Hiro's jaw tightened. "I think Kiko has slept with our father too, but Kenji doesn’t believe it."
The hallway tilted.
Behind me, I heard fabric shift—one of the twins moving, probably crossing his arms. Then another soft sound, like air being pushed through teeth.
I widened my eyes. “She slept with your father too?"
"Yes. The Fox."
“How do you know this?”
Hiro glanced back at the twins.
I looked at them.
Yuki crossed his arms over his chest. "The Claws watch the Fox."
Aki's jaw tightened. "For the past three years, Kiko has visited him a lot in the middle of the night."
"And when she leaves the hospital—" Yuki's mouth curved into something cold.
"—her clothes look disheveled." Aki finished, his tone flat. "Hair, too."
My stomach dropped.
The implications hit me all at once—Kiko sleeping with three men in the same family, positioning herself to claim whichever one would give her the most power, the most security, the most status.
"So. . .” I turned back to Hiro. “Could Kiko be a spy?"
"Of course." Hiro's expression didn't change. "None of us have any doubt that she goes back to our father with information, which is why when she told Kenji she was pregnant, he moved her out of Tokyo. And put her under 24-7 watch."
"Could Kiko have been the one trying to send messages to the Fox on this island?"
Hiro shook his head. "Kiko is so untrustworthy that Reo has a secret special team that monitors her every move. He’s got a spy in her crew and her entire staff is Kenji’s Ears. We know that she's been desperate to get a phone—no doubt to call our father. However. . ."
I quirked my brows. "What?"
"Kiko would want Kenji to win this war, so even if she got in contact with him, she wouldn’t share too much."
"Why?"
"Think about it." Hiro's voice went quieter. "If her kids are Kenji’s and the Fox is out of the way, her status is much higher. She becomes the mother of the Dragon's heirs. Untouchable. Wealthy beyond measure. The most powerful woman in the continent of Asia. But if the Fox wins. . ."
I leaned my head to the side. "What happens?"
"Then she's nothing but a whore with a dead man’s twins." His tone was brutally matter-of-fact. "And honestly, he would be like a lion in the wild."
I frowned. "What do you mean like a lion?"
Behind me, Yuki made a soft sound—dark, knowing.
"When the lion takes over a new pride, he kills the alpha male—" Aki's voice dropped lower.
"—he kills the alpha’s cubs too." Yuki finished.
Ice flooded my veins.
I stared at Hiro. "Your father would kill Kiko's kids if they're Kenji's?"
