"Let's try this again," Bruce said, his voice deceptively gentle. "Where is my granddaughter?" David's laugh was hollow.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"The linguistic analysis matched your Consort's writing style to the fake texts sent to Cadence's grandparents," I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. "Hannah confessed to everything. We know you made her plant those threatening notes in Cade's bag. We know you were the one who attacked her at Halloween."
"Hannah's a lying whore," David sneered. "She'd say anything to save her own skin." Bruce stepped forward, his cane tapping against the hardwood floor.
"I don't have time for games, boy. You will tell me where Cadence is, or things will become very unpleasant for you." David's eyes flicked to Bruce, then back to me. Despite the blood on his face and his bound position, he maintained an air of arrogant defiance.
"I want my lawyer. I'm not saying another word until I have legal representation."
"This isn't a police matter," Lynch said from behind him. "This is Trivium business. There are no lawyers here."
"You can't do this!" David's voice rose, a hint of panic creeping in. "I'm a Regent! I'm a Legacy! My family has been part of the Trivium for generations!"
"Like I give a shit," Bruce replied coldly. "But I don't think you understand the gravity of your situation. You've abducted and potentially harmed the granddaughter of The Gavel." David's face paled slightly at the mention of Bruce's infamous title, but he quickly rallied.
"Bullshit, you’re just trying to scare me. I'm not saying anything without my lawyer. My father will have all of you ruined for this."
The dining room door swung open, and Ryder strolled in, whistling a cheerful tune that sent chills down my spine. Hecarried a bundle wrapped in a colourful tea towel, which he placed on the table with exaggerated care.
"Sorry, I'm late," he said, his voice unnervingly light. "Had to make a quick stop in the kitchen." With a flourish, he unwrapped the bundle, revealing an assortment of kitchen knives, their blades gleaming under the chandelier's light. David's eyes widened, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.
"What the fuck is this?" he demanded, but his voice had lost some of its confidence. Ryder selected a small, sharp paring knife from the pile and examined it with casual interest.
"Nice kitchen you have," he commented, as if discussing the weather. "Very well-equipped." He circled the table slowly, the knife twirling between his fingers with practiced ease. When he reached David, he leaned down, his face inches from the other man's.
"Where's Cade?" he asked, his voice soft but laced with menace. David's eyes darted around the room, seeking help or intervention. Finding none, he lifted his chin defiantly.
"Fuck you, Purcell. I'm not scared of you." Ryder's smile widened, a terrible, empty thing that didn't reach his eyes.
"You probably should be."
Without warning, he drove the knife into David's thigh. David's scream was loud enough to be heard throughout the house, a raw, animal sound of pain and shock. Blood immediately began to soak through his trousers. I started forward instinctively, but Lynch's hand on my shoulder stopped me. I looked to Bruce, expecting intervention, but his face remained impassive, his eyes cold as he watched David writhe in agony.
"Let's try again," Ryder said pleasantly, returning to the table to select another knife, larger this time, with a serrated edge. "Where is Cade?"
"You're fucking insane!" David gasped, his face ashen with pain and fear. "You can't do this! I'll have you arrested! I'll have you killed!"
"Wrong answer." Ryder approached again, knife in hand. "Cade. Where is she?"
"I don't know! I don't fucking know!" David's voice rose to a hysterical pitch. "And I don't care! That lower-class little bitch is tainting the very name of the Trivium! She shouldn't even be-"
The second knife plunged into his other thigh, cutting off his words with another scream.
Blood poured from both wounds now, pooling on the plush carpet beneath his chair. My stomach fluttered, the sight of blood exciting me, but I couldn't look away. Part of me, a dark, vengeful part I usually kept buried, was satisfied by his suffering.
"You're losing a lot of blood," Ryder observed casually. "Might want to start talking before you pass out."
David's head lolled forward, his breathing ragged. "You'll pay for this," he mumbled. "All of you. The snakes are coming. They're going to tear down everything you've built."
"Snakes?" Logan asked, speaking for the first time. "What the hell are you talking about?" David laughed, a wet, gurgling sound.
"You brought this on yourselves. After what you did to my cousin Thomas." The name landed like a bomb in the room. Thomas Blackwood. The man we'd beaten half to death on the Trivium's orders. I exchanged shocked glances with Logan. Thomas Blackwood was David's cousin? How had we missed that connection?
"Blackwood is your cousin?" Logan asked, his voice sharp. David nodded, a grotesque smile spreading across his blood-flecked lips.
"Family looks out for family. Even when the Trivium doesn't."
