Page 38 of These Shattered Memories

I t’s been two days and Key’s contact, Daniel Tang, still hasn’t made a move. His routine is boring, nothing but back and forth from a dingy apartment in Harrow to a convenience store for snacks, and then back again. Not to mention a concerning porn addiction.

Meanwhile, more bodies keep turning up around Senna, all linked to Haze.

Word’s spreading that The Snake is behind it.

Our reputation is taking a hit on the street and the police are sniffing around again.

If that wasn’t bad enough, it looks like the drug kills at random.

The deaths are never linked to overdoses, just unluckiness, which makes it ten times worse.

But maybe the piling bodies will discourage more kids from buying it.

The only positive right now is that the fallout from Anders' death hasn't been catastrophic yet. We’ve sold the story that she got too close to the wrong people, and the ones who hired her have gone underground, scared to get their hands dirty and risk their position in The Judiciary.

I know they’re only biding their time. They are still after Hawthorne’s research, and I don’t doubt other players are working to find it too.

But that’s not my biggest concern right now.

Alex is.

I haven’t seen him since Sying. I could have gone to his apartment, but I haven’t.

He needs time—time to process what Kane did, us, everything.

At least Halle is keeping me updated. He’s been spending most of his time with her, and that has kept me from losing my mind. But I know I’m close to the edge.

I walk through The Serpentine, a spiralling chrome skyscraper in the heart of Queen’s Peak. It acts as The Snake’s headquarters, where all corporate business, fronted by a real estate empire, takes place.

The lobby is sleek, made of glass and sharp edges. Employees smile and bow as I pass them, making my way to the boardroom on the thirtieth floor to meet The Keepers.

Outside, November has begun to settle in. The leaves have long abandoned the trees, and the sky is heavy with slate-coloured clouds.

A knot of anticipation sits in my chest. If Haze’s mastermind is within The Keepers, maybe this meeting can flush them out. It’s a longshot, but it’s the best option I have right now without causing more panic.

When the elevator doors slide open, I spot a few members of The Keepers already seated inside the boardroom, speaking quietly amongst themselves, probably wondering why I’ve called them here. Excluding my father, my brothers and myself, there are nine other Keepers.

When I walk into the room, a few of them meet my eyes, the low hum of conversation halting. I can’t help my smile. I may have fallen far down the hierarchy in The Snake, but I’ve always made it my business to stay close to them and know their secrets.

One day I’ll need them.

My mother is already seated at the head of the long glass table that has a view of Senna and Demont River.

Her eyes meet mine and she gives me a curt nod.

I spot the gold pin on her blazer, a serpent swallowing its tail, the marker of her station as Head of The Snake.

I nod back and slip into my chair between Hayden and Xander.

The room quickly settles, falling into a tense silence and without a word, everyone rises, bowing low toward my mother. We don’t lift our heads until her quiet command tells us to sit again.

“I won’t waste time with pleasantries,” she begins, her voice cutting through the room.

A few of The Keepers look between each other.

“Here we go,” Xander whispers.

“As some of you may have heard, there is a new drug called Haze being sold in our territory but it’s not just any drug. So far, a countless number of people have been found dead, a few of them in our clubs and our warehouses. There is suspicion that it’s dirty.”

My eyes sweep the room, gauging reactions. Most look confused, a few indifferent. No one looks guilty. Not yet.

“Someone within The Snake is not only allowing Haze to circulate in our territory; they are actively facilitating it.”

Faces shift—some tense, some still unreadable, but no one looks guilty necessarily.

“People dying from drugs is not exactly new. Why is this a problem?” James Tartt asks.

He’s one of the youngest and newest members of The Keepers after his father passed away a year ago. He also has a terrible gambling habit that has cost his family millions. I’ve kept that particular fact to myself, and for the last six months, I’ve made sure the casinos don’t come after him.

It’ll come in handy.

“Because it’s a breach of our most sacred rule: The Snake does not deal in drugs much less product that kills,” I cut in levelly.

“All the bodies that have been recorded have gone into rapid decomposition. Right now, the police are sniffing around us again, and that puts us in a position we don’t want to be in. ”

Tartt meets my eyes, nostrils flaring. He’s not exactly my biggest fan. I don’t know why. He should be licking the ground I walk on.

“What do you propose we do then, Rowan?”

“Pretty simple. Find the person causing all of this chaos and get rid of them,” Xander says next to me.

A loud murmur breaks out around the table.

“We already have a lead,” I say, cutting through the noise. “Someone working in the warehouse was selling it to the workers. His name was Key.”

“Was?” my father asks, lifting a perfectly manicured eyebrow.

“He’s dead,” I clarify.

Another hum of murmurs.

“But he gave us a lead—another dealer. We have surveillance on him now. It’s only a matter of time before he meets whoever is behind this,” I add, cutting through the noise again.

“Looks like you’ve made some good progress,” my father says with an approving nod. “And if you’re right about this drug being dangerous, the sooner you get rid of it, the better for us.”

“You said this person is in The Snake,” another Keeper speaks. Cordelia Qing. “Do you suspect one of us? Is that why we’re here?”

Another uneasy buzz of chatter floods the room. They all look slightly outraged, well as outraged as Senna’s wealthiest aristocrats allow themselves to look, especially with their Botox and fillers.

“Yes,” my mother says honestly. “And if it is one of you, I can assure you that you and your entire family will pay the heaviest price.”

An uneasy silence falls over the room. Now they look terrified. Good.

“Then it’s best you get to the bottom of this quickly then,” Cordelia says, eyebrows drawn, her eyes clearly challenging my mother.

My mother doesn’t flinch at the icy gaze. She glares right back, a smile dancing on her lips. “I have not failed yet, have I, Cordelia?”

A tense moment follows, the two women gazing at each other before Cordelia acquiesces and smiles. “No, not yet.”

Eyes dart between the two women, everyone clearly on edge. Cordelia was the only one brave enough to show her displeasure at being summoned, but I can feel the entire room echoing her thoughts.

They don’t like being ambushed.

When the meeting ends, everyone leaves the room in an uncomfortable silence, the heaviness of my mother’s threat and Haze weighing over them.

“So, what do you think?” Hayden asks.

“None of them looked guilty to me, but whoever is behind this wouldn’t be scared off by a meeting like this,” Xander says.

“I don’t like Cordelia,” Hayden says. “Something off about her.”

Cordelia Qing is an heiress to an extremely wealthy but corrupt oil family.

Her face is constantly twisted in disdain, and her little secret is that she enjoys cheating on her husband with men who are decades younger than her and with multiple at the same time.

In fact, if Xander got to know her better, he might find they have some things in common.

Not to kink shame.

But as much as she openly challenged my mother, Cordelia is one of the most loyal and high-ranking members of The Snake.

I doubt it’s her.

Across the room, I spot my father making his way towards us. I stand up a little straighter just as he nods at me. “A word?”

I don’t miss the way my brothers look at me as I follow him out of the boardroom.

A few of The Keepers are still milling around, probably discussing the meeting’s events.

We walk away from the crowds, standing by the window that looks out at the eastern side of Senna.

The sun is setting over the city, rush hour traffic clogging the streets that lead to Queen’s Peak.

“You’ve done well,” my father says, hands tucked casually into his pockets. “Your mother would never say it, but she’s impressed. You’ve got her instincts.”

I glance at him, not sure how to react. Compliments from my father have always been few and far between.

“Thank you,” I say carefully.

“After everything that happened with your arrest two years ago, I wasn’t sure how you’d recover, but you’ve made me proud. I think your role within The Snake should change. You’ve earned bigger responsibility, like your brothers.”

My heart races in my chest. As much as I hate to admit it, approval from my parents has always mattered to me. I want them to know I am capable of leading The Snake one day and my father recognising that makes me stand up a little straighter.

You’ve made me proud.

He licks his bottom lip then, “Still, something about this Haze situation that feels … off. Don’t you think?”

I watch him, a deep frown on his forehead. He probably knows all the details from my mother, but I let him speak.

“It’s quite bold,” he continues. “Selling a drug like that under our noses. Either someone’s incredibly foolish, or they’re extremely confident. It feels like we’ve missed something.”

He’s right. We are missing something, and I think it’s closer than we all think. “Whoever it is probably wants us to tear each other apart looking for answers whilst they happily continue to kill people,” I say.

My father nods slowly. “Perhaps,” he says. “So be careful not to let them. I think your future in The Snake is riding on that.”