Page 44 of The Reckoning (Oakmount Elite #7)

“In exchange for my rightful place as heir to Hayes Pharmaceuticals.” The lie comes so easily it’s scary, but it’s what they expect me to say. “No more discussions about my future. No more conditions. I take my position as COO immediately, with full autonomy over the research division.”

Father and Patricia exchange a look—measuring, calculating. I can almost see the wheels turning behind their eyes. The threat Arson poses to their carefully constructed world versus the benefit of having their golden child back in the fold.

“There’s more,” I continue, pressing my advantage. “Lilian knows everything. She’s been helping him.”

Patricia’s perfectly composed facade cracks slightly at this. “Lilian? My Lilian?”

“Yes.” Another betrayal, another knife thrust. The easiest way to sell a lie is to use the truth as a buffer. “She found evidence in the attic. Medical records. Payment receipts. Enough to destroy Hayes Pharmaceuticals if it ever went public.”

Father’s jaw tightens. “Where are they now? Arson and Lilian?”

“Not so fast. I want my position secured in writing. Right here, right fucking now.” I hold out the paperwork I drafted this morning and drop it down onto the desk.

“What is this?” Richard asks, eyeing the papers suspiciously.

“My protection. I won’t disappear like Arson did.”

Richard looks from the papers and then back at me, a glimmer of respect in his eyes. “Full control of your inheritance, and your position as COO secured. Is that all you want? You could have had that at any time by showing up at the office.”

I shrug. “I could’ve, but I wasn’t ready then. I’m ready now. Sign the papers, and I’ll give you the information.”

“We should have a lawyer look this over,” Patricia comments, and I glare at her.

“To have a lawyer take a look at this means lost time, and lost time could be the difference between catching them or chasing them forever. But sure, go ahead, call a lawyer.”

“That’s nonsense, Patrica.” My father shakes his head and grabs the paper, scribbling his name on the signature line.

Patricia blinks, looking nervously at the documents, skimming her cold gaze over me and Richard as if she’s waiting for something else to happen.

“Now, tell me where they are.”

“Of course.” I tuck the papers away in my back pocket. “The Mill House. My old dorm room.” I check my watch with deliberate casualness. “They’re sleeping. If we leave now, we can be there before they wake.”

“You’re certain they have these…documents with them?” Patricia asks, a tremor finally breaking through her collected demeanor.

“Oh yes! Lilian has been hiding them.” I force a cold smile. “She’s not as fragile as you led everyone to believe, Patricia. In fact, she’s quite resourceful when properly motivated.”

The barb lands, Patricia’s lips thinning to a hard line. Father moves to his desk, pressing a button on his phone.

“Jenkins, prepare the car and call Hansen. Tell him I need his security team to meet us at Oakmount University. The Mill. Immediately.”

“We’re doing this now?” Patricia asks, already moving toward the door.

“Of course, what better time than the present?” Father’s voice is steel. “We need to contain the situation before it escalates further.”

“Understandably, but you’re only as good as your plan. If we have a plan, then we can be better prepared for what might take place.”

Father rolls his eyes at her, and it’s the first crack in their united front. Pin them against each other. They’re so much alike that it’s easy to cause problems.

“Nonsense, they’re basically children. Arson is dangerous, yes, but by using the element of surprise against him, he won’t be prepared to fight back.”

I don’t bother telling them that there is no preparation for him. He’s been ready for a fight since the moment they put him in that cage. My only hope is he sees this as the opportunity he needs to get revenge.

I follow them from the study, down the grand staircase, and out to the waiting Town Car.

Each step makes me feel like I’m sinking deeper and deeper in quicksand. There’s a hollow pit where my stomach should be, emptiness spreading through my veins like poison.

This is necessary , I tell myself as we slide into the back seat, Patricia beside me, Father facing us. This is the only way to make things right. I spent so long being a coward, being a victim, letting my father control me, giving up my wants and desires.

Even if it hurts, even if it’s scary, it’s what must be done.

The car pulls away from the mansion, tires crunching on gravel before hitting the smooth asphalt of the main road.

Father makes calls the entire drive, speaking in clipped, coded phrases about retrieving assets and containing liabilities.

Patricia stares out the window, her profile sharp against the morning light, one manicured hand tapping a restless rhythm against her knee.

I close my eyes, trying to block out the voices, the dawning horror of what I’ve set into motion.

If this backfires and Lilian gets hurt…fuck, I will never be able to forgive myself.

Images flash behind my eyelids—Arson’s face, battered but alive with something like hope as we tracked Lilian through the forest. Lilian’s eyes, wide and vulnerable as she surrendered to us both.

The promise of something new, something real, that existed between us for one perfect night.

All of it ash now. All of it sacrificed on the altar of my guilt and fear.

Of my need to make things right. No. I can’t think like that.

If it means they survive, then it’s worth it.

I know Richard better than any of them. With his paranoia and the suspicious meeting he had with Arson, it’s only a matter of time before he brings everything crashing down on us all.

I needed to accelerate things.

It isn’t long before we arrive at the Mill House just as the campus is beginning to stir with life.

Early risers heading to breakfast or the library cast curious glances at our procession.

The driver parks the car at the end of the driveway, and we climb out.

Father leads the way, his stride purposeful, Patricia a half step behind, her heels clicking on the pavement like an impending countdown.

I hang back slightly, each step heavier than the last.

My heart pounds so loudly I’m certain everyone can hear it—a drum signaling the execution that’s about to take place.

We reach the front door, and I punch in the entry code with numb fingers.

Will they understand? Will they see what I’m trying to do here? Or will they condemn me like before, them against me? Father nods to me, impatience oozing from every pore.

“This way,” I say, leading them up the stairs and down the hall to my old bedroom door.

I hesitate, key in hand. Behind this door are the two people who, against all odds, have shown me what it means to be seen, to be known.

I’m about to destroy them both. If only for a second, until the dust settles and I can explain myself to them.

“Open it,” Father commands, voice low but sharp.

With my heart in my stomach, I do just that.

The door swings open onto the dimly lit room.

They’re still in bed, tangled together, Arson’s arm protectively draped over Lilian even in sleep.

For one frozen moment, no one moves. Then as he can sense a change in the air, Arson’s eyes snap open.

In a flash, he’s alert and aware of the threat lingering just a few feet away.

In one fluid motion, he’s sitting up, shoving Lilian behind him as he takes in the tableau at the door—me flanked by Father and Patricia.

“Aries?” Lilian’s voice is thick with sleep, confusion clouding her features as she peers around Arson’s shoulder. Then her gaze lands on my father, on Patricia, and understanding dawns with devastating clarity. “No…”

“I’m sorry,” And I’ve never meant the words more than I do right now. “I didn’t have a choice.”

Arson’s penetrating gaze locks on mine, and the betrayal that I see there cuts me deeper than any knife could reach. There’s no surprise or anger. Just betrayal, that’s so loud it feels as if it’s a living, breathing thing.

It’s like he’s been expecting this all along.

“Of course you didn’t, Brother,” he says, voice flat. “I should’ve known, should’ve anticipated this.”

Lilian’s expression is worse—naked betrayal, shock giving way to a hurt so profound it physically pains me to witness. Tears well in her eyes but don’t fall.

She’s too strong for that, even now.

“Why? How could you do this? You said we were in this together,” she whispers. “You promised.”

I open my mouth to explain, but I can’t. Not yet.

Father steps forward, his presence filling the small room like a thundercloud. “Arson. It’s been a long time.”

“Not long enough, Richard.” Arson’s voice is ice, his posture deceptively relaxed despite the tension I can see coiled in every muscle. “I see you’ve finally come to deal with your dirty little secret.”

“And I see you’ve corrupted my daughter,” Patricia interjects, her gaze flicking dismissively over Lilian’s disheveled appearance, the obvious intimacy of the scene we’ve interrupted.

Lilian laughs, the sound brittle and sharp. “Your daughter? Strange how I’m your daughter now, but any other time I’m an unnecessary nuisance. Please be honest, we all know I was never anything but an accessory to you. A prop for your charity work.”

“We can discuss family dynamics later,” Father cuts in. “Right now, we have more pressing matters. The documents, Lilian. Where are they?”

“Documents?” Lilian tilts her head to the side. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb,” Richard growls. “The records. The items you stole.”

Lilian’s chin lifts, defiance blazing through her hurt. “Oh, those documents.” She nods her head ever so slightly. “You will have to kill me if you want them.”

Patricia steps forward, hand raised as if to strike her, but Arson moves with lightning speed, catching her wrist before the blow can land.

“Don’t,” he warns, voice deadly quiet. “Touch one fucking hair on her head and I won’t hesitate to break every bone in your body.”

The tension in the room ratchets up to an unbearable level.

“Enough!” Father’s command freezes everyone in place. “This ends now. Arson, you’re coming with us. Lilian, too. We’ll sort this out at home, away from prying eyes.”

“We aren’t going anywhere with you,” Arson challenges, still holding Patricia’s wrist, his grip tight enough to make her wince. “Nor can you make us.”

Father’s smile is cold, calculated. “Of course I can’t make you do anything, but I know people who can.

Let me give the police chief a call. Report you for identity theft, fraud, and kidnapping.

How long do you think it would take them to connect you to all of this?

Especially with Aries’s statement about kidnapping and forced imprisonment. “

Arson’s expression doesn’t change, but I see the calculation behind his eyes. He’s cornered, and he knows it. Whatever move he makes now puts Lilian at risk.

“Fine,” he says finally, releasing Patricia with deliberate slowness. “Lilian stays out of it, though. She’s innocent.”

“No,” Lilian protests immediately, gripping his arm. “I’m not leaving you.”

“How touching,” Patricia sneers. “I’m afraid that’s not an option. You’re both coming home. Now.”

I stand frozen at the door, watching as a security team moves in, Father issuing clipped instructions about transporting them separately and securing the room for evidence.

Watching as Lilian’s fearful gaze finds mine one last time, silently pleading for an explanation, for help, for anything but this betrayal.

I do nothing. Say nothing. The perfect Hayes son, falling in line when it counts.

Arson is the last to be led out, flanked by two burly guards. As he passes me, he pauses, leaning in close enough that only I can hear his whispered words.

“I hope it was worth it, Brother, because I won’t be dumb enough to fall for your betrayal a third time. Next time, I’m ending you.”

I have nothing to say. I deserve his anger, his hate.

In an instant, he’s gone, marched down the hallway with Lilian toward the common room.

I remain in the doorway of my empty dorm room, surrounded by the wreckage of what might have been.

The sheets still warm from their bodies.

The air is still heavy with the scent of them.

The promise of a fresh start, of redemption—all of it gone. At least for now.

I’ve made my choice. I’ll let Richard and Patricia think I’ve chosen the path of least resistance, the devil I know over the uncertain future Lilian, Arson, and I might have forged together. I’ve chosen to be the heir, the golden child, the survivor rather than the savior.

Soon enough, they’ll learn I’ve really chosen to beat them at their own game.

I turn away from the empty room, from the ghost of possibility that lingers there, and follow my father down the hallway. Back to the life I was groomed for. Back to the cage I’ve chosen for myself. Behind me, on the rumpled bed, lies Lilian’s inhaler.

Forgotten in the chaos. Small and insignificant, yet suddenly the most important object in the world—her lifeline, abandoned.

Like her. Like Arson. Like the person I might have become if I’d found the courage to choose differently all those years ago.

I take a deep breath because they have to get out of the Mill House to do anything that might hurt Arson or Lilian, and I don’t plan on letting them leave without making them first pay for their own sins.

Drew steps into the hall, his hair disheveled. “What’s going on?”

I wave him back. “Stay out of sight up here. I’ll handle this for now. If I need you, I’ll call for you guys.”

Drew nods and steps around me toward Lee’s door. “Then handle it. We’ll be listening.”

I nod once, my heart in my throat.

Drew nods back. “I’m here for you. We’re all here for you. All three of you.”