“And what did Roman tell you when you met him?” Prentice asked.
“Roman informed me that he’d been in a relationship with my sister, and that she was actually his Selection choice last year.”
“Your sister being…?”
“Calista Hoffmann.” My voice wavered slightly. “She was a student at BHU, but… she died last year.”
August leaned forward, gaze sharpening. “Is that why you transferred from Ravenswood University? Because of your sister’s death?”
“Yes. Her death hit me very hard, and it put me in a really dark place,” I said, voice hitching slightly. “I thought… I thought being here in Blackthorne Harbor might help me feel closer to her.” I swallowed. “And it worked. I met her friends, went to places she loved, met her old professors. It’s really helped me with the grieving process.”
“But you were completely unaware of her relationship with Roman until he told you about it?” August asked. His tone had shifted, becoming more probing.
“Yes. Calista was very private when it came to romantic matters. We shared everything else, but not that,” I said. “Herfriends didn’t know about Roman, either. I don’t think anyone did.”
“I see.” Damien Valcourt tilted his head, studying me. “What else did Roman tell you?”
I swallowed hard. “He told me that he and Julian never believed Calista’s death was accidental,” I said in a low voice. “They thought someone pushed her off the clock tower.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
“Before you arrived at this estate,” August said slowly, “hadyouever suspected it might be murder?”
“No. Never.” I shook my head emphatically. “The police told my family it was an accident, and we had no reason to doubt them. As far as I knew, everyone loved my sister. The thought that someone would want to hurt her...” I let my voice crack slightly. “It never crossed my mind. Not once.”
“I see.” August's expression remained unreadable. “Continue.”
“Once I got past the initial shock of discovering that Calista may have been murdered, I agreed to discuss the case with Roman and Julian.”
“Why, exactly?” Marsden asked, brows rising.
“Because Roman wasn’t close with any of Calista’s friends, and neither was Julian. But I was.” I cleared my throat. “Iam, I mean. I met them all at the beginning of the semester, and we bonded over Calista. Because of that, Roman and Julian thought I might know something important that I’d discovered during my time with those friends. Something I didn't even realize was significant. So they thought we might be able to figure out the truth if we shared all the information we knew.”
“And how did that go?”
“It worked. We eventually realized—just tonight, actually—that Calista’s best friend Cherry had told me a version of events that didn’t align with what Roman knew to have occurred on thenight of the incident. From there, we realized that Cherry had probably killed her. But we needed a confession to prove it, and we were certain the only person who could get it was me.”
“So you left the estate.”
“Yes.” My voice dropped. “We knew we couldn’t bring her here, and I…” The tears that had been gathering finally spilled over, and I didn't try to stop them. “I was so desperate to hear that confession. I wanted to know why Cherry killed my sister, and I… I just couldn’t wait. So I’m sorry I broke the rules, and I understand if you want to remove me from training. But I genuinely felt like I had no choice.”
Several of the Councilmen exchanged glances. I couldn't read their expressions.
“A decision will be made on that matter in due course,” Pontellier said. “Right now, we have more questions about this confession.”
“All right.” I wiped my face with the back of my hand.
“Apart from yourself, who was present during tonight’s confrontation?”
I lifted my chin again. “Julian and Roman. Cherry, obviously. And three of our mutual friends. Jeremiah, Dylan, and Ginny.”
“At any stage during the confrontation,” Rockwell said carefully, “was the Dionysus Club mentioned?”
This was the critical question. The one that could blow up everything.
“No. We only discussed what Cherry did to my sister. She was jealous of her, and that was why…” I paused to wipe my face again. “That was why she killed her.”
The chamber fell silent for a moment. I could hear my own heartbeat in my ears.
