Page 18 of The Revenge
There’s a small voice in the back of my mind, trying desperately to tell me that, considering everything I’ve learned and heard, provoking Synclair Keyingham is a very stupid thing to do, but whatever patience I’ve had up until now has vanished. “Bullshit. You said you wanted me to kill myself. You said you’d been told by the XXXVII to get rid of me. You even told me, in your own bedroom, that you were capable of killing me, and you would.”
“Could,” Syn stresses before he wafts his hand dismissively. “You are at this college because I said so. I saw you’d applied, and I made sure that you were successful with your application.” He leans forward slightly, but it’s enough to make his gold eyes flash in the light. “I wanted your brother to get the death penalty for what he did, and when I found out you were coming here, I wanted you to be so miserable that you’d take your own life and make him suffer. Your brother is in prison because he confessed to murdering the most important person in my life, and thenyounot only turned up here in a place that is part of his legacy, but then you never stopped proclaiming that your brother was innocent. You can judge me all you want for that, but if the roles were reversed, and you had the power, you would do exactly the same.”
I fall silent at that. I’d like to think I was better than Syn, but there had been countless times when I’d thought to myself that I’d want to make him hurt if I was in his shoes. Maybe Iwouldn’t have done it in the same way, but I’d done a lot more than I thought I was capable of, just in trying to find out the truth to free Cole.
“Then why have Declan try to kill me?” I ask. “That video was released, and I was ready to leave this place.”
“I told you, I didn’t have Salaway try to kill you. My instructions were simply to get you to leave.” Syn’s eyes narrow. “And to be clear, the video was not released under my instruction either, Victoria.”
“It’s true,” Royal said, finally speaking up. “Syn had no idea the video was going to be released—none of us did until we were sent a link. When we did, we immediately tried to find out who was behind it.”
“Is that too-late show of heroism supposed to make me feel better?” I ask him.
A hint of red colors Royal’s cheeks before he shakes his head. “No, but I’m still sorry it happened.”
“Don’t worry,” I say, dryly. “Someone went to great lengths to make sure no one can tell I’m deep throating you.”
He shifts his weight, his face getting redder, but whatever he’s about to say, I’ve got no interest in hearing, so I turn back to Syn.
“Whether you released it or not, that video has racked up thousands of views. I went back to that room to get my things, and then I was leaving this place. I was going to leave this morning, but instead, I’m here. Why won’t you just let me go?”
“Because it’s not safe,” Syn says.
“Neither is being here with you.”
Syn’s index finger starts tapping against his thigh. “You asked me why I was so sure Cole had murdered JP, but when I really started to think about it, I realized that I didn’t have a reason. So I drove upstate to the jail and spoke to him. I think you’re right: I don’t think he killed JP either.Which means either your brother knows who did, or he’s been blackmailed into saying he did.” Syn’s voice is calm and almost conversational, but somehow, it seems to have the power to make my heart feel like it’s about to explode. “You can leave if you want, but out there, you’ve got no one to protect you.”
VII
Royal
Tori had called the XXXVII a secret society, but that seems too insignificant for the reach the organization has—and that’s just the little I’m aware of.
Originally, there were thirty-seven founding members. Thirty-seven men from twenty-nine different families whose original purpose was to help each other gain—and retain—power and wealth.
At some point as the years passed, intentions changed, and slowly, the number of families dropped by half. According to official records, their deaths were natural, but knowing what I do, I doubt that’s really the case.
Between Syn’s father’s high standing, my family’s connections, and Gemini’s disregard for legal boundaries, we’ve figured out with relative certainty who fourteen members of the inner circle are. Only, it’s still a guess.
Only the inner circle knows who the members of the inner circle are. And after you leave that and consider people like me, Syn, Gemini, and even Preston, the numbers and identities become even more uncertain.
We’d gotten the tattoos because we were dumb. They were placed where few people would see them, and no one would ever understand what they meant.
Or they shouldn’t have been able to.
At the time, passing the test and being welcomed in seemed like we were becoming part of something incredible.
Something that stopped being incredible the moment I saw Tori laying lifeless in the snow.
I’ve spent weeks trying to convince myself I’m not falling for her. It took her almost dying to admit how I really feel. I wanted her here, in this house, so I can keep her safe and look after her.
The more Syn reasons it out, the more I’m inclined to believe his father has nothing to do with what’s happened—even if, at the very least, Tori’s death would have had too much of a negative impact on Syn’s future.
If the members of the XXXVII are who we think they are, they’re dangerous men with even more dangerous connections. They might not be pulling the trigger themselves, but they can orchestrate company collapses, plane crashes, and even make murders look like accidents.
The only likely reason the XXXVII is involved is because of Preston using the resources they offer. Given the optics of what Tori’s death would be, he’s probably not informing them of what’s happening.
Salaway wasn’t anyone special. At the beginning of his initiation, we’d been told he would be leaving, and then suddenly, he didn’t.
