Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 94834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
I watch him cautiously. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Nikolai lets out a heavy breath before taking his glass and lifting it to his lips. He tips all its contents down his throat before settling his stony gaze back on me. “Matthias Quinn is the illegitimate, only-born son of your grandfather, Julius DeVil.”
I stare at him, not following along. “The fuck did you just say?” I question the words only-born son on repeat in my head. “Because it sounds a lot like you’re trying to tell me that I am not the legitimate heir of Empire.”
“That’s exactly what I am trying to tell you, Zade. You are not the rightful heir of Empire. The blood does not run through your veins. It runs through Oakley’s.”
I fly up from my armchair and slam Nikolai up against the wall, my dagger at his throat. A drop of blood slips from beneath his delicate skin and stains my blade. Fury consumes me, and as I press my blade into him, I feel everything I worked for slipping through my fingers. “How dare you spread such vile lies.”
“They are not lies, Zade,” he says in a comforting tone, not fazed by my outburst in the slightest. It’s almost as though he had expected this of me, this childish outburst over power. “Release me, and I will share what I know.”
Letting out a breath, I reluctantly step back, needing to hear exactly what the old bastard has to say. He pulls a handkerchief from his pocket and gently dabs at the base of his throat as he strides across his office.
I follow, watching as he reaches into the neckline of his shirt and pulls a small brass key from a low-hanging chain. Nikolai glances at me, making sure he has my full attention before pushing open his desk drawer and using the key to release a false bottom.
Nikolai reaches in and produces a manilla folder full of papers before handing them to me. “What’s this?” I question, snatching it from his hand with no intention of giving it up.
“In that folder, you will find evidence of your grandfather’s affair. I am sure you have heard the stories and are aware that your grandparents had an arranged marriage, and in those early years, they were not fond of one another. Your grandfather had an affair with a younger woman, a Miss Marietta Quinn. She was barely eighteen and he was forty-three, and upon discovering her pregnancy, he hid her away and paid her to keep quiet. She died soon after the birth of her son, Matthias. Cause of death not provided.”
Every word out of his mouth is like a shot straight to the chest, but it’s like watching a train wreck; impossible to look away. “My father is Julius’ son, Lawson DeVil. The blood of Empire lived in his veins,” I state, knowing that as fact. “I am his son, the heir of Empire.”
“I’m sorry, Zade,” he says, shaking his head. “You are indeed your father’s son. However, your father is not biologically Julius’ son.”
“And what proof do you have of that?”
“It’s all in the folder,” he tells me, waving toward the papers in my hand. “Your grandparents tried for a child for a very long time, and upon realizing his wife could not conceive an heir, he turned to other avenues. Your father is the result of a junkie living on the street who’d been abused by her stepfather. He was abandoned as a newborn at the door of a fire station, and within three hours, he was the new heir of Empire.”
My world starts to implode, everything I knew to be true suddenly burning to ash at my feet. My heart races and I shake my head. “That can’t be right.”
“I am sorry, son. I know this isn’t the news you were hoping to hear, but every word I speak is true. You’ll find an autopsy report for your grandmother, Iris, stating no evidence of ever birthing a child. Your father is Julius’ adoptive son, and he does not share the same blood that runs through his veins. Your father never belonged to Empire, and when this was brought to his attention all those years ago, he took Matthias’ life and buried the evidence.”
My face falls. “He murdered the rightful heir.”
“Indeed,” he says, giving me a pointed stare. “And in thirty suns and thirty moons, you will do the very same thing.”
Oakley.
Fuck.
Falling back a step, I drop into the leather-studded armchair. “What do I do?” I question. “If Empire finds out about this, I’ll be put to death. Right along with anyone who helps me.”
Nikolai’s head snaps up, his eyes coming to rest on mine He knows damn well that despite Sawyer not knowing any of this, it will be assumed that he does. All my friends will be hunted right along with me, whether they’re involved or not. “Do not mishear me, Zade. I am loyal to the blood of Empire,” he states, specifically telling me he will not be loyal to me. “However, I will do everything in my power to keep my son from suffering this fate. I do not believe you should be punished for a position you were put in by those before you.”