"You knew?"
"Of course we knew," Lana says with a dismissive wave. "A mother always knows when her daughter is in love."
“I could have stopped it, you know,” Hampton says with more bravado than he’s had since I locked him up.
“Didn’t you, though?” I remember Keira telling me he’d put guards on her to keep her from seeing me. From warning me. Was that a lie?
“Not until your father disrespected me by saying Keira wasn’t suitable for you.” Hampton’s face burns with hate. "He wouldn’t allow his precious heir to marry a Kean? He despised me. Thought I was beneath him."
I knew my father wouldn’t have wanted Keira for me, but I’d planned to talk to him. Surely, he’d let me marry her for love. But Hampton took that away from me.
"He saw you for exactly what you are," I spit back. "A treacherous, power-hungry snake who'd betray his closest allies for a chance to climb higher."
"Your father was an arrogant fool," Hampton sneers. "He believed in outdated codes of honor while the world changed around him. I offered him partnership, a true partnership, business and family, and he rejected me."
"So you murdered him?" The rage burns hot in my chest. "You killed my parents, tried to kill all of us because my father wouldn't bow to you?"
Lana steps forward. "It wasn't personal, Phoenix. It was business."
"Business? You burned my family alive. You tried to kill children. My brothers were teenagers!"
"A necessary evil," Hampton says coldly. "Your father left us no choice."
"There's always a choice," I growl. "And you made yours. Now you'll live with the consequences."
“You never could see your father for who he truly was,” Hampton says with frustrated anger. “I’m the one who pushed for you to be with Keira. It’s your father who refused. He was insulted by the mere suggestion. Said his son would never marry a Kean. He didn’t give a fuck about what you wanted, Phoenix, and I’m the bad guy?"
I realize finally that my father did know about Keira and me. I hadn’t talked to him, but the Keans had, and he’d dismissed her without even asking me about her. My father, whom I'd idolized, whom I'd spent a decade avenging, had been dismissive of what Keira and I shared. Sure, I knew he wanted to find me a wife from a family that could help expand his business, but surely, he’d have supported my love for Keira.
"That doesn't justify murder," I manage. I pull myself together. “So you got Keira to help you.”
Lana’s brows furrow. “Help us what?”
“Don’t bother.” Hampton gives me a look of distaste and pulls his wife back deeper into the room. “He’s set in his thinking. Let’s just bide our time until…”
“Until what?”
He shrugs. “You kill us or send us to jail.” He sits on the cot, tugging Lana to sit next to him. It could be that he’s given up, but I don’t buy it. He’s toying with me. He knows something.
There are voices outside in the hall. Ash pokes his head out and then comes to me. “The wives are back from their outing.”
I turn back to the Keans, frustration burning through me. There's more to this story and I'm certain they're still hiding crucial pieces. Just like Keira is hiding something.
"This isn't over," I promise them, already moving toward the door.
"What about Keira? Can we see her?” Lana asks.
I pause at the threshold. Turning back, I fix them with a cold stare. "Don't worry. You'll see her again on our wedding day."
“I could help her with the plans.”
I shake my head. “Keira is quite capable of making the plans.”
“What about Brigit?” she asks.
The question catches me off guard. In all our confrontations, they've never once mentioned the girl. Why now?
"Your god-daughter? Why the sudden concern?"
