That someone was one of ours, and he was stupid enough to have felt the same about her.
Ironic. I’m aware.
I know you, Nova. I know you so fucking well, I’d bet my lucky coin you’re thinking ‘How romantic!’ Where, when I was told this story, all I could think was ‘Silly girl. She started a war with uncontrolled hormones and poorly regulated impulsivity.’ But here we are, huh? That’s how you and I differ, even if we shared a womb for most of a year that one time.
I’m not sure if you’re thinking ahead in this story yet, but before you get caught up in the romance, you should know Arabella was murdered soon after her twenty-first birthday, which, coincidentally, was right about the time her love for a soldier was discovered.
Her death wasn’t accidental, Nov. And it wasn’t pain-free. Arabella was brutally, coldly, horrifyingly murdered by an agent who, when he entered that compound, was one of ours. But like I said, some turned. Bastion Conroy wasn’t the first to flip, and he won’t be the last. But he had gained trust and free rein within the world he was supposed to bring down. Arabella’s father, Richard, had entrusted him, and after a little while, I guess Conroy decided which life he’d rather live.
And to secure it, he knew he needed to marry the future queen.
Conroy was found out, obviously, and released from our program. But that didn’t stop his pursuit of Arabella, nor his desire for Richard’s blessing. Arabella, though, being the proud, rebellious woman she was, abhorred the idea of marrying for business.
Plus, she was already in love with someone else.
A different soldier. His name was Jameson.
When she heard of Conroy’s intentions, Arabella threw a fit, humiliating him in front of a dozen witnesses. Though it’s important to note here, her father was not one of them. Richard was oblivious to his daughter’s romance with Jameson, just as he had no clue that, essentially, selling her to his right-hand man would be met with backlash.
He didn’t know his daughter, I suppose. Or was too arrogant to consider she might have her own opinion. Regardless, Conroy received her temper on full blast, and worse, with an audience. Which, to a man like him, with his sights set on such grandeur, was the ultimate disrespect. How could he rule beside her if she so openly and rudely disobeyed his orders?
Conroy was desperate to find a way to the throne, and Arabella wanted no part in helping him get there.
He raped her, Nova. That night, under the cover of dark, Conroy snatched her from her bed and took her to a secret hideaway where he tortured her. He made the last hours of her life a living hell. We assume he probably considered it a meeting. Negotiations between professionals, even. And maybe that’s how it started. Perhaps he would agree to let her bang her other soldier, so long as she would agree to make him her husband.
We can’t know precisely what was said, because no one but the two of them was there. But we can know, without a single shred of doubt, what he did to her. Because when Conroy was done, she was bloodied, beaten, destroyed.
We’re taught things, Nova. Techniques for extracting information from a reluctant participant. I won’t burden you with those details, but to paint this picture, you should know Arabella showed signs of those kinds of conversations. The kind where she was unwilling to speak, and he was unwilling to accept no for an answer.
Conroy never returned her body. But he left photographs on her bed and went back to work, waiting for them to be discovered.
Losing his child was Richard’s punishment, but not knowing who did that to her, or where she was, was torture.
Conroy’s goal was to marry and become the next king of a massive underworld. But he had backup plans, too. Every good soldier knows to put a safety net in place. In the twelve months prior to Arabella’s murder, Conroy had gained Richard’s confidence, and, with that kind of unfettered access, he’d created accounts and set financial transfers in place.
It was a smash and grab.
Marry Arabella and have it all, legitimately. Or kill the girl and take the kingdom by force.
With Arabella’s death came war, and war generates instability. So, while Conroy was busy fucking everyone over, Dad’s unit was crawling on rocky ground. Their identities were not safe because of the intel Conroy had. Their secrets were at risk, especially in the hands of a man with the motivation to stay alive.
Conroy did not intend to die for his crimes.
He had nowhere to go at this point because Richard was hunting for his daughter’s killer. And it’s not like Conroy could come back to our side without spending the rest of his life in prison. Not to mention, Jameson would have annihilated him at first sight.
So, Conroy had his Plan-B and several million dollars of Richard’s money siphoned off to an account he would take control of with a single press of a button. He’d lost the girl, but he’d secured wealth. And Richard was so distracted by what had happened to his daughter, he was oblivious to his kingdom crumbling away, day by day.
As part of his escape plan, Conroy had made a list of every soldier who walked through Richard’s doors over the years. Not just Dad’s immediate team, but every man who came before him. He detailed who they were and their roles within Richard’s world. He named names, addresses, birth dates, families, and more.
Richard needed a target, and Conroy was more than happy to provide him one.
After a week of no news regarding Arabella’s death, Richard’s hunt turned to despair. After two weeks, he was a broken man. Angry and vengeful. Shattered, and not entirely rational. Richard had planned a ceremony of sorts. Kind of like a funeral, but without Arabella’s body. That was the day Conroy made his next move. He sought a meeting with Richard and vowed one last act of love for the bride he pretended to mourn. He said he’d been hunting, too, and he knew who killed her.He spun a tale and stoked an old man’s rage. For just a few dollars—seven figures worth—Conroy would sell Richard not only the name of Arabella’s killer, but the list of soldiers who, according to Conroy’s bullshit story, took turns with her body.
These men did not hurt her, Nova. They were honorable, good, decent men. But Conroy would burn them all to the ground on his way out, and Richard had no clue he was being played by the very enemy he hunted.
In Richard’s grief and disjointed logic, a deal was struck, and the delivery of Arabella’s body and the list was planned for twenty-four hours later. Which was foolish, really. Richard allowed Conroy to leave with his money and a promise to return the next day.
Meanwhile, word had spread, and the undercover unit knew it was time to bail out. But these men were not in the throes of grief, like Richard was. There was no panic. With clear hearts and minds, they tracked their former comrade down, and when they did, Conroy bragged of his success, claiming to be an American hero. He had single-handedly destroyed Richard’s empire, after all. But when pressed to report back to HQ and relinquish these assets, the discussion turned to violence, and violence ended with Conroy’s death.
