"I want the list," Cole said suddenly. "The names of every council member who will be present at this hearing."
Whitehall hesitated, but something in Cole's steady gaze must have convinced him to comply. He reached into his desk and withdrew a single sheet of paper, sliding it across the polished surface. Cole scanned it quickly, his expression darkening.
"Only three Inner Circle members? That's the bare minimum required for a council hearing." Ryder snatched the paper from Cole's hands, his eyes darting over the names.
"Fitzgerald, Lawson, Chen... they're all my father's people. Every fucking one of them." He looked up, his face twisted with fury. "This isn't a hearing. It's an execution."
"Mr Purcell, I assure you-" Whitehall began, but I cut him off.
"What evidence do they have?" I demanded. "What proof that Cade falsified her records?" Whitehall's gaze shifted to me.
"The investigation has uncovered that Miss Turner has no blood legacy tie to the Trivium, despite her placement in Courts House, which is exclusively reserved for legacy students."
"Her grandfather is Bruce Turner," I countered. "Known to some as The Gavel. He's Trivium." A flicker of surprise crossed Whitehall's features at the mention of The Gavel, but he recovered quickly.
"Mr Turner severed his ties with the Trivium many years ago. Even if he hadn't, Miss Turner would not have been eligible to claim the legacy through her grandfather unless special dispensation had been granted. The line must not skip generations without prior approval."
"Her mother is Alyssa Knotty," I said, the name bitter on my tongue. "She's Trivium." Whitehall's eyebrows rose slightly.
"That's... an interesting claim, Mr Bale. One that would certainly change the nature of this investigation, if proven true."
"What do you need as proof?" Cole asked.
"Mrs Knotty would need to come forward personally to claim Miss Turner as her daughter, and be willing to give a DNA test in order to confirm it," Whitehall replied. "Given the serious nature of the charges, nothing less would suffice."
"And if she doesn't?" I pressed, though I already knew the answer.
"Then Miss Turner will be convicted of fraud against the Trivium," Whitehall said, his voice matter-of-fact. "The penalty for which is imprisonment in the Hole."
The Hole. The place where the Trivium sent those who betrayed them, those who knew too much, those they wanted to make disappear. I'd heard the stories, everyone had. No one came back from the Hole the same, if they came back at all.
"How long do we have?" I asked, my voice tight.
"As I said, the hearing is in forty-eight hours. If Mrs Knotty were to come forward before then..." He left the sentence hanging, the implication clear.
"We'll find her," I said, already calculating our next move. "And when we do, this witch hunt ends. Immediately." Whitehall inclined his head slightly.
"That would be for the council to decide, Mr Bale. But it would certainly strengthen Miss Turner's case."
I stood, signalling the end of our conversation.
"We'll be back. With Alyssa Knotty." Cole and Ryder followed suit, both radiating a dangerous energy that made Whitehall shift uncomfortably in his chair.
"Mr Bale," he called as we reached the door. "One more thing." I turned, my hand on the doorknob.
"I would advise against involving your father in this matter," Whitehall said, his tone carefully neutral. "The Trivium values its independence from... external influences." I smiled, cold and sharp.
"Noted." We left without another word, the door closing behind us with a soft click that belied the storm raging inside me.
Outside the Trivium Headquarters, the three of us huddled in the shadow of the imposing building, the evening air crisp against my face. The gravity of our situation settled over us like a physical weight.
"Forty-eight hours," Cole muttered, running a hand through his hair. "That's not much time."
"It's a setup," Ryder said, his voice tight with barely controlled rage. "My father and Blackwood, working together to destroy us. To destroy Cade."
"We need a plan," I said, forcing my mind to focus despite the exhaustion and fury clouding my thoughts. "We need to find Alyssa Knotty and convince her to claim Cade as her daughter."
"And if she refuses?" Cole asked quietly.
