Page 167 of Vega

Mrs. Granger pressed her hand to her mouth.

“He told Roman, ‘I’m your heir.’ Then he said, ‘I just wanted you to see me.’”

Mrs. Granger’s shoulders shook as she began to weep.

“Roman told him, ‘I do see you. That’s the problem. You’d rather deny your own son than admit he’s ready’. And Roman said, ‘I’d rather bury a threat than hand one my throne.’ That was when Roman reached beneath his coat. Donovan didn’t even see it coming when Roman shot him.”

Mrs. Granger cried, “Did Roman hesitate?”

“No,” Sonnet said quietly. “He pulled the gun and fired almost immediately.”

Mrs. Granger folded forward, and I thought she might fall off of the table.

“Donovan went down, but he was still alive. He pressed his hand over the wound and asked Roman if he thought he was going to get away with it.”

“What did Roman say?”

“Nothing.”

Mrs. Granger cried silently, tears slipping down her face while Sonnet forced herself to keep going.

“Donovan told him everything came to light eventually. Then his hand fell away, and he stopped moving.”

Mrs. Granger covered her mouth as grief caused her to sob. “Did he suffer?”

“He was conscious for a short time, but it happened quickly.”

“And Roman just stood there?”

“He stood over him with the gun still in his hand.”

Mrs. Granger lowered her head and cried.

“I’m sorry,” Sonnet whispered. “I wish I had a different truth to give you.”

Mrs. Granger looked destroyed. She bent forward, one hand covering her face while the other held the sheet against her body.

Sonnet reached for her hand.

“Who are you? Why were you there that night?” Mrs. Granger asked through her tears.

“I work for the company. I was working late that night.”

Mrs. Granger looked at her for a long time, as if she were searching for confirmation that Sonnet was telling the truth. Then she tore her eyes away, cringing, as if she knew and nodded.

“He always said Donovan wanted too much too soon,” she whispered. “And Donovan always said his father would rather destroy him than let him become his own man.”

She wiped her face with the corner of the sheet. “Why are you telling me all of this?”

“Your husband hired me to kidnap Sonnet and bring her to him because he found out that she was a witness. But something didn’t feel right. Then before one of my meetings with Roman, I overheard Roman telling Cedric that Sonnet has to die because she witnessed him murder his son.”

Blowing a heavy breath, Celeste ran her fingers through her hair.

“But I figured you wouldn’t just take my word for it, so I had someone do some digging so that I could present you with facts that you couldn’t deny. You deserve to know who you were sleeping beside. Roman started a fake war with the Bellamy crew behind this lie. People have died and gotten hurt behind this lie... and Roman has been trying to kill her because she is the only person who can reveal the truth. Now that the truth is out, I’m hoping this will save her life.”

She looked at Sonnet with eyes full of regret. “I’m so sorry...”

Sonnet squeezed her hand. “It’s not your fault.”