Page 17 of The Last De Loughrey Dynasty

“You’re not laughing at me?” I asked, hesitant.

“Do I look like I’m laughing?” he replied seriously.

I shook my head. His reaction baffled me, but I wasn’t about to question it further.

Archer nodded towards the file in my hands. “Go on, read it and get your answers. Then put it back before anyone notices.”

He glanced around, ensuring no one else was nearby. A part of me wondered why he was helping, but another part was simply grateful.

I opened the file and began to read.

Alessandra had died instantly from head trauma when she hit the ground. Goosebumps crawled across my skin as I skipped the details of her injuries and focused on the listed cause of death.

Accident.

But Amanda had been right. Tipp-ex had been used to cover the original cause.

Carefully, I scratched away the correction. My breath hitched as the original words were revealed.

“What does it say?” Archer asked, his curious gaze fixed on me.

I swallowed hard. “Alessandra Alderidge committed suicide.”

CHAPTER NINE

DOROTHEE

I feltmy stomach churn as I read the wordsuicideover and over again until the letters began to lose all meaning.

Archer said, “You were right,” as he stepped forward to take the report from my hands. This time, I let him. “Good God, you were right.”

“The thing I can’t understand,” I said, “is why they’d try to cover up the real reason.”

I couldn’t understand how it was possible for me to know any of this, either. Too many emotions were swirling inside me, too chaotic to untangle. My ears were ringing, and everything felt as though it was moving in slow motion, but I couldn’t let these feelings overwhelm me—not now. I had to trust the adrenaline would last long enough to get me back to my room in Aquila Hall.

“Money. You’ll learn in time that everything here revolves around money.” He swallowed hard. I tried to read any hint of emotion on his face, some reaction to this dreadful situation, but Archer was as calm as death.

“The parents might have been ashamed that their daughter committed suicide. Some people think it’s a sign of weakness,and most of our kind loathe weakness. That’s why we’re here, after all—tucked away where no one can judge.”

I frowned in confusion. “But why would the police agree to cover that up so easily? Don’t they have a code of ethics or something? Besides, it’s utterly illegal,” I added, causing him to scoff.

Archer closed the file and tucked it inside his jacket, his gaze following the people passing us by.

“If some important people offered you fifty thousand quid to keep quiet about something, even if it was illegal, would you take it?”

Would I take it?

“No, I wouldn’t accept an offer that involved me in a crime.”

His gaze shifted from the street to me. “That, Dorothee, is a lie,” he said, his tone now taunting.

“What? No, I’m telling the truth,” I protested.

“You’ve just committed a crime by stealing police evidence.”

“That’s different. I need to know—I need answers.”

“You desire nothing more than answers. That’s why you took the file. Most people desire nothing more than money. If you hadn’t grown up surrounded by endless wealth, never needing to worry about anything material, you’d have accepted the offer too. So, no, there’s no difference between these two actions.”

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