Page 77 of Buried in Blood
“Destiny had a twin sister. Our mother gave her away at birth. Said my father wouldn’t let her have two girls. I didn’t know. None of us did.”
My stomach flips.
Dante’s never looked this raw. Not even when he buried Destiny.
“She’s alive,” he says quietly. “Her name is Brooke.”
The name hits like a shot to the chest.
Brooke.
I know that name.
Thatgirl.
The one Damien parades around like a devout little soldier these days. The one with wide eyes and soft smiles that feel off—like taxidermy made human. The one he warned me about.
“Brooke isDestiny’s twin?” I ask, voice low, stunned.
Dante nods. “Found her in the Orchard. Damien’s been keeping her close. Grooming her. Molding her.”
“Fucking Hell,” I mutter, dragging a hand down my face. “That explains everything. The favoritism. The attention. The way he talks about her like she’s some holy relic. Why Harmony is no longer in the picture. He found a replacement.”
“Yeah.” Dante’s lips twist. “She’s his third chance. His do-over.”
“And she doesn’t know?”
“Shebelievesin him, Lucien. She worships him. I told her the truth, and she looked me in the eye and said I was lying.”
I close my eyes, trying to process it.
Itmakes sense. Of course, it does. Damien never does anything without a motive. And now that Destiny’s gone… Brooke is the new canvas. Untouched. Loyal. Naive.
And he’s painting her in her sister’s image.
A slow breath escapes me.
“What are we going to do?” I ask.
Dante lifts his head, jaw tight. “I don’t know. She’s not a victim anymore. She’s a weapon.”
“And Harmony?”
“Trying to survive somewhere, or dead. Same as always.”
We sit in silence for a long moment.
I think of Harmony, of how she clings to stillness when everything around her is chaos. Of the way her eyes flinch before her mouth can lie. Of the bruises I’ve seen and the ones she is probably hiding.
I think of Destiny.
I think ofBrooke.
And I realize something terrifying.
We’re not just trying to take down Damien anymore.
We’re trying to dismantle a religion.
