Page 170 of The Echo of Forever

“It was her son who wanted her dead.”

I continued flipping through the pages, letting none of my surprise register on my face as I processed what this meant. The pieces were shifting again, rearranging themselves in my mind. My mother’s lies ran deeper than I’d imagined, and she still hadn’t shown face.

“You should know your wife asked for this contract when it was presented, and I obliged,” Eliel continued, a hint of pride creeping into his voice. “My daughter is an immaculate killer, better than any I’ve seen in my time.”

That was jarring, coming from a father who only ever berated and put his hands on her over the years. It felt calculated, like everything else about this meeting.

I looked up from the file, meeting his eyes directly.

“Is this all you got?” I asked. “If so, it isn’t enough to get on my good side.”

A small smile played at the corners of his mouth as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a brass coin, bigger than a quarter but smaller than a half dollar.

He slid it across the desk with two fingers.

“There’s a private day auction happening tomorrow afternoon,” he explained. “Only those with a token can enter. The location is written on the last page in that file.”

I stared but didn’t reach for it. Instead, I waited, forcing him to fill the silence, to reveal more of his hand. This was a dance,and I wasn’t about to miss a step. Not when he wouldn’t leave here alive.

“My wife and I had a long talk this morning,” he finally said, leaning back in his desk chair. “I admit to knowing about Forever’s dissociative amnesia. And yes, I buried what Quinn did to her all those years ago.”

His nonchalance irritated me, the way he talked about my wife like she wasn’t bigger thanhisprogram. Like her life didn’t mean shit to him one way or another as long as he had a little bit of power in his grasp.

“Most of the older society members know Solomon Fairchild is deep into the skin trade,” he continued, as if imparting great wisdom. “But look at the place we call home. And think about if there’s anything you can really do but resist and continue to do so when the next person decides they can take his place.”

I didn’t give a fuck about Eliel’s attempt to give me advice. He was stalling, trying to position himself as some kind of ally or mentor. As if I hadn’t seen through him from the start.

“That token is the key to your first move against the trade,” he said, nodding toward the brass piece still sitting on the desk between us. “How you set the tone with it is all on you now, son.”

Son.

This man wasn’t my family and never would be.

I chuckled and stood, sliding the token off the table. I rolled it through my fingers, considering its value. Then, without much thought, I reached for my gun and pointed it directly at his forehead.

The triumphant expression on his face evaporated instantly, replaced by something between disbelief and fear. The realization that he’d miscalculated was just beginning to register in his eyes.

“Still not enough,” I said. “But this’ll do.”

I pulled the trigger, and the sound echoed in the confined space. Eliel’s head snapped back, a spray of blood misting the air behind him. His body slumped; I tucked my gun away, picked up the file, and slid it into my jacket as I moved toward the door and flicked the lights off.

The truth was, no matter what Eliel had done to get on my good side, the result would’ve been the same. His death had been decided the moment I saw Forever’s lip at the charity gala. But waiting to kill him had borne fruit. This token was an open door into an operation I’d been itching to take down.

I stepped out of the Fairfield Building and stretched my arms, looking directly into a camera above my head and smiling. Killing Eliel hadn’t brought true satisfaction, but it was enough to get the blood flowing.

Oliver was behind the wheel of the black sedan parked at the curb, with Finnegan visible in the passenger seat. I slid into the back without a word, my mind already moving to the next piece on the board.

Oliver pulled away from the curb, his eyes finding mine in the rearview mirror. “All good?”

“Yeah…” I reached for my phone and checked Forever’s location out of pure instinct, a habit I’d developed since getting her back. The blue dot on my screen made me frown. “Fuck is she doing over there?” I mumbled, more to myself than to either man in the front seat.

I zoomed in on the map, making sure I wasn’t misreading her location. My wife was deep in territory I’d rather she not be in, at a bar listed on Amal’s profile.

“Let’s head to The Vault,” I said, tucking my phone away. “It’s a bar right between Fairchild territory and the dead zone.”

Oliver’s eyes found mine in the mirror again; he was waiting for me to break down my meeting with Eliel, already knowing the man was dead.

“There’s a private, smaller auction tomorrow afternoon,” I said, deciding to start with the most relevant piece of information. “Before I put a bullet in his head, he gave me this.” I pulled out the brass token, holding it up so it caught the passing street lights. “Apparently, it’s our only way in.”