“No,” I whisper, my voice breaking.
Whatelsecould Sterling possibly have on him?
The only other thing is–
Impossible.
“Let this be the first lesson,” Sterling growls. “Do noteverundermine the Lords of Darkness. And you just spilled the wrong secret.” Pressing the knife to his windpipe, I take a step forward as Astern gasps.
“I’m sorry,” Max hisses, looking at me with wide eyes.
“Say goodbye, Maximilian Thorn,” Sterling grits out.
CHAPTER 18
Astern
“Fine! Fine!” Max shouts, breathing heavily. Each exhale presses against the knife, deepening the cut on his throat.
“Don’t do it,” Otto growls. “Don’t tell them–”
“Are you serious?” I ask, heart pounding. “If he doesn’t, he’lldie–”
“Years ago, our father–who was the Crowned King of Denmark–fell down the stairs. No one else was home, but Otto and I heard it happen. We also heard the garbled cries as he choked on his own blood. We knew what was happening. We watched him bleed out from the crack in the back of his skull. When he’d been gone for over an hour, we called an ambulance and feigned ignorance.”
Otto sighs heavily and runs his hand down over his face. “It’s fuckingtreason–”
“Very good,” Sterling says slowly, removing the knife. “Technically, I shouldn’t give you another chance, but I’m feeling nice today.”
“How very kind of you,” I grit out, glaring at him.
“He beat us,” Max adds, his voice sounding broken. Slumping over, his wild eyes find Otto’s. “He molested… all of us. For so long, I wanted nothing more than for his death. We could’ve saved him that day, but we watched him bleed out. If anyone were to ever find out… we’d be sent to jail for much longer than an accidental homicide.”
“Well done,” Sterling says, wiping his bloodied knife on his thigh. “I spent a lot of time going over the autopsy report to figure that out, I’ll have you know. He died of blood loss, and the alibi you both provided to the court was flimsy. You’ll need to do much better than that when you become Lords. Now, who wants to go next?”
Holy fuck.
I go still, and as I sneak a peek at Alex, Otto, and Lachlan, they’re all looking around cautiously. Lachlan’s eyes keep darting toward the exit, like he’s about to make a run for it.
What the hell is he hiding?
“I’ll go,” Otto says, walking over to where Max is sitting. “I have nothing to hide. Well, not anymore.”
Max stands up and claps Otto on the shoulder. A look passes between them, and Otto nods once in confirmation.
When Otto sits down, Sterling watches him with crossed arms.
“I have an Only Fans…” he starts. “I record myself coming and call it ASMR porn. I have over a million followers.” He looks up at Sterling, who only arches a brow. Sighing, Otto shakes his head. “Fine. I sometimes frequent a gloryhole and film as I suck off strangers.”
“And?” Sterling says.
“Once a month, I invite a follower over for a fuck and record it.”
“Very good,” Sterling says, and Otto frowns up at him before standing.
“A million followers?” Lachlan asks incredulously.
“Don’t worry, pretty boy. I’ll give you my username so you can check out my co…ntent,” he says slowly, winking at him.
