Page 142 of Blood and Thorns
“Yet you organised her rape.”
Chip stilled, unmoving. “That was her father,” he said carefully, the earlier concern disappearing.
“Well, it’s interesting because Mr Hill was real fucking chatty when we cut off his dick,” Caden added. “He said he was paid by an older woman. Now, obviously, our first thought had been Margot, and that was our mistake.” Caden dragged his sledgehammer until the handle rested against Chip’s knee. “Once we actually looked into it, we realised it was your mother who’d paid him.”
“What’s that got to do with me?” Chip asked in a flat tone, his expression calm. “I can’t control what Mum does. Maybe that’s why she killed herself? From the guilt.”
“Mrs Potter was found with defensive wounds on her hands,” I said, his dark eyes meeting mine.
“Honestly Charlie, it was clever to get your mum to pay,” Caden continued, lifting the sledgehammer until the entire weight rested on Chip’s bandaged thigh until he winced. “We’d never have suspected the same woman who was my nanny for so long. So tell me, how did you convince her to do it?”
Silence followed, and Caden pressed harder against the hammer.
“No point in lying now,” Langdon signed, knowing Chip understood.
Chip hissed through his teeth, and Caden eased back a little. “She didn’t know anything. I asked her for a favour, and after she’d met him she realised what had happened at the club.” It took a moment to break his façade, a smile curving his lips. “What gave me away?”
“Your thigh injury was self-inflicted,” I said. “Innocent people don’t shoot themselves.”
“You think I shot myself?” Chip asked, clearly amused. “Why would I do that?”
“You staged the whole thing, knowing we’d never suspect you,” Caden answered. “Hell, I’ll admit it was a clever move. Almost flawless, and might have even worked if you didn’t make a mistake.”
A nerve twitched in Chip’s jaw. “Which was?”
“You used your own gun,” I said.
He blinked up at me. “That’s easily explained.”
“Maybe, but not that it was your gun that took out the twins, too.”
A pause followed, the silence heavy. “If you believe all this, then why am I not dead?” Chip asked me. “I’ve watched you for years, learning how you work. I did everything you asked, and it still wasn’t enough.”
“Is that why you did it?”
Chip smirked. “I tied Mum’s rope and pushed her off the landing because she wanted to tell you what I’d done. Can you believe that? She’d rather choose to tell on her only son rather than live with the guilt. She always said I was such a disappointment. I couldn’t do anything right. I couldn’t even gain your respect.”
“You think hurting Arabella would gain my respect?” I growled.
His expression was cold, despite the smile. “I was fascinated with your obsession with her, so I wanted to see whether you’d still like her after she was spoiled.”
“Why?” I hissed, needing to know the answer. He’d worked for me for years, and I’d known him for almost his entire life.
“Arabella’s way too innocent for you,” he said. “You’d have grown bored with her eventually, and honestly, I was doing her a favour. Even her father took advantage, so I thought she needed to learn the hard way.”
He tried to shrug, except Langdon pressed down on his shoulders from behind, fingers digging in painfully.
Swallowing, he continued, “Morris was too easy to convince, so selfish that he’d happily have his daughter raped just for monetary gain. I actually enjoyed slitting his throat; it felt cathartic. I’m just disappointed I didn’t get to see Ara’s face. I hope she felt… relieved.”
“You’ve been playing us all,” Caden cursed, and Chip chuckled.
“Tricking Gabriel into meeting her there was like the perfect play, the knight coming in to defend the queen. Except he was more like my pawn.”
Caden removed the sledgehammer, taking a step back as I stood.
“Are we still playing chess?” I asked.
“We’re always playing,” he snapped, finally showing a little bit of frustration. “We’ve been playing for years, except I was always a move ahead.”
