27. Tristan
27
TRISTAN
“ I am going to kill Aria Harper when I get to her,” I vowed aloud, increasing the pressure on the accelerator until my Aston Martin was flying down the road, eating up the distance between me and the most annoying, irritating person to ever exist.
The person who, somehow, had managed to get so under my skin that the only way I could get her out would be with surgical removal. What had possessed her to go and confront my grandfather? If anything happened to her?—
I slammed my hands down on my steering wheel as I came to a screeching stop at a set of traffic lights, jamming my foot down on the brake pedal. I was aware that Knox and Roman were following somewhere behind me, although I’d left them for dust as soon as we’d disappeared out of sight of Hatherley Hall’s gates.
Thank fuck for Knox’s dad. He’d called Knox as soon as he’d spoken to Aria. She hadn’t told him much, but what she had said was enough to set alarm bells ringing.
We’d immediately taken action.
Part of that action was to contact my parents and let them know what was happening. It was a gamble, but if they already knew, we were no worse off than we had been before, and if they didn’t…I hoped to fuck they’d do the right thing.
Throwing my car around the corner, I screeched to a halt in the private car park of Nottswood Magistrates’ Court, right next to Knox’s dad’s Lambo. I ignored the sign telling me that unauthorised parking was subject to a fine and vehicle clamping and ran for the doors that led into the building. Knox’s dad had told us he’d been stalling Aria for as long as possible, trying to make sure she was really okay and wasn’t going to do anything impulsive, but I’d just received a message to say she’d given him the slip while he went to get a coffee.
Of course she had. Once my girl set her sights on something, nothing would stand in her way.
When I made it up to the second floor, I took a moment to catch my breath, reminding myself of where my uncle’s office was. Once I’d reacquainted myself with the building’s layout, I jogged down the hallway, avoiding the tripping hazard of the raised carpet tile on the left next to the noticeboard. I ignored the security cameras—no court sessions were happening this late, so it was doubtful anyone would be watching the second-floor interior feeds live, and if they were, I’d just have to deal with that when it came to it. The only important thing right now was getting to Aria and making sure she was okay.
Reaching my uncle’s office, I cracked open the door, just enough to catch a glimpse of the people inside and to hear what they were saying.
My uncle was nowhere to be seen, but I immediately caught sight of my grandfather seated in the leather swivel chair behind my uncle’s desk, his face an expressionless mask as Aria faced him down. She was standing on the other side of the desk, leaning forwards with her fingers curved around the edge, her nails pressing against the polished walnut surface.
“Is it true? Did you cause my great-uncle’s death? Did you pay my way through school as some kind of fucking guilt trip?” Her shouted words reverberated around the room, and I saw my grandfather flinch before he quickly composed himself, rising to his feet.
“Watch your tone, young lady.”
“I will not watch my tone,” she ground out. “Tell me the truth.”
“Miss Harper, I’m afraid you are mistaken. If you insist on continuing this line of questioning, it will not end well for you.”
“Stop lying to me!” She slammed her fists down on the desk, and I couldn’t stand by any longer.
I burst into the room, startling both of them. Aria spun towards me, wide-eyed, and my grandfather looked…he looked resigned.
I had no idea what was happening between me and Aria at the moment, especially after she’d walked out on me this morning, but right now, it was important to show a united front. Stepping up next to her, I discreetly skimmed my hand over her back before giving my grandfather a hard stare.“Grandfather. You will explain. I want the truth this time.”
“I told you not to discuss the things I had told you with anyone else. You may be a Smith-Chamberlain, Tristan, but you are not above reproach.”
“Same goes for you.” It took everything I had to keep my voice even, but I knew my best chance of getting through to him was to remain calm. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I held up the screen towards him so he could see the photos we’d taken of the pages we’d found when we’d been snooping in the manor. I scrolled through the images, moving on to the pictures of the box and its contents.
His hand clamped over his mouth, and finally, I saw real emotion in his eyes.
“Yes, we know,” I said, taking my chance and running with it. “Extensive research. We know what really happened that night, and we know how you hid the evidence, covering it up so you’d never be implicated in John’s death. We know that you were the one in charge of the rope. It was you.” I banged my finger on the desk, just for emphasis. “We. Know. The. Truth.”
“You know nothing.”
“Really? So if I went to the police with this evidence, or if I presented it to a lawyer, they’d have nothing to say?”
He laughed humourlessly. “I run this town. I’m not afraid of threats from a silly boy who doesn’t know his place.”
Fuck, it hurt that my own grandfather was talking to me with so much disdain, but it meant he was feeling threatened. I’d never been so fucking fearful about confronting someone before, but I couldn’t falter now, and I couldn’t allow myself to show even a hint of weakness in front of him.
I swallowed, reminding myself of why I was here and who I was doing this for. It was enough. My resolve strengthened, I met his gaze without flinching. “You did run this town, but you don’t anymore. The new generation of Smith-Chamberlains has taken your place. And you know what? One day, this ‘silly boy’ will be the one in charge.” I squared my shoulders, folding my arms across my chest as I stared him down. “Are you going to do the right thing?”
He stared at me. “If your father could see you now… I’ve said this before, but you do remind me of myself, you know.”
Next to me, Aria exhaled unsteadily, sliding her foot over to press her ankle against mine. I allowed myself a small, private smile. I fucking adored this girl.
Holding my grandfather’s gaze, never allowing myself to falter, I spoke again. “Grandfather. Frankly, I don’t care whether or not I remind you of yourself. What I want is for you to do what’s right. We already know everything. You owe us the truth, and we’re not going to leave until we hear it from your mouth.”
“I…” he began, his composure shattering right in front of me. “Y-you must understand. The Brotherhood was exclusive. The members were hand-picked. The elite of the elite. The cream of the crop. I was their leader, and it was up to me to preserve and maintain the status quo. When Michael—your Professor Watkins—came to me after he’d become friendly with the scholarship boy and said he wished for him to join us…well, I immediately dismissed him.” His mouth twisted. “He wouldn’t be dissuaded, though. He managed to get to several of the other members and convince them we needed new blood. I was outvoted, and John was to join.”
“Would it really have been that bad for him to join?” Aria had regained her composure, outwardly calm, although I could hear the sadness in her voice.
“Yes, Aria. You must understand that. It would have diluted our legacy?—”
I had never tried harder to prevent an eye roll than I did right then. Diluted their fucking legacy. Who the fuck cared? Okay, I was probably being hypocritical, given my position in the school and family status, but?—
Wait a minute. This was why I had separated myself from Aria in the first place. My parents had made it clear that I was expected to make friends with the right kind of people, and even though Aria was their goddaughter, they had never viewed the two of us as equals. I might have done it for my own reasons—keeping Aria away from my parents’ scrutiny and judgement of the elite—but the fact was, I’d still separated myself from her.
Cutting my grandfather off mid-sentence, I turned to Aria. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry for everything. I should never have listened to my parents back then.” I knew she’d understand what I was referring to by “back then.” “You deserve fucking everything. I just…I’m sorry. I know it’s not enough.”
She sighed. “You were a child, Tris.”
“Yeah, but so were you. You were one of my best fucking friends, and I discarded you like you meant nothing to me when the truth was, you meant everything to me.”
“Tristan—”
“Well, this is all very touching.”
I tore my gaze away from Aria, masking my expression as I returned my attention to my grandfather. “Continue.”
“Really, you can’t?—”
“Con-fucking-tinue. Now.”
His lip curled, but then he sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping. “It appears you know everything already. To cut a long story short, I was against John joining the Brotherhood from the very beginning, and I remained against it until the end. I had to protect our society, and so I did what I had to.”
“To kill him?” Aria whispered.
“Kill him?” The shock on my grandfather’s face was genuine. “No. No, no, no. I only wanted to give him a scare. I loosened the rope enough to make him fall. I hadn’t…I hadn’t planned on him making it so far up the tower before he fell.”
“You might as well have killed him,” Aria snarled. “You loosened the rope, and he fell to his death.”
My grandfather shook his head. “Aria. When he fell, the rope remained connected. We thought…I thought perhaps the inclement weather had caused the accident.”
“You’re lying to us, and you’re lying to yourself.”
There was a long, long silence. His head bowed, and his body seemed to fold in on itself, suddenly seeming so small. When he looked up again, I was shocked to see tears in his eyes. “I am an old man now. What can they do to me?” He met Aria’s gaze. “I do not know for certain whether John would have managed that climb in the storm, but had I not loosened the rope…well. I am deeply sorry. Truly. There is no way I can ever justify my actions. I’ve done my best to make it up to your family, and I’ve ensured you have a bright future ahead of you.”
“I would have had that with or without your blood money,” Aria snapped. “Don’t think you can take any of the credit.”
“She’s right.” I glanced over at her, pride filling me at her defiance as she stared my grandfather down fearlessly. “Aria Harper is a fucking incredible woman, and none of that is thanks to you.”
“I…well…”
“I think we’ve heard enough.”
The three of us startled at the new voice. Knox’s dad strode into the office, followed by my uncle and my two best mates.
“Got it all recorded.” Roman tapped his phone, shooting me a grin.
“Oh.” Aria’s mouth curved downwards. Why was she upset about that? “I recorded it, too.” She lifted the flap of the tiny bag she had strapped across her body. “I ruined this bag for the cause. See? I cut a hole in it for the phone camera. You’re telling me it was for no reason?”
I smiled. Could this woman be any more fucking perfect? “I’ll buy you a new one,” I said.
Her expression hardened, giving me sudden whiplash. “You won’t be buying me anything. Not now and not in the future. I’ve had enough of your family’s tainted money,” she bit out. “In fact, I’ve had enough of your family, full stop. I’ll send my video to Knox. Please don’t contact me again. I mean it.” Before I could even think of how to reply to that statement, she pushed past me, sweeping out of the room and out of my life.
There was a shocked silence left in her wake. Ignoring the glances my friends were shooting me, I slumped back against the wall, rubbing my hand over my face. What the hell was happening? We’d been united a minute ago, and now, there was a gulf between us that I had no idea how to breach.