Page 51 of Sinful Storms

Knox’s family had welcomed Elena as one of their own, treating her like a daughter. Knox himself only ever had high praises for his dad, wanting to follow in his footsteps in becoming a successful lawyer. If I had to place my trust in any parental figures of the elite, it would be the Ashcrofts. I knew they were friendly with Tristan’s parents, but they were good, honest people. The Smith-Chamberlains, though…I hoped—no, I had to believe that they were the same, too. If Tristan’s grandfather had been telling the truth about one thing, I prayed it was that his parents knew nothing about what had happened.

So maybe if I gave Mr. Ashcroft a little summary, without obviously incriminating anyone—you know, since he was a lawyer, it could be my insurance if Tristan’s grandfather decided to bury me alive or something.

I continued to give myself outlandish worst-case scenarios in my head as I followed Mr. Ashcroft through the building, but it was only to try and make myself feel better. The truth was, I was afraid of what Samuel Smith-Chamberlain might do to me.

Tristan’s family were the most powerful family in Nottswood for a reason.

27

TRISTAN

“Iam going to kill Aria Harper when I get to her,” I vowed aloud, increasing the pressure on the accelerator until my Aston Martin was flying down the road, eating up the distance between me and the most annoying, irritating person to ever exist.

The person who, somehow, had managed to get so under my skin that the only way I could get her out would be with surgical removal. What had possessed her to go and confront my grandfather? If anything happened to her?—

I slammed my hands down on my steering wheel as I came to a screeching stop at a set of traffic lights, jamming my foot down on the brake pedal. I was aware that Knox and Roman were following somewhere behind me, although I’d left them for dust as soon as we’d disappeared out of sight of Hatherley Hall’s gates.

Thank fuck for Knox’s dad. He’d called Knox as soon as he’d spoken to Aria. She hadn’t told him much, but what she had said was enough to set alarm bells ringing.

We’d immediately taken action.

Part of that action was to contact my parents and let them know what was happening. It was a gamble, but if they already knew, we were no worse off than we had been before, and if they didn’t…I hoped to fuck they’d do the right thing.

Throwing my car around the corner, I screeched to a halt in the private car park of Nottswood Magistrates’ Court, right next to Knox’s dad’s Lambo. I ignored the sign telling me that unauthorised parking was subject to a fine and vehicle clamping and ran for the doors that led into the building. Knox’s dad had told us he’d been stalling Aria for as long as possible, trying to make sure she was really okay and wasn’t going to do anything impulsive, but I’d just received a message to say she’d given him the slip while he went to get a coffee.

Of course she had. Once my girl set her sights on something, nothing would stand in her way.

When I made it up to the second floor, I took a moment to catch my breath, reminding myself of where my uncle’s office was. Once I’d reacquainted myself with the building’s layout, I jogged down the hallway, avoiding the tripping hazard of the raised carpet tile on the left next to the noticeboard. I ignored the security cameras—no court sessions were happening this late, so it was doubtful anyone would be watching the second-floor interior feeds live, and if they were, I’d just have to deal with that when it came to it. The only important thing right now was getting to Aria and making sure she was okay.

Reaching my uncle’s office, I cracked open the door, just enough to catch a glimpse of the people inside and to hear what they were saying.

My uncle was nowhere to be seen, but I immediately caught sight of my grandfather seated in the leather swivel chair behind my uncle’s desk, his face an expressionless mask as Aria faced him down. She was standing on the other side of the desk,leaning forwards with her fingers curved around the edge, her nails pressing against the polished walnut surface.

“Is it true? Did you cause my great-uncle’s death? Did you pay my way through school as some kind of fucking guilt trip?” Her shouted words reverberated around the room, and I saw my grandfather flinch before he quickly composed himself, rising to his feet.

“Watch your tone, young lady.”

“I will not watch my tone,” she ground out. “Tell me the truth.”

“Miss Harper, I’m afraid you are mistaken. If you insist on continuing this line of questioning, it will not end well for you.”

“Stop lying to me!” She slammed her fists down on the desk, and I couldn’t stand by any longer.

I burst into the room, startling both of them. Aria spun towards me, wide-eyed, and my grandfather looked…he looked resigned.

I had no idea what was happening between me and Aria at the moment, especially after she’d walked out on me this morning, but right now, it was important to show a united front. Stepping up next to her, I discreetly skimmed my hand over her back before giving my grandfather a hard stare.“Grandfather. You will explain. I want the truth this time.”

“I told you not to discuss the things I had told you with anyone else. You may be a Smith-Chamberlain, Tristan, but you are not above reproach.”

“Same goes for you.” It took everything I had to keep my voice even, but I knew my best chance of getting through to him was to remain calm. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I held up the screen towards him so he could see the photos we’d taken of the pages we’d found when we’d been snooping in the manor. I scrolled through the images, moving on to the pictures of the box and its contents.

His hand clamped over his mouth, and finally, I saw real emotion in his eyes.

“Yes, we know,” I said, taking my chance and running with it. “Extensive research. We know what really happened that night, and we know how you hid the evidence, covering it up so you’d never be implicated in John’s death. We know that you were the one in charge of the rope. It was you.” I banged my finger on the desk, just for emphasis. “We. Know. The. Truth.”

“You know nothing.”

“Really? So if I went to the police with this evidence, or if I presented it to a lawyer, they’d have nothing to say?”

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