Page 142 of Goldsin

“Julian?” I whisper, my thoughts fogging as I try to make sense of what she just said. “How does killing his brother help him?”

Ignoring my question, she limps toward the bed. “You’ll have to excuse me.” Her voice is so calm, like we’re catching up over tea instead of in a room with her dead son. “I was stabbed recently, so I can’t stand for too long.”

She sits down on the edge of the bed, blue eyes challenging me to put an end to this.

I follow her every movement with the gun, making sure my aim remains glued between her eyes. I’ll kill her in an instant if the need occurs.

“Go on.” I flick the gun, motioning for her to continue. “Tell me why you didwhat you did.”

She grunts, sighing as she says, “I thought you were smarter than this, Aurelia. Must I really spell everything out for you?”

“Same goes for you,” I snap back. “You shouldn’t be testing the person holding the gun.”

I could kill her in an instant if I wanted to.

“Very well.” She clears her throat, threading her fingers through her black strands as she ruffles her combed hair. “You see, sometimes, in order for one person to rise, another must fall. I killed Adrian to put Julian next in line to lead.”

“But Julian doesn’t want to be the leader.” Confusion etches itself onto my face. It feels like there’s a missing piece to the puzzle. “He never wanted to be involved in the family business,” I argue back, trying to make sense of what she’s saying.

Lady Harrow lifts a shoulder. “Life isn’t about what we want.” Her voice drips with certainty. Experience. “He’ll change his mind once he tastes how intoxicating it is to be in charge. I’ll make sure of it.”

I stand still, gun trained on her as I struggle to swallow the bitter truth.

How can this woman who always seemed so weak and submissive be so cunning? How did she orchestrate all this without anyone ever noticing? How long did it take for this plan to take shape?

“This was your plan all along?”

Or did this happen because I killed Victoria, killing Lucian in the process?

“Since the day I saw my husband’s eyes glued to you. Since the day both of my sons did nothing but spendtime withyou.” She spits the last word before her features morph into a look of content. “Oh, and of course, since the day I planned for you to help me with it.”

“What?” I breathe.

She doesn’t answer me. Instead she goes on to say, “I would have killed my abusive shit of a husband sooner or later, but you killing Victoria was really a gift from above.” She smiles.

Smiles.

“I needed to find someone to blame for his death, and your recklessness was just fantastic.” She looks me dead in the eye. “Oh, don’t make that face. It was time for him to die. Julian gave me the strength to do it, but you gave me the chance.”

“I don’t understand.” My voice is fading, but my grip on the gun persists. “Tell me everything. From the beginning, or I swear to God,”—my voice trembles with impatience as I clench my jaw—“I’ll shoot you just once ... you’ll die a slow death.”

Anger for what she did to Adrian swirls inside of me as she just ... sits there, the calmest I’ve ever seen her. Her hair and her clothes are in disarray, but she’s anything but.

“Your time is running out.” And so is my patience. I just want to kill her and give Adrian the funeral he deserves. “Start fucking talking. If you killed Lucian, did he stab you?”

“With that foul mouth ...” Her face twists in disgust. “You really are your mother’s daughter.”

At the mention of my mom, my chest constricts.

“Speak,” I grit.

I’m struggling to control my emotions. The last thing I want is to bring my mom into this.

Sighing, her cold gaze locks onto mine. “Of course I didn’t let the pig stab me. I had someone else do it, making sure not to injure vital organs. I didn’t want to die.”

“That would have been such a shame.”

“Watch your mouth.”

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