Page 81 of Legacy

Vik shook his head.

I narrowed my gaze. “You suspected this and didn’t say anything?”

“I didn’t have proof until recently.” He glanced at the folder. “I’ve kept my eyes on Xenos from the beginning. When I finally had something to show, Laya brought her information.”

I turned my attention back to Laya. “Keep going.”

“Ozias has known about it for years,” Laya continued, “but he couldn’t touch it because of the Vitalis clause. He knows the family heads in Boston oversee the trust and would have stopped him if he dared to touch it.”

“Of course,” I muttered. “The greedy bastard wasn’t satisfied. Too bad for him, Papa knew how to manage his estate and finances. Keep going. I know it gets worse.”

“Do you remember how you described him after that first dinner? Like you belonged to him, not Eli. How he believed he was some king?” I nodded, and she added. “You’re the key to making him one. His plan was for you to marry Eli and become pregnant. Then he would eliminate us.”

I finished her story. “And after I deliver my child, he plans to find some way to kill me, leaving him with a grandchild who owns all the Vitalis lands and the trust, free and clear.”

“Exactly. Killing the three assholes in the wine bar also made it easier for Ozias to seize their land since it belongs to a Vitalis.”

“How did you discover this information?”

“You don’t believe me.” She narrowed her eyes. “Why would I lie about something like this?”

“For fuck’s sake, Laya. You’re not a liar. I’d like to knowhow you discovered this information. Did you verify that the source is credible?”

“Are you kidding me right now? Anyone who knows about the trust and the land threatens us. I’m not stupid enough to believe anything unless I hear it with my own ears.”

That’s when Vik jumped in, not giving two shits about my order. “I’m curious about this too. Where the fuck did you go, and where was your detail?”

Laya ignored Vik, scooted to the chair’s edge, and faced me. “I went out with some locals who don’t know who I am. I pretended to be just some ordinary girl. To blend in, I dressed like a college kid out on the town.”

“Seriously, Laya. You complained about disguising yourself in Prague, and now you do it to go barhopping?”

“I hated feeling like I had to hide in Prague. There is a big difference.” She scoffed. “Do you want the details or not?”

This was not the time for a lecture. I would save that for another day.

“All right.”

She nodded. “I stumbled upon some of Ozias’s men. I recognized them from the wedding. They were out drinking and partying, and they had no idea who I was.”

“And they just blurted out all of that information?” I asked.

“No. Once I figured out who the men were, I stuck around, flirted, and got them talking. They’re men. Give them some attention, make them feel big and strong, keep them drinking, and give them the impression one of themwill hit it with you.” Laya shrugged. “The usual. Once they were falling all over themselves to impress me, I asked about their jobs and fawned over them. They seemed new and young. Probably too inexperienced to know when to shut up. I convinced them that I was so curious about all the excitement they had in their world, working for Ozias.”

“Did they say Eli was part of this?”

“Most said they weren’t sure since father and son hate each other, but a couple of them insisted it was an act.” Laya reached over my desk and covered my hand that I’d placed on top of hers. “I didn’t want to believe them, even if I heard it. So, I called Vik early this morning.”

Vik spoke. “Open the folder, Avra. Take a look inside. As you know, I’ve had some of our people watching him from the start. He isn’t as opposed to his father’s antics as he would have you believe.”

Sliding my palm from Laya’s, I followed Vik’s instructions and found pictures of Eli meeting with men who were Ozias’s enforcers. His second was with him. The interactions were friendly as if the public dislike was all an act. There were multiple meetings at various locations.

“As you see, they met several times. He’s a good actor,” Vik added.

I focused on the date in the corner of a picture. It was the day of the gallery incident when he found me after Francesca’s attack. That was the meeting he’d come from.

“Why didn’t you show me these before today?” I met Vik’s gaze.

“Because it isn’t enough proof he was doing anything wrong.”

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