Fight harder than I ever had because it would mean the difference, not just for me, but all the trapped Graves women.
“I’m unsure why this meeting needed to take place when you have a conflict of interest, but in the interest of playing nice, I agreed to it,” I continued as I met his furious gaze. “But let me be clear that if you thought this was going to be a quick chat and everything would go away after you told me how things would be, you are mistaken.”
I felt the shock in the room it was so strong. I ignored it and kept my focus on the man who thought himself a predator.
Maybe he was, but to save the younger women of my family, I’d… How did Creed say it? Make sure he fucking choked on me if he tried to eat me?
Something like that.
“No, of course not, but there are things that we don’t want everyone to learn by getting out, so I hoped we could handle this quietly,” he said easily, amusement dancing in his eyes.
“I could not agree with you more,” I replied firmly, realizing he was going to try and bring out the ammunition he knew from my father. “How is Marenia? Have you talked to her?” I smirked when he did a double take. “Or Sasha? Ethan too, yes?”
“Who are those people, Aurora?” the shark attorney asked, practically salivating for information.
Except he wasn’t a good person either.
“People I could forget or not,” I told the minister before glancing at the others at the meeting. “I assume someone is an aide to the president given how this meeting came about, yes? You’re here to make sure there isn’t a mess for your president given this man was his choice for his cabinet?”
“You are as wise as I was warned,” a man muttered as he stepped forward. “Dr. Reed made it clear that if this meeting happened and the minister was allowed to pressure you after she did the president a favor and warned him of this possible scandal… It’s not polite to repeat.”
“Yes, Ellie has a temper,” I chuckled. I met the minister’s irate gaze. “Something I don’t have, but I have always had working ears and paid attention. How much I paid attention depends on where you land on all of this, Minister. I’m not here to start a war but to get abused family out of hell. Whether that’s about my sister-in-law who my brother broke or his branded daughter or even to my trapped cousins.”
“And clearly, you have the ammunition to make it happen which is a shock given what we were told about you,” a woman said. “That you weren’t much of a fighter and you had to be pushed into all of this.”
I met her gaze. “I didn’t want to poke the bear if you forgive the phrase. Not for myself and not when I knew it could embarrass Ellie and Theresa given what my father would throw at me. But when Alexis and others said I was the key to freeing more women—throw it all at me. It’s nothing worse than I have already endured. For centuries even.”
“Now, that’s a bit of a statement and—” the minister tried to rally.
I rolled up my sleeve and showed him the brand. “Every Graves female receives it because we’reproperty. When we survive our first years and are worth acknowledging, recorded in a ledger like property. How do you think that will show on camera? Or that I was there when Father showed you the maps—my mapspecifically? Do you think the media would like to learn that?”
My shark attorney chuckled darkly like he knew blood was in the water, but Alexis looked at me like she’d never seen me before.
Yes, well, I’d actually done much more than this when I was the wife of a coven leader. I’d just had to remind myself that it was in me and have the right motivation.
Plus, the few weeks of therapy had really been helping.Plus, the talks with my support group.
“Your memory isn’t to be trusted when you were a child,” he bit out.
“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 whoknewhis 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’tmine, Minister.”
And for once, I actually believed it.
Fine, I believed it wasn’tonlymine. 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 yousaw 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.”
