Page 59 of Night Fall
“No,” Erik said, sliding his sword back in its sheath as he moved to stand beside Mya.
“Exactly. Constance planned for us, and she shouldn’t have known we were coming. Erik killed everyone who appeared at your house. No one ever came to ours, so how did she know?” Greg asked.
Merida sheathed her weapons as she added, “And then there were our powers. I understand Dani’s and Jo’s from previous battles, but…”
Greg nodded. “She knew I wouldn’t be able to hold off that many guns forever, and that’s information not many outside of our battle officers know.”
Greg grabbed Daniella’s hand and the two led the group down one of the passageways.
“We need to find paperwork, clues, a computer, anything that can provide insight as to how Constance knew so much about us,” Greg instructed.
As they walked, they disarmed traps and found several cages coated in the blood, skin, and organs of Constance’s victims. Then they came across a metal door with a digital keyless lock. Mya moved to the front of the group and disarmed the lock, then Greg threw open the door. Once his gaze swept through the room, he signaled it was safe for them to enter.
They filed out into the room, each taking up a section to survey and comb through. Mya spotted a computer and sat down, using her hacking software to break into the system. Greg stood beside her and flipped through several pieces of paper he’d retrieved from a bookcase. “Shipping details, inventory, it’s all here. They got this all in last night.”
A loud crash called their attention, and they turned to see Daniella staring at the back of the picture that she’d pulled out of a frame. “Who is Katherine Martin?” she asked.
Greg and Lily moved toward Daniella, and she handed them the picture, pointing to the back.
“I don’t know—”
Lily snatched the photo from him, flipping from the front to the back of the picture repeatedly. Then a look of shock came over her and she gasped. “Katherine Martin was Francois’s daughter. He reported her missing three hundred years ago. The investigation was never closed.”
Greg’s eyes narrowed and he leveled his gaze at her. “Lily, the only people outside of my circle who knew we were coming here today was The Council.”
She staggered back. “Greg, Francois is an ass, but he wouldn’t go this far—”
“Actually, he would,” Mya said, her voice shaking, and the group circled around her.
“I traced the routing number that’s been funding Constance’s operation. It goes through a lot of shell companies and offshore accounts, but I was able to hack into their system. The account is registered to The Diamond Group, of which Francois is the CEO.”
Lily shook her head. “But that’s not enough to prove that it’s him. It could be anyone.”
“Except he emailed Constance this list.” Mya brought up the secure document and scrolled to the bottom slowly. It was a list of several hundred names, most of which were crossed off. At the bottom were theirs, along with their powers and weaknesses and all the other data they had been forced to share with The Council.
Erik’s eyes grew wide. “Francois was the last person to be approved to join The Council. He’s who we saw the day I disappeared.”
It was Mya’s turn to gasp. “But why? What would getting you out of the picture do?”
“It would give him control of The Council,” Greg said. “I was going to be the leader. If anything happened to me then it would then go to Erik, and then the next strongest person, Francois. I think Francois knew you were Erik’s mate, Mya. He knew if he pushed you hard enough you would kill the blood witches for him, and if you didn’t then they’d kill us.”
Lily nodded. “And with Greg giving up his seat to save your life, Francois would be free to lead The Council until Greg had concluded his investigation into Erik’s supposed death.”
“But with the wars…” Mya’s eyes widened.
“Exactly. I’ve been too busy to investigate Erik’s whereabouts, meaning Francois has been able to gain power and replace our seats as he sees fit,” Greg said, slamming his fist onto the desk.
Mya turned to Erik and found his face and eyes brimming with anger. The man they trusted, the man their people had trusted, was a traitor responsible for centuries of their pain.
Greg dialed a number on his phone and put it to his ear. “This ends tonight.”
TWENTY-ONE
Francois was just on the other side of this door.
Erik could imagine Francois sitting down with a smile on his face, likely overjoyed that Erik and possibly several members of Mya’s family—maybe even Mya herself—were dead. Erik wanted to rip the man apart.
Not only was Francois behind his capture, but Mya had found the incriminating information they needed to prove he was the one enslaving witches. Francois had been the original cause of the blood witches. He had supplied them with the immortals to target. He was behind the deaths of hundreds, the torture of thousands. Erik remembered the faces of the women Zachariah and Constance had stolen, raped, and brutalized, the men they’d forced to change into immortals and driven so mad that killing them was a mercy.
