Chapter 9 #2
“I’d actually concede that,” I said as I rolled my sleeve back down. “How about my memory twenty years ago when you were in the castle asking about Theresa? Pushing my father to find her for your—”
“You’ve made your point,” he cut in as he adjusted his neck. “Your point has been made. You’re going nuclear with this no matter how badly you burn.”
“No, Minister, the point I came here to make is that I might burn, but I know enough to burn your whole house down as well,” I told him firmly. “Including, LMN.”
“What is LMN?” that aide asked, glancing between us.
“I’ll let the minister answer as he can—for now.
” I smirked at the seething man. “And all you came with was knowledge that Father knew of elders forcing me to have sex like I’m a whore or some shameful woman.
But the funny thing there is that he’s a pathetic man who knew his daughter was being treated that way and did nothing.
“I would die for either of my daughters and Father laughed at me for letting it happen when he had his spy push me into those corners I got caught in. I didn’t make vows to love and honor Kenneth.
I was sold. I survived. And Father undermined Kenneth at every turn because that’s what he does with his spies and selling females. So the shame isn’t mine, Minister.”
And for once, I actually believed it.
Fine, I believed it wasn’t only mine. The shame should go around.
That was progress too.
“And most importantly for the interviews I could have within hours, the abuse I suffered cost me my immortality,” I said firmly.
“While you came to the Graves castle and I was there. When you saw me, Minister. You saw one of the citizens of Europe who was underfed, without the blood she needed, and did nothing. That is a fact.”
“I think I have enough information to tell the president to make the recommendations needed,” the aide declared, giving the minister a look of death. “I suggest you detangle yourself as best as you can and handle this as you should have, but we both know this will end with you resigning.”
“Now see here a minute,” the minister seethed, spinning around and facing him. “I’m not stepping down because of some gossip and—”
“I know where Ethan is. I bet he would be good on camera,” I lied through my teeth. “How many others do you think can be found once the dominoes are knocked over?”
The aide moved closer to me. “I think it best we have a chat so I know just how many nukes you carry in your arsenal. The president did not know any of this and—”
“I think that depends who is willing to give the better deal and give me what I want, sir,” I told him firmly as he met my gaze.
“The current president is a bit lenient on breaking up marriages and matings to follow the law, saying promises were made. Yes, by men. I never made any such promise, and even if I did, divorce is legal in Europe, yes? Just not for us when the other—”
“You’ve made your point again,” he assured me.
“Have I? Because you have yet to even introduce yourself to me, child,” I said firmly before glancing around the room.
“Nor anyone given some sort of condolences that I am no longer immortal after my centuries of abuse.” I met the minister’s furious gaze.
“So again, the shame isn’t mine. I expect to hear some quickly moving progress and soon. ”
“Or?” the aide asked, pushing me to spell it out.
I gestured with my head to the other attorney.
“I start giving information to the shark here and let him do what he’s gleefully hoping for.
When everything falls and the dust settles, I could get the females out then.
I’m simply giving you the option to do it yourselves and look like the good guys.
Especially when the president is part of LMN. ”
Another fib, but no one in the room could tell or was going to take the chance that I was bluffing.
I felt more myself leaving that room than I had in centuries. Alexis and the others were right that I could be that woman again, just healthier and not traumatize others this time. I could see the forest for the trees and not make irrational decisions or assumptions.
I knew more. I was smarter and not a child trying to survive handling adult matters.
“I’m going to need everything you just threatened them with,” the shark demanded as he grabbed my arm roughly.
Alexis removed him from me before I could even react.
“You are here paying a debt, not racking up more favors for the information you get. You agreed to this because it’s the easiest case ever when I’m doing all of the heavy lifting and you’re clearing a lot of the dirt off your name going up against a bastard like Graves. Keep focused on that.”
He bared his teeth at us. “Creed doesn’t have any bite to him anymore now that he’s disbarred and not with his family. I could cause more trouble for him—”
“Did you know they bound his lion?” I asked him. “They’re undoing that magic soon. Do you want to risk how he behaves after that if you upset the woman he’s interested in?”
It was interesting to see the shark become a guppy right before my eyes. Creed had told me to use that threat to keep the shark in line should I need it.
And now I knew that the man I was spending so much time with was very, very dangerous.
Unfortunately, some people in that room didn’t believe I had the information I did or would be strong enough to use it.
I was a lot of things, but I wasn’t a woman who bluffed, so I did another horribly painful thing and did an interview where I talked about the brand, naming other families I knew that used it and still did according to my father.
I spoke on losing my immortality, and while many so far said that I was the only known case that it didn’t happen to because of having a new baby, I argued that.
I stated firmly that there had to be more and we hid because we were seen as shameful in our sexist world.
Somehow, we were at fault when it was all done because of monsters abusing us.
And if we didn’t figure out something better and a way to heal it, it was something humans could use to destroy not only vampires, but other supes was my true worry. I wasn’t lying about that.
The interviewer didn’t make me say that I slept with elders, but we did discuss that my father planted a spy to push around the child he’d sold and it left me in bad spots.
The implication was there and how he threatened to sell me to a brothel if I didn’t hand over my daughter for him to sell since I’d lost my value.
It all blew up. It went viral because of different topics.
The magical community was up in arms about their magic being bastardized that way to demean women.
The original magic was meant as a temporary tattoo for all children so they could never be lost or when humans used to steal them for their magic.
And the eldest of that community wanted the heads of their own who were doing that magic.
Alexis received requests to see my brand and trace the magics.
I agreed on the condition they would also examine Creed and see if they had anything to add to his condition.
Also, if they could help the situation with the other Graves women.
One agreed and promised he would not rest until all of this evil was handled, so I agreed to meet with him when he could fit us into his schedule next week.
Until then, I was a bit busy as well because everything had blown up.
Alexis came back a bit pale after a meeting with my father and elders along with the shark and several other people. I could only imagine the threats, especially since Andrew was still in custody. I’d given her some information to promise not to look at and hand them.
“What is it?” she’d asked me.
“Everything I remember of the books of LMN,” I told her. “Beyond that, I won’t have you be on their hit list. You’re needed in this world and they won’t respect you as a woman. So make it clear that you’re there to speak for me because my being there wouldn’t be productive and we knew their games.”
“It’s money laundering, yeah?” Creed checked when she was gone.
“And exporting our tech to humans.” I nodded when he did a double take. “I didn’t know that until right before I was kicked out, I swear it.”
“You’re still going to expose that later, right?” he whispered. “Even the mob doesn’t do anything that fucking stupid.”
“Yes, once I get the women out of range, I’ll hand it all over and let them explode,” I promised, already having planned to tell Theresa since I knew it would be a big win for her firm.
So yes, after that, things blew up. Apparently, I wasn’t as stupid as I’d always been told and had remembered a great deal of information because damage control was being done all over the place.
The next weeks were full of news broadcasts of finger-pointing and people denouncing things while denying they knew anything about it.
Some resigning and others being arrested. I cried when my father was dragged out of his castle for what he’d done to me the past fifty years. The maps were discovered in his study just as I’d said, the fool believing that no one would dare touch him even with the interview.
But people also wanted to make it go away so the damage couldn’t spread.
Alexis was given a full “inventory” of women the Graves family owned. She, Theresa, Ellie, Ha-joon, and Creed all looked ill hearing it be described that way when the attorney came to give it over.
Unfortunately, I was used to it.
I immediately grabbed it up and glanced it over. “What is the current cute phrase this generation says? ‘Play stupid games and win stupid prizes?’” I met his gaze and let him see how serious I was. “Do you want to win stupid prizes?”
“I don’t know what you mean and I’m tired of—”
“My disrespect?” I mocked. “Child, I changed your diapers. Never forget that. Your father was actually fairly decent and probably died of a broken heart that you entered employment for my father of your own free will. He was tricked into it and did it for the money to save your mother’s life.
” I waved the paper at him. “I immediately see four names missing.”
He bared his teeth at me, his fangs even coming out. “You were locked in a room in that castle, you stupid whore. You don’t know as much as you think and—”
I gasped as Ellie was suddenly there and backhanded the man hard enough that his fang snapped.
“Speak to her like that again and it will be the last thing you say.” She smirked at him when he let out a wail.
“Report it. I dare you. Your president will put you in the ground over upsetting me. Get us the full list within the hour or ASH will stop selling blood to all of France. And I will tell them why. Don’t make us go looking for more women and blame the Graves. ”
A new errand boy came back within thirty minutes with a list that was over two pages. I looked at it closely and started nodding. “I cannot be sure. There needs to be wording saying we need to do our own investigation. The first was right that I was locked in a castle.”
“More than fair and their president agrees. They’re getting us records but also for the charges against your father,” Theresa said, smirking when the new errand boy went pale.
I wanted to smirk too, but I knew things would get worse before they got better.
And in my life so far, things generally only got worse, so I didn’t have any hope left.
Ever.