The prisoner's confession spills out between gasps and pleas. Names of Hampton's loyal captains, details of safe houses, offshore accounts I hadn't known about. And two families who are providing support until Hampton is freed.
Hampton's face grows increasingly ashen as his empire's secrets are laid bare.
When I've heard enough, I nod to Blaise. He drags our informant away for further questioning, leaving me alone with the Keans.
"You won't get away with this," Hampton snarls, but the fear in his eyes betrays him.
I lean against the wall, studying them. "I already have."
Lana rises suddenly, her composure cracking. "We had a deal! We gave you our daughter!"
"You offered her as a sacrifice," I correct her coldly. "Like she's nothing more than property to be traded."
Hampton joins his wife, desperation making him bold. "We upheld our end of the bargain. Keira agreed to marry you. That was the arrangement for mercy."
"Mercy?" I laugh.
"You promised to spare our lives," Lana insists. "Yet you keep us locked in this… this dungeon."
I push off the wall, moving closer until only inches separate us. "Let me be clear. Your lives were forfeit the moment you murdered my parents. The only reason you're still breathing is because I want the world to see the great Hampton Kean brought down. Imprisoned by the justice system he thought he controlled."
"We gave you Keira," Hampton repeats, as if that should absolve them of everything.
"You didn't give me anything," I growl. "She chose to save your worthless lives. And every day, I wonder why she bothered."
The truth is, I wonder the same about myself. Why didn't I just put bullets in their heads the moment we took the house? Or have let Ash do it. It would have been cleaner. Simpler.
But not nearly as satisfying as watching them suffer.
I turn my back on the Keans, taking a few steps away before pivoting to face them again. My patience wears thin with their pathetic attempts to bargain. "Let me make something perfectly clear. Every breath you take is a mercy you don't deserve. Your lives hang by the thinnest thread. One I could snap with a single word."
Hampton's face contorts with rage, but fear keeps him silent. Lana clutches his arm, her knuckles white.
"The federal charges alone will put you away for decades," I continue. "Tax evasion. Racketeering. Murder. But prison mightbe the kindest fate awaiting you. There are many families eager to settle old scores once word spreads of your… vulnerability."
"You wouldn't," Lana whispers.
I smile coldly. "I wouldn't have to. Your enemies will find you with or without my help."
Hampton steps forward. "Then kill us and be done with it. Why this charade?"
"Because death would be too quick. Too merciful. I want you to live long enough to lose everything. Your empire. Your reputation. Your freedom. Just like you took everything from my family."
Lana suddenly breaks, tears streaming down her face. "At least spare Keira from your games. She's innocent in all this."
I study her carefully, surprised by this sudden maternal concern. In all our interactions, the Keans have treated their daughter as nothing more than a bargaining chip. I remember how she used to talk about how invisible she felt with her family. How they were so focused on money and status. Only Ronan got any attention because he was the son.
"Since when do you care what happens to Keira?" I ask. "You offered her up without hesitation to save yourselves."
Something flickers across Hampton's face. A look I can't quite decipher. Guilt? Fear? Something deeper?
"She's our daughter," he says stiffly.
"Your daughter.” I sense there's more to their relationship with Keira than I've understood. "What aren't you telling me about her?"
Hampton and Lana exchange a look that sets my teeth on edge.
"We knew about you two," Hampton finally says, his voice oddly resigned. "Did you really think you were being so clever, sneaking around our property? Helping her sneak out to be with you?"
