Page 26 of Betrayed in the Dark
“That’s what I need to figure out. By traditional standards, I am of pure Manacorda blood, while Alastor has none. He’s not truly one of us. But after I sustained my injury many years ago…” He stares down at his lap, his fingers tightening on the arms of the chair. “I’ve only been seen as a weakness by my father.” He peers out the window and then back at us. “My mother, may God rest her soul, died when I was just a boy. Soon after, my father remarried my stepmother, Mila, as he felt it made him look weak to be viewed as a widower. With her came Alastor and Cressida.”
“Cressida?” The name doesn’t ring a bell.
“Yes, Alastor has a twin sister,” he says, arching an eyebrow. “Have you not met her?”
I shake my head, trying to recall this piece of information, but Leo interrupts my thoughts.
“She’ll be at the bridal shower tomorrow. You won’t miss her; she looks just like Alastor.”
“She’s a sweet girl. Mostly keeps to herself. Can’t say I blame her, knowing who she grew up with,” Enzio comments, his eyes bouncing between the two of us. “Alastor is a snake in disguise. Atrue psychopath, if you ask me. But because of his…tendencies, my father was drawn to him.”
“Tendencies?” I ask.
“Let’s just say that as a kid, he took pleasure in making my pets go missing. And as we grew older, it only got worse from there.”
My blood boils with rage thinking of this monster anywhere near Madeleine.
Especially alone.
“Alastor, well, he worships my father. Wants to be just like him. Actually, no.” Enzio shakes his head. “He wants to be more powerful, more influential than he is. He’d take over the world if he could.”
“And my sister,” Leo says, looking deep in thought. “You think she comes into play because a marriage with her secures a connection to our family—the most powerful family in the northeast.”
Enzio points a finger. “Bingo.”
Why the fuck would Madeleine agree to marry this lunatic?
I tug at my collar; the room suddenly feels too warm.
The fact that Alastor has her in his clutches doesn’t sit well with me.
Not one goddamn bit.
“He’s blackmailing her,” I state. “It’s the only plausible reason behind their engagement.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Enzio answers. “Alastor will do whatever he needs to do to get what he wants.”
“But what could he possibly have to blackmail her with?” I grit out, trepidation spreading throughout my chest.
Enzio shrugs. “We all have monsters in our closets. What are hers?”
Leo shakes his head in disbelief. “She’s never even killed a man.”
I arch a brow.
“As far as we know…” He scratches the back of his head.
“Sometimes we think we know someone when we truly don’t,” Enzio says matter-of-factly.
“Isn’t that the truth?” Leo’s eyes darken, lost in a memory.
I squeeze the back of my neck in frustration. “None of this makes any sense. Madeleine doesn’t take crap from anyone. She’s always been strong and independent. And then, suddenly, she’s engaged to Alastor, who, no offense,” I say, glancing at Enzio, “is about as attractive as a naked mole rat.”
He lifts a shoulder. “No offense taken.”
“And on top of all that, he’s a raging psychopath. We need to find out what he’s holding over her, and we need to do it quickly. I won’t let her walk down that aisle toward that prick. It will be a cold, bloody day in hell before she ever gets to call him her husband.” Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Leo’s gaze shifting to me, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. His body tightens as he leans closer, opening his mouth as if he’s about to say something.Shit.“The Alaries are my family, and I will not let your arsehole of a stepbrother cause any one of them harm.”
Leo shifts in his seat, leaning back in his chair as he nods in agreement. Enzio considers this for a moment, then opens his desk drawer. Leo and I instinctively reach for our guns, but we quickly pull our hands back when Enzio retrieves a manila folder.
