I pressed record and placed my cell phone in my purse for a little insurance. Sometimes people forget that the most obvious weapon of destruction can be their own words hurled back at them.
His face goes from stone to rage. "You bitch.”
"Careful." Helena steps forward, voice carrying authority. "You're surrounded by board members and Wintervale elite who are learning for the first time that there’s a new player on the board. This is chess, not checkers. Think carefully about your next move because I am, old friend.”
Edmund looks around and sees his support crumbling. Board members are backing away, and political allies are suddenly very interested in their drinks. The careful alliance he's built is fracturing in real-time. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.
"This isn't over," he says quietly, viciously. "You think you've won? You've just painted a target on your back that will never come off."
“Thank you for the warning.” I hand the microphone back to Helena. "I'm done being afraid of men like you."
Edmund turns and walks away, pushing through the crowd with whatever dignity he has left.
I step down from the platform, and the crowd parts for me. Some faces show respect. Others show calculation as if they’re already trying to figure out how to use this new power dynamic to their advantage.
I don't care. I did it. I claimed my inheritance publicly, with witnesses, in a way that Edmund can't quietly undo.
My mother would be proud.
The thought makes tears threaten again, but I push them back. Not here. Not now.
Helena's beside me immediately. "Well done. That was perfect."
"What happens now?"
"Now, if we’re to believe what Talia suspects about Silas Delano, we need to get you out of here and somewhere secure. The board will need to convene, verify your claim formally, and with this many witnesses, they can't avoid doing it." She guides me toward an exit. "Edmund will regroup, probably try to challenge this legally, but–”
A scream cuts through the noise.
Then another.
People are running, surging toward exits in sudden panic.
"What's happening?" I ask, suddenly frightened, immediately looking for Blake again.
Shit, where is he?
Helena's face goes pale. "Fire alarm." She pulls out her phone and checks something. "Smoke detected in the east wing. Multiple sources."
Fire.
Suddenly, Talia approaches. “We need to go.”
"Blake?” I question her.
“He went to the east wing,” she reveals with a worried look on her face. “To meet Silas. I’m not going to leave him.”
"We need to evacuate," Helena interrupts, already moving.
"No, Blake's in there." Then I stop myself. He lied to me. Betrayed me. Why do I still care about his well-being? Because I bet, he's in that burning wing of the estate, still trying to protect me.
"Peyton, we don't have time.”
"I'm not leaving him." I pull away from Helena and start moving against the crowd toward the east wing with Talia.
"Peyton, don't be stupid. He wouldn't do this for you.”
“Maybe,” I tell her. "But I'm not him. I don't leave people behind."
