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It was the first time since Alessio’s death that everyone seemed happy; even Ame was smiling.

“Arkane, Father wants to see you in his office,” Jon whispered just for me to hear. Although he kept his usual nonchalant demeanor to the outside world, there was a certain edge in his tone. I think I had an inkling of why Father was asking for me.

It was late evening now, and we had since retired to the drawing room, leaving Mom with Chi and Ame, who refused to leave her side.

I hesitated, turning to my wife, who was curled up on my side, devouring a plate of cupcakes that Grayson, for some reason, handed to her.

“What is it?” Bella lifted her chin toward me, licking the remnants of the cream from her pinky finger. My eyes went straight to that, and I had to stifle a groan when her pillowy lips wrapped around the finger.

Behaving myself, I leaned toward her ear. “Father is asking for me.”

She gave me a small smile. “Go, I’ll be fine. I have cupcakes.”

I hesitated, my eyes going to Grayson, who sat on her other side, staring at the wall like he had a war with it, and then my gaze drifted to Marcus, who was nursing a glass of bourbon, busy on a call with an associate. Karl was also on his phone, typing away at the speed of light, and from that sly grin on his face, he was getting lucky tonight.

And Lucien, as always, stood in the farthest corner, observing the room like a ghost.

One of them was the fucking White Hand, and leaving my wife alone didn’t feel right at all.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of my sister-in-law,” Jon said with a cocky grin, placing a protective arm around her. Bella was somehow fine with Jon touching her, and the way Jon gloated about it made me want to rearrange his face.

“Go,” Grayson said under his breath. “I won’t let anything happen to her.” His gaze was still dead-focused on the rest of the room. It was only then that I realized he was glaring at the three of them with murderous rage. Like almost as if he was waiting for one of them to reveal themselves as the White Hand, and he could kill them with his bare hands.

I also thought it was one of three. Jon said that he and Grayson separated in the tunnels when the Surmans came for them. It could be Grayson, but my heart wouldn’t allow me to think that way.

Bella gave them both a sweet smile. “Who’s taking care of who? I can take you both down in a matter of minutes,” she muttered, her eyes finding me. “Go, I’ll be fine.”

I slowly nodded, pressing a kiss on her forehead. Jon was already arguing with her by the time I made it to the door. I didn’t like leaving her alone just to deal with Father, but I didn’t want to make a scene, knowing very well the White Hand was watching.

“Come in, Arkane,” Father said. The man looked half himself, but somewhere in those dead green eyes, an ounce of life was peeking through. Must be because of Mother. I couldn’t relate to anything with my father, but I somehow got the pain of seeing the woman you loved suffer in silence for almost thirteen years.

“Take a seat, son,” he said, so unlike the usual stiff tone he used with me.

“Your mother knew who the White Hand was,” he admitted, which I had already suspected. “He’s going to come for her.” Fear clouded his eyes. He was scared for Mother.

I waited for him to spout some nonsense, but for the first time in his life, Father said something so logical that I found myself nodding along with him.

And just like that, in a rare turn of events, Father and I came up with a plan, agreeing to end the White Hand once and for all.

Although it was a joyous day in the Stormhold family, beneath my casual facade, I brimmed with tense, nervous energy.

“Hey.” Bella greeted me with a soft smile, and I pulled her into my arms. “Should we go? Your mother is resting.” It was late, almost close to ten now, and Bella had been hanging out with my sisters and mother for the past couple of hours. I knew she was already drained, and all she wanted was to go home and run a bath with her book. My wife wasn’t one for social interactions. I was the only exclusion.

“No,” I muttered, pulling her aside, and we ended up in my childhood room.

“What’s the occasion?” A smile tugged at her lips as she looped her arms around my waist. “Do you have some kind of fantasy to bring your wife here?”

As much as I would love to fuck her senseless, it wasn’t the time. The switch in my expression made her muscles go taut.

Her eyes sharpened. “What’s wrong?”

I explained everything to her, and she wanted to stay, but I made her go home with Mikhail. I could only think straight if she was safe, so she agreed, ordering me to be careful.

Just as Bella left, I took a deep breath and made it back to the drawing room, putting on my mask of indifference.

“How’s Mom?” Marcus asked when I entered the room. He was forking his seafood pasta.

I sighed, eyeing them. “Not good,” I lied, and they all stilled. “She just had an episode.”