Page 89 of Royal Havoc

“I’m not going to sit here and list —”

“To the truth?” Hendrix growls angrily, shooting to his feet.

Albert Owens stands, and my neck swings to watch as he storms from the room, making sure to slam the door behind him.

“Hendrix, I swear I didn’t know,” Warren Lusk rushes. “I was told your father let you choose —”

“It’s fine. Rowland paid a lot of money to keep his secrets hidden and threatened many people,” Hendrix informs him.

Warren stands and offers Hendrix his hand. “I don’t need to dig up the past. I change my vote,” he tells him apologetically before leaving.

The five of us sit for a moment, ignoring the silent elephant in the room.

Finally, Zeke breaks the eerie silence, “Should I stay?”

Dad chuckles, “The secretary never leaves a meeting.”

“Gage, can we have a moment?” Hendrix asks politely, and from the look Gage gives him, he’s happy to be released. “Sure, I’ve got stuff to deal with anyway.”

Once the four of us are alone. “Is any of this on the official record?” Zeke asks cautiously.

Hendrix and Dad exchange a look. “Let’s keep history where it belongs… in the past,” Dad answers, and Hendrix nods, quickly agreeing.

“Well?” I urge, wanting to hear what happened. If it’s something that could come back to haunt Onyx, I need to know.

Hendrix ignores me, going to pour himself a drink. “Before our era, the four were my dad, your grandpa, Ronald Sterling, and Thomas Lusk. The defining rule has always been betrothed by worth.”

“Which meant, Hendrix would be paired with the wealthiest,” Dad clarifies when Hendrix pauses to take a drink.

Zeke slides into Gage’s vacated seat, ready to be my rock as usual.

“Sterling knew his time to gain his seat was running out, and his family name would be lost unless Opal married below their wealth. Causing the Sterling name to be taken.” I absorb what he’s said, and before I can ask my question, he continuessadly, “I was betrothed to one of Albert Owens’s twin daughters, Hannah.”

“Wait,” Zeke blurts without thought. “Owens has a son. That’s how he got his seat. Chase? Right, that’s his name?” he asks my dad, spilling knowledge I’d overlooked in the chaos of the moment.

Dad watches Hendrix take his seat, setting down the fresh drink he’s poured himself, refusing to meet our questioning stares. “Chase was a year younger,” Hendrix grits at the memory. “The bastard Owens was greedy, just like Rowland. Fucking cold-hearted prick,” he rants, shaking his head in disbelief.

Zeke side-eyes me, both of us struggling to keep up. How the hell did Owens get a seat if Zeke was denied? Anger percolates in my veins, pounding on my eardrums.

“Did you know Rowland owned the old asylum?” Hendrix evilly throws out the question sending us both ricocheting with confusion.

My brows dip, ignoring Zeke’s sigh. “Christ, can we stay on topic?” I growl, letting my anger get the better of me.

Dad’s hand lands on Hendrix’s shoulder, squeezing. “We’ve just recently uncovered new information,” he explains. “The Row was owned by Rowland. Not his brother Bolton Sterling. From what we could find, his brother ran the place.”

“Why does that matter? It doesn’t explain how Owens got his seat,” Zeke presses, annoyance rolling off him in waves.

“If you make your daughters disappear, that only leaves you with a son,” Hendrix growls, flying from his chair to pace.

Dad stares at us, hesitating before he speaks, “ Rowland knew Owens was a greedy piece of shit. So, he struck a deal. He had Hannah admitted to The Row. Once she was out of the way, he started blackmailing people until they left town, creating a gap in the town's wealthy families, making sure Owens gained his seat with hissonChase.”

Air whistles from my shocked lungs. “Your dad let him get away —”

“My dad was killed!” Hendrix shouts.

“I’m… I didn’t…” I rasp, watching Dad work to calm Hendrix down.

“All of us need to calm down. Wrap our heads around what we found out,” he says to Hendrix before turning to me. “We should talk somewhere else. Onyx should hear this too,” he tells me.

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