Page 25 of Goldsin

The truth is, I don’t give a damn about DeMarco or the Consortium, and they know that. I’ve been making it obvious since the day I learned to talk. But then the years passed, and the longer I went against his orders, the more Lucian beat my mother. Things changed. Aurelia was no longer in my life and my mother needed me more than ever, so I learned to keep my opinions to myself and do Lucian’s dirty work for him.

Lucian breaks eye contact. “From what we’ve gathered,”—he stands from his chair and leisurely walks to the bookshelf, making a scene of scanning the shelves—“we believe one of those filthy whores killed him. He was found in his hotel room with an open bottle of champagne, his glass full, and another glass missing from the set.”

“Are we sure about that?” Adrian asks.

“Positive. It’s always the fucking whores,” Lucian spits before laughing, the raucous sound a cruel joke to the ears. “Just like your mother, eh, Julian?”

Darkness gathers in my sight at the mention of my mother. My nails, unyielding, dig into the soft flesh of my palm as I clench them. The urge to punch the bastard right then and there itches under my skin, a tantalizing temptation dancing at the edges of my restraint.

But for her ... for my mother’s sake, I hold back.

Last time I lost control she paid the price with two broken ribs.

Lucian has always been cunning at sniffing out vulnerability. Like a bloodhound on a hunt, he found mine in her—our mother. He uses her to manipulate me into taking part in the family business.

Adrian, on the other hand, doesn’t need Lucian to control him. He fell in love with the family business at first sight. His one true love.

He cares about our mother, but never before the business.

“Leave her out of this, you piece of shit.”

“Watch it,” he warns.

Then, just like that, he shifts gears with practiced ease, his disregard for anything but power evident. Not even his own wife is more important.

“We need to find the whore who killed DeMarco, and we need to do it now.”

I listen to my brother as he goes through the file containing every girl who was working that night. He states their name and their hour stamp before coming up with a list of five suspects.

While I remain with only one.

The blood staining her breast. Her flushed state. Her late arrival.

The details of DeMarco’s death flood my mind as I try to make sense of it. How did she manage to do it? To watch the life drain from a man’s eyes is no simple task.

I can’t believe she did it, but that unexplained bloodstain on her breast haunts me. Taunts me. And then DeMarco dies? There’s no such thing as a coincidence. Not when it has something to do with her.

What is her motive? Why did she want DeMarco dead?

The more I think, the more unanswered questions I have.

“Julian.”

Lucian’s harsh voice snaps me out of my thoughts. He’s looking at me like he would kill me if I weren’t his son.

“I need you and Adrian to handle the fallout from DeMarco’s death.”

“Understood,” I reply tersely, a headache forming at the front of my head.

“Adrian, you’re dismissed.”

Lucian waves a hand at him and Adrian nods, leaving me alone with the sperm donor.

“And you, Julian.” His cold stare turns to me. “How are things going with Lady Marlowe? You know how important it is that we maintain a good relationship with her family.”

“Everything’s fine,” I lie.

In truth, I’ve been doing everything I can to avoid Victoria. Just the sound of her irritating voice is enough to shrink my dick.

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