Page 71 of Deadmen's Captive

“My father told me, but it stays between us,” he said, his face serious. “It was the third trial, the night of the hunt. Pauline as Persephone, and the other hired girls were sent out into the woods at night, and the Reapers went to hunt them down. When they caught up with Pauline and one of the other girls, they found them at the bottom of a small ravine. Pauline claimed they’d both been raped and thrown down there. She had serious injuries, and the other girl was dead.”

“Holy shit!” I stared at Bast in horror. “Who the hell would do that?”

“My father wouldn’t say, but then they didn’t believe Pauline. Turns out the other girl was my mother. He’d got her pregnant a couple of years before and had been keeping her in a house in town with me. He adored her, and was planning to marry her once they graduated. He told me Pauline had always been jealous and that night she found out about the relationship and about me. He told me Pauline persuaded her to come along on the hunt for a fun night out, and she could spend some time with him. He thinks they fought and Pauline pushed my mother down that cliff, then faked her own injuries and lied about it just to cause a scandal and get away with killing her. It was all over the news, but their families intervened, Pauline was married off, and my father claimed me publicly.”

“Shit, Bast. That’s fucked up,” said Nate in a low voice. “I’m sorry mate.”

Bast shrugged. “I never knew her, but my father never got over her. Her death destroyed him. So yeah, I can imagine him out of all of them would have the most reason to seek revenge, but he’s not a cruel man, and he wouldn’t have set an innocent girl up like that.”

“What if it’s true though?” I asked. “What if Pauline was attacked? Who did she accuse?”

Bast sighed. “Carver and Matthews.”

I looked over at Nate. “I mean, Carver’s a violent piece of shit, but rape and murder? Is he really capable of that?”

“Oh, he’s capable,” said Nate darkly. “But Matthews? If it’s true and they raped her, why would she marry him?”

“Family pressure?” I asked. “Or maybe she thought he loved her? I don't know. Let me look into them as well.”

It took me over an hour to track down all the information I needed. I combed through each database with a meticulous attention to detail, hacking my way into news reports and court files, scanning personal emails and confidential records. Bast and Nate waited in silence, the room heavy with a grim anticipation. There was something rotten at the core of this mystery, something that reeked of old blood and well-kept secrets. The very same secrets that were slowly clawing their way to the surface.

“So, Neil Matthews, as it turns out, has a long rap sheet," I said. "Arrested several times for assault, once for attempted murder, but nothing ever stuck. No arrests for any kind of sexual assault either. Works now as an enforcer for one of the local gangs. Looks like his life was one big downward spiral," I reported, my eyes scanning over the numerous entries highlighting his slow demise. "He used to work in finance but lost his job due to a gambling addiction, hence working for the gang. I’d guess he owed them money and is working it off that way.”

"And Paige's mother?" Nate asked.

"She fell off the grid after marrying Matthews," I said, clicking through tabs on my screen. "But then about eight years ago, she showed back up again. She’s at every charity event or social scene you can think of, and she took Paige to every one.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” said Bast. “Paige told me that her mother is obsessed with her marrying into society. She’s like some fucking social climber from the regency period or something. That's why Pauline sends her calorie controlled meals, and controls her spending. She’s grooming her to be the perfect society wife. High-end boutiques, spa treatments, couture labels. Those social events? It’s a fucking cattle market, and Paige was the prize heifer.”

“I mean, I guess,” I said slowly. “But Paige wears hippy clothes from charity shops, she’s hardly dressing to impress, even if she does look so fucking cute in them.”

Bast nodded. “Charity shop clothes, but her backpack is Hermes.”

“Fuck, never noticed that,” I said. "So she might be prepping Paige for a comeback, pushing her back into the high society limelight? Score her a good husband, and give her the life she was supposed to have, but lost?"

"Yeah, but she's choosing a life that Paige doesn't want," Nate said, shaking his head. "Paige is happiest in her art studio, not at some society function."

I rubbed my eyes, feeling more tired than I could remember. “Ok, we’re getting off track here guys. Clearly, her father is involved in some dark shit, so maybe that’s the place to be looking. Some enemy he’s made there with very few morals possibly. I’ll keep looking but I’m unlikely to find much online.” I looked over at Nate. “We need some feet on the street.”

Nate nodded. “I can sort it tomorrow.”

“And you can carry on searching tomorrow,” said Bast, standing and putting his hand on my shoulder. “You’re exhausted, Tris. You can't push yourself this hard after being so ill.”

“You didn't tell Paige I was ill, did you?” I asked, closing the laptop and looking up at him. “I don’t want her worrying about me.”

“Just that you had food poisoning. Exactly what you told us. Though for fuck’s sake, Tris, if I’d known how bad it was, I would have come straight here instead of calling at Paige’s.”

I cringed. “Yeah, sorry about that.” I hadn’t wanted to worry anyone, but secretly, I’d been so fucking relieved when Nate had walked through the door that day. I’d gone out for a couple of drinks with some guys on my course, and I could have sworn I hadn’t drunk that much, but I’d get really sick and headed home early. I’d spent the next twenty four hours throwing up or retching, and I honestly felt like I was going to die. I'd had hangovers before, but nothing had ever come close to that. Nate had arrived and taken over, forcing energy drinks and salt water into my body by the teaspoon just so I could keep it down. When Bast had arrived to take over, Nate had called in a cleaning crew, and I could have kissed them both, I was so grateful.

I grinned up at Bast. “Who are we kidding? You were at Paige’s well over two hours, so I’m assuming it was more than worth it going there first.”

Bast smiled slyly. “Oh, definitely worth it. Watching her lie there naked on the bed, touching her sweet pussy…”

"Fuck off, Bast,” I said, shoving him. He barely swayed, I was so fucking weak.

He ruffled my hair like when we were kids. “Don't worry, Tris. I have plans for tomorrow night that you both are really going to enjoy.”

“I can’t fucking wait,” I said, getting up from my chair. The world swayed a little, and I gripped the back, steadying myself. “Just hope I’m up to the job,” I muttered.

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