Page 61 of Buried in Blood
I glance at the surveillance screen.
Each one in their own room. Quiet. Obedient. Beautiful.
Good.
Except Brooke.
She’s been… unpredictable lately. She has acted softly toward Harmony. Asking questions that she doesn’t need to know the answers to.
I jot her name in the corner and draw a question mark beside it.
I’ll have to test her loyalty again.
And Harmony?
She’s been quiet.
Too quiet.
But she’ll obey when it matters.
She always does.
I snap open the burner phone and start typing the code for the warehouse drop. Final address. Timing. Decoy logs. I’ll burn the phone once the texts go out. No digital trails.
I pause mid-sentence, eyes flicking to the cellar feed.
Dante’s empty chair.
The dark stain on the floor.
Gone, but not forgotten.
I smirk.
He won’t come back.
Heknowsnow. He saw what I did to her. To Brooke. He won’t risk her life by playing hero.
I made sure of that.
Still…
I walk to the window and check the perimeter again. Fences. Cameras. Traps. Backup generators. Electrified gates. Motion sensors at the north ridge.
No one’s getting in.
And no one’s getting out—unless I say so.
I turn back to the wall and draw one final circle.
The Orchard.
My legacy.
My kingdom.
My endgame.
