"House Ashwynd fell fourteen years ago, a year after Lorraine's mother's death," Leroy said, his voice cutting through the silence like steel. "Their head died, and the family disintegrated, buried in debt."
The memory came unbidden. A boom of wealth that was short-lived, rising right around the time her mother died. And then, ruin. Sudden, deliberate.
Leroy's eyes widened as realization slammed into him. His voice dropped, low and sharp.
"Did Hadrian buy the silence of your house?"
Pieces aligned in his head with ruthless clarity. Hadrian killed Emmeline, Lorraine's mother. House Ashwynd had money, power, and reach enough to raise suspicion. To dig into her death. But they hadn't. They had folded. Looked away. Worse, they hadn't even cared enough to question or bring the daughter of Emmeline, who was being abused in that house.
And then everything fell apart for them. Leroy knew it was Hadrian. He destroyed everyone who knew his secret.
