“Do you have any additional questions for Lianna?”the elder asked.
Konni glanced at me, and I shook my head.
“We don’t.How do the Elders propose to punish Lianna?”Konni asked.
“She fixated on you as her mate because she fears leaving everything she knows and bonding with someone beneath her status.We suggest she realizes her fears.”
Konni and I shared a look.
Lianna was a complete elitist bitch.Stripping away her wealth would torment her.
“When you send her out,” Konni said, “don’t let her take anything, and she has to stay with each family for a month, minimum, meetingeveryonebefore moving to the next.Start from any middle-class dragon families you can find, and work down.”
He was positively evil.Middle class would feel like hell from the start.But she would keep sinking deeper instead of climbing out.
“Then we are agreed?You’ll spare her?”the elder asked.
“For now.If I see her again, that will change.”
“Understood.And congratulations on finding your mate, Drokonnen.We look forward to seeing the next generation in the skies.”
“With fewer flames, hopefully,” I added.
The chuckle from the phone assured me I hadn’t crossed a line.
“Fewer flames are preferred,” the man agreed before saying goodbye.
I let the information settle in.
“Provoking Lianna paid off more than I expected.Can her confession be used to press charges against my stepmother for kidnapping?”
“To an extent.If you want to punish her by human law, we’ll need more evidence.”
I nodded thoughtfully.
“We’ll need more anyway.If Charlotte had no problem framing me for corporate espionage and kidnapping, what else is she capable of doing?Arson maybe?Paying for a hit and run?It’s very coincidental that she was involved in the kidnapping and also happens to be on the list of trustees for the shell company that paid for both and targeted my mom.I’m not saying it’s her, but I think we shouldn’t just focus on my dad when we investigate that list.”
Konni’s arm wrapped around my hips, and he tugged me back onto his lap for a hug.
“I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.Thanks to you, Mom’s smiling more than she has in years, I’m living the good life, and we're close to finding out who’s behind our past bullshit.I think that might even earn you a little PDA when we leave today.”
His gaze lit with interest.
“Are you going to call your dad or wait until we get home?”
“Call,” he said.“Stay for it?”
Knowing he was using it as an excuse to hold me for a few more minutes, I agreed.
Balak didn’t have a lot to say when he heard everything Lianna had done.Mom did when she heard about Charlotte’s involvement, though.
“That bitch.She already had money and got my husband,” Mom said.“Why come after us?”
“Revenge for getting stuck with him?”Kaya guessed.
“We only know that she instigated the data leak and suggested sending me to Hestian,” I said.“We need proof before we know for sure she’s responsible for the rest, and whether or not Dad was involved.”
