Page 33 of Shattered Sinner
Before I could respond, I watched as my mother walked into the room and took a seat next to my father. My father cleared his throat and said, “Amelia, Easton is in the process of becoming a Chevalier."
Mom looked at me somewhat skeptically before turning to look at my father. "I don't know much about them, but from what we heard, are we sure this is a good idea?"
Dad put his hand over Mom’s and gave it a squeeze. "I know it's not the safest organization to be a part of, but we also have to trust his judgment."
I didn’t blame her for being concerned.
My father sipped his wine, and as he was putting it back down, he asked, "Do you think you have what it takes to be a Chevalier? I know you can’t share with us what is going on, but how is it going?”
“Absolutely. So far things have been challenging, but nothing too bad,” I said as I thought about the fact that I had to beat up some drones and pass a lie detector test. “We’ll see what the final challenge brings.”
My father smiled. “If you want or need any help with this, Van is probably willing to help. He now owes me a favor anyway, and I assume you can't ask Nash to help you because he would probably be one of the people deciding if you get to join or not."
I sat there, slightly stunned by my father's suggestion. I had never even considered asking Van for help because I didn't think I needed it, but it might not be a bad idea. His connection to the Chevaliers could help me find out more information about Iris for Bianca.
Still, I was hesitant about taking him up on his offer. From what I'd heard over the years, Van was not the most trustworthy person in town. Although he owed my father a favor, I wasn't sure if that would be enough to override any ulterior motives he might have.
I put my fork down and said, "Why does he owe you a favor?"
"We did end up donating to his reelection campaign. A large sum."
My mother must have noticed my expression because she said softly, "If you don’t want to reach out to him, then you don't have to do it."
I appreciated Mom’s kind and understanding words. While shoving another bite of food into my mouth, I let my father’s offer sit out there without me confirming or denying what I wanted to do.
We ate in silence for a bit before I looked up and watched my father play with the wedding ring he’d placed on my mother’s left hand decades ago. Their love felt too pure for this conversation we were having about the Chevaliers. I wasn’t sure how much information they had about the organization and the darkness that lurked beneath the surface of the society that collected wealthy men like a baseball card collector. If they really knew, I highly doubted they would want me joining the organization.
"I think I would like to have a meeting with Van," I said smoothly. "The Chevaliers will open more doors, opportunities, and connections for me, and I don’t want to mess it up.” What I was saying was a half-truth, but my parents smiled, happy with my response.
“Speaking of Henson’s campaign, did you see the new commercial from Diana Caldwell?”
My father dabbed at the corner of his mouth with a napkin. “I did. She hit Van pretty hard, and it will be interesting to see how effective it is. I admire her tenacity if I’m being honest.”
I nodded, agreeing with his assessment. Diana was intelligent and charismatic, so I wasn’t surprised that she’d decided on the approach she had.
“Have you spoken to Van about the commercial?”
My father shook his head. “We haven’t seen the Hensons since the commercial first aired.”
“I’m getting lunch with Elizabeth tomorrow. While we don’t normally talk politics, I’d be shocked if this doesn’t come up,” Mom added.
“It might be worth trying to get on Van’s calendar as soon as possible because I’m sure he’s going to get distracted with a response to Diana’s claims,” said my father.
Dad had a good point. It would be potentially hard to get a meeting with Van. I doubted he had much free time, and the fact that he was in the middle of a political campaign didn’t help. But Dad could reach out and try to schedule a meeting with him. Then again, depending on how much my parents donated to the campaign, he might be willing to talk immediately.
I nodded, understanding what he was saying, but I still wanted to take a moment to think about it. “If he asked you, what advice would you give him?”
My father thought for a moment before speaking, “Now, while I'm not a politician, I believe the best way to handle this situation is to respond to her allegations and be open and honest with his constituents. Attacking Diana isn't the answer because, in the end, it's about the citizens of Brentson. If people know that Van is willing to listen and take their opinions into consideration and correct the record, then they are more likely to trust him and believe in his message. Thankfully nothing she said was all that bad."
My mind immediately jumped to Bianca’s photos and how those would rock Van’s campaign if they got out. While she was still the number one person on my list for sending Bianca’s photos to Van, that didn’t mean Van didn’t have more people who wanted to harm him or his family.
Shit.
This list of people could be huge. There wasn't any more time to waste.
"Dad, I’d like to talk to Van about the Chevaliers."
My father smiled at me before standing up from the table. “Let me grab my cell from the office and I'll call Van and ask. If I can get him on the line, maybe I can get him to talk about the Caldwell campaign commercial," he said as we all got up from the table and began cleaning up our dishes.
