“You are all so gullible.” Pamela scoffs. “It has been far too easy to manipulate everyone over the years. Of course, Rhett never raped me. You were conceived out of love.”
“So why didn’t you just get married? Why overcomplicate things?”
“Because we needed to line up all the chess pieces to get us to this point where we can replace the board with loyal followers and appoint my love as Lord of The Luminaries.”
“My god divined it to be like this, and our patience in putting this plan together, over so many years, consolidated our loyalty to his greatness,” Rhett says, sounding like a bona fide nutjob. “We have spent more than twenty years building a loyal network of global supporters and infiltrating other Luminary families. We needed time to do it while keeping an eye on the key players. It would have been a lot harder to do this as a married couple. We needed Pamela in Europe to establish our network there, and she would not have been permitted to do that had she been my wife.”
“I was put on this planet to love and serve Rhett,” Mom says, sounding like a brainwashed fool. “You are everything, darling. My lover. My best friend. The father of my children. My lord and my king.”
“Pass the puke bucket,” Bree says from her position on the ground. Her hands remain behind her back, and she’s pretending she’s still tied up. Baz is out cold from whatever shit they injected into his veins, and I’m worried about him. I don’t know if Knight has come to as I can’t see him from this angle.
“Children? As in plural?” I ask, wanting to keep her talking. It shouldn’t take much to distract them. They both have giant egos and love talking about themselves.
“Emilie isn’t yours,” Mom says, and I presume she’s looking at Richard when she says this. “I never loved you. Not when I was a teenager and not now. At least it was bearable living with Doug. He never questioned me. You are always complaining, Richard, and it’s tiresome. Asking where I am. Who I’m with. And you’re so boring. My God, I have almost died of boredom living with you. I am glad this charade ends now.”
Rhett chuckles, like he doesn’t have a gun pressed to his head. “Your sacrifices have been noted by our god, and you shall be rewarded in this life and the next, my love. We have already been rewarded with our new daughter.” He levels me with a scornful look. “This time, we will have gotten it right. Emilie is our second chance.”
“Screw you, jerkface. You’re going to rot in hell along with this bitch you love so much.”
“Ashley!” Jase roars at me. “Stop goading him.”
A clicking sound at my ear has me regretting my rash words. Adrenaline courses through my veins as knots twist and turn in my belly.
“Whatever happens,” I say calmly to Jase as my fingers slowly creep up my side toward my belt, “do not let him go. He must die even if I must die for it to happen. He cannot live. His ambition must die with him.”
Ares nods, watching my subtle fingers on the move. The guys know about the belt. I showed it to them after Lo gave it to me. If we time it right, we can get out of this. Locking down my emotions, I remind myself my mother has a gun to my temple and she’s prepared to kill me. She has known Rhett planned to kill me all along, and she has no remorse.
They have both given Oscar-worthy performances these past few months and their entire lives. He even beat her up in front of us! Everything was a lie. All of it was part of their sick plan. They were the puppet masters pulling our strings.
They can’t win.
Too much is at stake for that to happen.
Fuck her. I don’t care if she must die at my hands.
Rhett chuckles again, and his lack of concern is pissing me off. Unless he has other backup hiding in the ancestor’s room or the beauty room and that’s why he’s showing no fear.
Fuck.
“You should check the rooms back there,” I suggest, looking at Ares. “We don’t want any more surprises.”
Ares walks forward, leveling the gun at Mom’s head.
“Stop or I’ll shoot,” Mom says, dragging me back. “I mean it, Ares. Stop right there. You’re not going anywhere.” She digs the gun into my skull, and I wince as pain shuttles across my brow and pulses in my temple. “Nice try, bitch. Do you think I was born yesterday? Like he wouldn’t try to shoot me when he gets behind me.”
“You’re holding the woman I love at gunpoint,” Ares hisses. “I would hardly shoot you in the back when it could get Ashley killed.”
“What happens to her doesn’t concern me. My only concern is my love. No harm can come to us. My love has promised me, and what he says is the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
“Shoot her, and it’ll be the last thing you do,” Ares says. “I will kill you, and then your precious Rhett will die anyway. No fucking God can save you from this truth.”
“This is wildly entertaining,” Rhett offers.
“Shut your face, asshole,” Chad says, tightening the arm under Rhett’s chin.
“Do not be worried, my love.” Rhett stares at my mother with lovestruck eyes. Those two psychos deserve one another. “Our god will save us. We have been chosen to do his work, and he will not fail us now.” He stares at Jase. “Try it, son. You will be struck down instantly if you try to harm me.”
He is completely delusional. Certifiably mad.
