or to either side. For the most part, the atmosphere has been transitioning through its regular fluctuations from day to night, but I have been up, putting it all together, finding answers.

I check the time and date at the corner of my computer—Tuesday, 1:43 p.m. It feels as though I just ended Sunday breakfast with my mother and Achilles, who left after he made sure I had the bad news he delivered in my hands.

I haphazardly listened to my mother prattle on about design changes she was making to the interior and exterior of the estate as though she hadn’t partnered with Achilles in upending my peace of mind. When I was done eating, instead of getting the hell out of there, I went to the more private study located at the rear of the house, a room that was rarely used, and read over the documents Achilles tossed at me. As of this coming Friday, the marriage between Lauren Ivy Mueller and Hercules Ivan Lord will be legal. All parties have agreed and signed. Achilles forged my signature. I bet he’s daring me to contest the signature. I won’t, simply because I’m taking a different route to get what I want. And I think I can make it work. It would have been an uphill battle if I hadn’t seen what I saw in the rear wing’s study.

Damn, how lucky can one man get in fewer than seven days?After that, I thought,It’s time to fight Achilles’s kind of fire with molten lava.

I’d never before gone through the Lord Trust with a fine-toothed comb. I never felt motivated enough to do it. But now I am. Not only have I read the five hundred pages of trust rules from cover to cover, but I’ve done it twice. And my efforts have paid off.

That’s why my headache and body stiffness feel so damn good. I have found something that will liberate our clan of Lords from jumping through my great-grandfather’s holier-than-thou hoops. My plan involves the Groves. I took a picture of the painting hanging on the wall in the study.

I rub my temples. My head hurts so badly—my brain feels like it wants to burst. But I’ve done a good job. That’s what my grandfather would tell me if he knew all the steps I’d taken to get to this point.

Achilles will be butthurt at first, but eventually, he’ll appreciate the work I put in. Orion, well… maybe he’ll be ready to do some of the heavy lifting for once. We’ll see.