Page 53 of Knight

“Bingo.”

A yellow folder slides across the grey master bedroom floor, hitting what’s left of my burrito.

We’ve been at the lakehouse all afternoon, the fall sun starting to set. The only thing to get us off that bathroom floor was the promise of finding some clues. And food.

We haven’t talked about going back into the kitchen or the living room downstairs. There’s a bit of warmth in this room I’m grasping onto. A cabinet of files and documents sit in the small office off the bedroom, and once Damien got himself together, he dove in. Bringing back an armful of files, he scattered papers across the bedroom floor. He said it wouldn’t be easy, so I’m relieved to hear the sound of a win.

“What you got?” I ask, my own stack of papers and files on my lap and it feels like we’re in the middle of a Riverdale mystery.

The room is more stunning than I remember, glass walls in front of the bed letting the moonlight in. Dark walls and furniture offset silver and white fixtures, and the plush rug under my butt matches Damien’s eyes.

Not that I’ve noticed.

A couple of pot lights above cast a shadow on his face, making him look even more regal than he usually does.

“Proof that my dad sent Marion a large sum of cash a decade ago from his personal account.” He pauses before sliding over another sheet of paper. “And proof that she spent it all on a month-long vacation with some simp in Ibiza.”

“Okay, so she’s bad with money.”

“Bad?” Damien’s chuckle ricochets into that knot tightening in my stomach. His chiselled cheeks reach his eyes. “That woman is abysmal. It’s why my dad kept her out of his business plans. So if she takes this company, it’s going to tank. No doubt about it.”

“What are you gonna do?” I ask. “Talk to her about it?”

He chuckles again, “There’s not much talking when it comes to my family.”

While he looks over the pages again, I finally get the air to ask, “Soo … your family’s French?”

“Fainéant. That’s Marion in this case, literally. The do-nothing King.” When Damien switches to French I have to make sure drool doesn’t escape my jaw-dropped mouth. “After my dad got a chance at the company, he moved to North America and changed his name from Roy to the English equivalent. King. Said it was better for business. Meanwhile, my dear aunt was doing her whole joie de vivre schtick. Now she thinks she’s entitled to our cash.” He glances down at a couple more files in his hands. “I need leverage. Something that’ll get her to back off. For good.”

“More of your dad’s money?” I’m trying to sound casual and not at all pleasantly surprised to learn Damien comes from French lineage. How cultured.

“If only it was that easy. She’ll come right back once she’s blown it all. There’s a reason she’s after the company. Continuous income. But she’s too short-sighted to see that she’ll run this thing dry.”

Leverage, huh? Smoothing a hair behind my ear I tell him what I know, happy he’s opened up to me again. “I saw Isaac leaving your house the other morning.”

His eyes narrow. “So? He always crashes after parties.”

“No, he—” I take a second to choose my words so I don’t say ‘Isaac is fucking your aunt.’ “He was leaving the room your aunt stays in. Naked.”

“Isaac fucked my aunt?” Damien’s quick to piece it together, full lips twisted, eyes turning to slits. His gaze shifts to my ear, his face looking more disgusted by the minute before his eyes fall back on me. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

“You’re not blaming this on me, are you?”

“You’ve known all this time.” His jaw clenches but it only makes mine clench too.

“When was I supposed to tell you, Damien? When you were ignoring me the next day? Had you stuck around instead of leaving me like you usually do, you would’ve seen it yourself!” I get up from where I’m sitting, the anger forcing me to my feet before my eyes land on a name that makes me boil. “And what the fuck is up with the Evergreen deal?”

“What?” Damien looks even more confused now. Those thick eyebrows lower, gaze on me. One I’ve seen before. Like he’s making me the enemy again. “What do you know about Evergreen?”

“You mean I know something before you do?”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Medusa?” That threatening tone is back and fuck … it excites me. That’s bad, right?

But I drop the bombshell anyway, sighing, “It’s my mom’s company.” He pauses for a second before he sends a folder flying across the room. I flinch when it hits the wall, flopping to the floor. “But I don’t know anything.”

“Am I supposed to believe that?” Damien’s on his feet, walking towards me. “That you’re not here doing the same thing Marion came to do? Take my money?”

I scoff, chest tightening as anger builds again. “Are you fucking serious?”

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