Page 23

D ean leans close to Vivian after the dishes are cleared away, whispering something in her ear. Her eyes spark with interest, and a smile curves around her lips as she nods, turning to Sable. “C’mon,” she says, gesturing down the hallway. “I’d love to show you my library.”

Sable glances our way, giving me a quick smile, and grabs her wine glass before following Vivian down the hall. Once they’re out of sight, Dean gives a subtle nod toward the opposite end of the hallway. He and Ali lead us toward a pair of heavy double doors, pushing them open to reveal a sprawling office space. Two desks face each other in the center, an oversized leather couch is tucked in one corner, and bookshelves line the walls.

Ali settles into one of the armchairs by the desk, motioning for Kai, Dean, and me to take seats as well. Dean closes the doors behind us, his expression a bit more serious now, dropping the easygoing charm from earlier. The shift in atmosphere isn’t lost on me.

“So,” Dean begins, looking each of us in the eye, “I gather this visit isn’t just for social purposes?”

“Dad, you know why we’re here.”

“So, you know what I am going to tell you,” Dean says as he pours all of us tumblers of whiskey. I take mine graciously and sit on the couch.

Ali sighs. “Dean, we’ve protected him long enough.”

Dean shakes his head, his jaw set tightly as he empties his whiskey in a single gulp, then pours another glass.

I clear my throat, attempting to break the tension. “We found a book—it’s upstairs with my things. It’s full of pictures of former students. Of you two. Care to explain that? Or are you going to protect us further by hiding information?”

Ali’s gaze meets mine, and I can see the wheels turning, something hard settling behind his eyes. “The Syndicate had a much stronger grip on society back in our day. They didn’t just influence—they controlled. Think of arranged marriages, handpicked careers, forced alliances, staged accidents. They orchestrated the lives of everyone who mattered.”

“So what changed?” Kai asks.

“Killian Thompson happened,” Dean interrupts.

“Levi’s dad?”

“We were all seniors at AGU when Killian met Xana. She was... different. Not even a student, just a bartender at a dive near campus. But he fell for her—completely, recklessly.”

“He was a fucking idiot,” Dean mutters. “The Syndicate had plans for him. He was supposed to marry a Syndicate-approved partner, solidifying the line.”

“Why the hell does that even matter?”

“Bloodlines matter, Silas,” Ali says simply. “They believe in pure bloodlines, in being able to control who was connected to whom. The Syndicate was built on power, family dynasties, and alliances bound by blood.”

“So what’s left of the Syndicate now?”

Dean takes a steadying breath as if he’s sorting through memories he’d rather leave buried. “Killian dismantled the Syndicate’s inner circle. He didn’t just challenge their rules—he buried them. When he killed the Syndicate president so he could marry Xana, it threw everything into chaos. We thought he’d taken them out for good.”

“But…” Kai presses, glancing between his dads. “If they were gone, then how…?”

“Vivian… your mother…” he hesitates. “She can’t have children. An accident she had back in college made it impossible. And your mother was so desperate to have a child. So, we adopted you and your younger sister privately.”

“Why did you have to keep it a secret?”

Dean’s hand clenches around his glass. “Infertility is viewed as a defect by the Syndicate. It wouldn’t serve their bloodlines to have a dead end. The Reynolds family name has to live on. When they found out that we had adopted two children, they found Kai’s birth mother and threatened to kill her if we didn’t do what he asked.”

“So you… you started working with them?”

Ali nods. “We didn’t have a choice, Kai. They threatened you, too—made it clear that they could take you from us. It was work for them or risk losing everything we’d built together. Plus, they allowed us to adopt your brother too.”

“So every time you kept secrets from me, it was to keep the Syndicate off our backs?”

“Yes,” Dean says. “They forced us into compliance, made us their pawns. We thought we were protecting you. And for a long time, we were. But now…”

“So the Syndicate isn’t the one responsible for these murders?” Ali asks.

“No,” I reply. “According to Levi, Victoria was the president’s daughter.”

Dean’s eyes narrow. “The Ashford girl?”

Kai and I exchange a look before nodding.

Dean rubs his jaw, the gears visibly turning in his mind. “Well… it makes sense they’d think Levi was involved, doesn’t it? You all were connected to her last spring, weren’t you?”

“Yes, sir,” Kai answers.

Dean doesn’t blink. “And now she ends up dead?”

“Yes.”

“And Levi’s father dismantled the Syndicate’s inner circle twenty-five years ago?”

Realization starts to settle in, like pieces of a puzzle falling into place. But it only leaves me with more questions than answers.

“But… that doesn’t explain the other murders.”

Dean’s brows lift slightly as he meets Kai’s gaze. “Are you sure it doesn’t?”

“I’ve spent hours poring over police reports, staring at the pictures of my classmates, mutilated, butchered. The only clue—if you can even call it that—is that their parents were in the same graduating year at Ashen Grove.”

“None of it points to a killer, though. We’re grasping at straws here,” I say.

Ali leans back, folding his arms, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. “Then maybe stop looking at the dead. Start looking at those who are still alive.”

Silence settles over the room, a cold realization sinking in. For a long moment, no one speaks.

“If the Syndicate let Levi walk away, gave him a month... that means they’re working with him.”

“They’ve allowed him time knowing the risks. And if that’s true, you might be able to use it to your advantage. He’s a piece in their strategy, but he’s still under their thumb.”

“The Syndicate doesn’t hand out favors, not without their own agenda driving it. If they’re keeping Levi on a leash, it means they don’t trust their own. They want him to do the dirty work, but they’re also watching him, watching you,” Ali says.

Dean pours another glass and hands it to me, his eyes meeting mine with a look hard as stone. “They know every step you’ll take before you even think about it, Silas. They have eyes everywhere, pulling strings none of us can even see. But if Levi’s got this window… you have a chance. Keep your head down. Find the murderer. And for God’s sake, be careful. ”

A little while later, we step out of the study and into the hall. The air feels heavier, charged with a new kind of urgency. We’re not just chasing shadows anymore. We’re unraveling a legacy, one that holds our lives and our futures hostage.

The Syndicate has laid down its cards. Now it’s our turn to play.

This isn’t just a fight to clear Levi’s name.

This is a battle to survive.