Heartless Legacy (Heartless Heirs of Canyon Falls #4)

11. Holden

Chapter 11

Holden

I walk into chambers like everything’s the same between me and my friends. A million questions go through my head as I take up position against the wall, further away from where I usually stand. Does the council recognize the strain between us? Do they care?

I hate the tension between us. Pax and Finn are both too stubborn to make the first move to get us past this problem. That means I’ll have to do it. I take a step towards Pax, just as Eloise squeezes in beside him in the space where Finn usually stands. I turn my head and find Finn staring at them, his hands balled into fists at his side.

His reaction isn’t jealousy. It’s anger. Anger that Eloise is in his spot. Anger that Pax let her be there, and anger because the girl we think should be at our side isn’t here.

I’m used to being stuck in the middle of these two. I usually try to remain neutral over whatever their disagreement is. There’s no room for neutrality here. Even if I could put my feelings about Thea aside, Pax is still in the wrong.

He should have talked to us instead of springing his engagement on us in chambers. He made us look like fools. Him having Eloise at his side right now is still making us look like fools. It signals to everyone that he chooses her over his Trium. That shit’s embarrassing, disrespectful, and it hurts. I won’t pretend otherwise.

Eloise turns and sees me looking, a smug smile on her conniving ass face. She’s happy with this turn of events. Pleased with the wedge she’s put between us, when she never could before, but she’s misjudged the situation. She thinks she’s on top now, because Pax gives her a direct line to a member of the high council.

Finn’s grandfather and mine might not sit on the top level of the dais, but that doesn’t make them less powerful. The positions they hold were choices they made long ago, for reasons we were told we’re not allowed to know. But they are on the dais, two seats below the highest council members, and they are still a part of Malcolm Senior’s Trium.

I turn my attention to the dais, easily picking my grandfather out from the bodies filtering into their designated slots. He nods at me in acknowledgment, then shifts his attention to Eloise. He taps the oldest Finley on the shoulder to get his attention and he, too, turns his gaze towards where Eloise and Pax are standing.

The two men press their heads close and whisper to each other, gazes still locked on the couple. Eloise lifts her hand in a wave. They turn their backs without acknowledging the gesture and move to their assigned positions. On my left, I see Finn’s shoulders shaking. I guess he caught that, too.

I feel a little better than I did when I walked in. At least there are two men up there that still believe in the oath they pledged.

Pax

The meeting was called to order thirty minutes ago, but someone came in and passed a note to the recorder before the first order of business was announced. After some hushed whispers, the high council rushed out of chambers.

The recorder has just come back in, and announces, “The meeting is adjourned. All third-year prospects and below are dismissed. Fourth years and above, standby for an emergency session.”

I watch the screens descend from the ceiling as the video feeds come online for our remote members. When I finally exit the inner chamber, it’s into a traffic jam of bodies, going and coming. The hallway’s packed tighter than I’ve ever seen it.

The overflow of bodies is being directed to additional rooms within the building to watch the proceedings through a video feed. What the hell is going on? Everyone’s focused on leaving or getting inside, so no one notices me when I slip into one of the rooms.

There’s no preamble of introductions or roll call. The council members return to their assigned positions, and the meeting is called to order. The Sergeant at Arms steps forward to speak. “We’ve received word that there is an issue at Rockridge Psychiatric Facility.”

“What kind of issues?” Someone asks from the crowd.

“Families have reported difficulties reaching patients being treated there.” The Sergeant at Arms takes a deep breath before continuing. “We’ve requested a copy of the patients in residence at Rockridge. Of the families who reported they could not see their loved ones, we’ve learned seven of those patients are no longer listed as residents, even though their insurance continues to be billed for in-residence treatment. There are no transfer orders on file and The League has not given permission to release these patients from their treatment program.”

Shit. Did the hospital forget to tell the families that these patients died? Someone exits the dais. The entire room is on the screen and I can see the person handing out slips of paper to certain members.

The Sergeant At Arms says, “If you’re the head of your family line, you’ve received a slip of paper, or a text message. That means we’ve confirmed that your family member or ward is still a patient at Rockridge.” He looks around the room. “If you have not received a slip of paper or the text message and should have, please come to the dais, or contact the security council office.”

Ten people step out of the crowd to approach the dais. I search for my father on the screen. He didn’t get a piece of paper, and he hasn’t moved from his spot. Why isn’t he moving? Thea’s at Rockridge. Since he’s the one who locked her away, she should be listed as his ward. My knees threaten to buckle. Does that mean she’s dead? I knew there was no way she’d go along with his plan. I knew she’d fight with everything she had, but I never thought it would get her killed.

The Sergeant At Arms is still talking, but I can’t make out what he’s saying. My head is too full of the sound of my internal screams. Did Thea scream as her life was ending? She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve anything that’s happened to her since coming to town. Guilt gnaws at me, slicing me open on the inside. I should have done something. I should have said something. It’s too late now, but Finn and Holden deserve to know that there’s no chance of Thea coming back.

“How the hell could this happen?” Someone yells. I can’t make out who said it, but the anger in his voice matches what I’m feeling. “This isn’t some public hospital. It’s a private institution that we fund. Its governance and oversight falls to The League’s purview. So how the hell are there patients missing?”

The Sergeant At Arms pales as the group grows agitated, other voices joining in. Did he think no one would have questions? Did he really just plan to hand out his little slips of paper and be done with it? Parker Sullivan steps forward, putting the man out of his misery.

“We’ve also requested employment records for the staff. In addition to the patients being missing, there are three doctors who have not reported to work in the last nine days. Officials are looking into the disappearance of these patients and a possible connection to the missing staff members.” He raises his voice to be heard over the murmurs. “This scandal will probably break soon through national news outlets, so we’re preparing you for the media frenzy that’s about to ensue. Some of you have relatives, friends, or classmates who are or were patients at Rockridge. All of you have attended therapy sessions or group sessions and seminars hosted by members of Rockridge’s staff.”

That’s why they’re all here? Because The League uses the Rockridge staff for therapy? I’ve never talked to a shrink. I guess that’s why fourth years and ups were told to stay. What kind of shit happens at the fourth year level that requires a Rockridge led therapy session?

Parker answers a few more questions, then says, “That’s all I can say for now, as this is an ongoing, official FBI investigation.”

I missed something. Why is the FBI investigating instead of local police? The meeting dismisses, and the room empties. I keep my head down, quickly slipping between the bodies exiting the room. Thank god, there’s just as big a bottleneck of traffic exiting The Tomb as there was before, so nobody notices that I shouldn’t be here. I push through the bodies and make my way down to the archives. I need to see that patient roster.