She turns the table on all of us. My ruthless Omega casts a net around the room, trapping us to achieve the outcome she wants in a stunning display of acumen and working under pressure.
My brother makes the most girly tsk I’ve ever heard, refusing to move past what he would view as the biggest issue. “Little moon, don’t fuck around, tell Allan the truth,” Darius says, a rather large, suggestive grin on his face.
Heidi turns to him, leaning over the table to grab his hand, dropping her voice low but dialling up the burn, leaving nothing open to interpretation. “At this stage, Darius, I’m happy with how I have explained our relationship to Allan. You’re a work in progress, and don’t you forget that. Regardless of the change of circumstance that now has you sitting around the table sharing some truth with my father. Those are the only truths I am comfortable with him being privy to. Anything else is for the four of us to discuss privately.”
Darius is a stirrer though, and fake shivers when she finishes putting him back in his place. “Your plan better include us all living under the one roof, because fuck me, Heidi, you know I’m not going anywhere now.”
He goes to say something, and Heidi shuts him down. “We’re not going to get far if you keep up your impersonation of a yapping Chihuahua, are we?”
Kai can’t help snorting out a laugh as she serves Darius his ass. And I watch from the corner of my eye as Allan observes everything. Before I have a chance to get us back on track, Heidi turns back to her father.
“Before we start any of this, I want to know why you were so insistent on Ayden staying on my detail. Along with a clearer outline of how you poisoned the Board. And I also need to know how long we have before questions are asked about our board members dying off one by one.”
“There will be no questions asked at all. I don’t eat shellfish because I have an allergy, but lucky for me I can touch it. The four of them feasted on fresh oysters and sea urchin while the chef prepared seared chicken for me. We shared some sautéed beans in truffle oil and a potato fondant. As soon as they swallowed their first bite, their fate was sealed.”
“And nothing can fall back to the chef or the restaurant?”
“They will be investigated by the health authorities of course, but I chose where we ate for that very reason. The restaurant has exemplary food safety records, same as the seafood supplier. The delivery driver was their weak link. He has a routine that rivals my own, and I waited while he went to that coffee shop you used to like, did what I needed to do and was gone before he even paid at the counter.”
I follow Heidi’s train of thought, ensuring we’re not trying to deal with a leaking sieve before we even start. “How did you ensure no other patrons would order any of the seafood?”
“The way those four eat and act these days; they’re gluttonous pigs and equally offensive. When I suggested dinner, one of their assistants called ahead to ensure the kitchen was stocked. Since their preferred sea-urchin has a very short gestation there was no risk of anyone else getting a taste.”
He returns his attention to Heidi, also going back to her original request for more information on what we’re working with.
“Medically the toxin will appear and act like Paralytic Shellfish Poison however with a minor manipulation I altered the biotoxin so it will no longer respond to treatment. The use of ventilation which is currently the only medical intervention will stimulate the spread and aid in its toxicity. Everything they do in their attempt to stop the symptoms, will only hasten their demise.”
Heidi laughs quietly, probably appreciating the man’s dangerous mind as much as I am, before her smile falls away. “And Ayden?”
ChapterForty-Four
HEIDI
Ayden bugs me for so many reasons.
Unsurprisingly, he bugs the triplets too. Well, the mention of him does.
Ramses leans forward, bringing himself into my field of vision. I’m sure he does it intentionally, but I was being entirely honest with him too that he really did start ridding me of the ghosts from yesterday.
“Were you and Margot aware that Ayden and I were intimate?”
Allan ingests my words, his face blank. And I nearly repeat myself, but he eventually answers.
“Not initially.”
I flick up my eyebrows, encouraging him to give me a bit more than two words.
“He was touted as being good at his job. And at that time the threats being made against you were more real than you were aware. Margot and I managed to hide most of them from you, but one night we had guests here and unbelievably we found an Alpha sneaking out of the dining area on his way to your suite. And I mean security found him trying to break into your suite. Later we discovered he was offered an exorbitant amount of money if you were delivered to a checkpoint. He died downstairs once all the guests had left and no one asked about him. We also did not host any parties after that.”
I’d always wondered why our house was shut off to outsiders. The excuses didn’t match up to the complete turnaround of their behaviour.
“The security consultants we hired assured us Ayden was professional. In hindsight, he wasn’t and for that I apologise. The knowledge I was involved in pushing you together weighs heavily on me. As for his actions, I still don’t understand them.”
“Why keep him on, though?” Darius demands.
“Because he was the last out I had.”
“How do you mean?” Ramses pushes impatiently.
