Page 16 of Capturing the Ruthless Billionaires

It was then that they learned all about Swan House, one of four families that lived by rules that dated back to medieval times.

The man in the robe explained they were from a family with dragon’s blood in them, servants to Swan House, and their only role was to help Swan House procreate every century.

Cian, Slade, and Lachlan couldn’t have cared less about ancient families and their rituals. Until the man informed them that if they didn’t leave their cell phones behind on the desk and come with him as they were, he would press the button on the remote he pulled from his pocket and a poisonous gas would be released into the room in which Cara was held. She would die horribly within a few minutes. He also explained that if anything happened to him, his people, watching him on a camera feed, would release the gas without hesitation.

They knew how to read people. They could tell bullshitters from the real deal in a heartbeat; it’s how they’d gotten to where they were today.

The strange man hadn’t been lying when he said he would kill Cara. He'd added that she was a lovely young woman and very happy. She had two sisters whom she loved, and they loved her. She had everything she needed.

They’d been caught off guard that day, unprepared because they’d been told Cara had died in the fire. There were medical and police reports to back up the claim. They’d only been eighteen and never thought to question anything. Why would they have?

They never expected that Cara had been taken before the mobile home had been set on fire with Lady Lydia still in it.

Nothing in the world they did would put Cara’s life at risk, even while they silently vowed they would have their vengeance one day. But Cara deserved to live.

They’d followed the man out, into his SUV, and into the dungeon of Swan House.

Their job was to fuck the daughter of Swan House until she became pregnant.

They scanned everything around them. Watched the movements of the guards, to learn their habits and personalities. They kept an eye on the rotation of the camera just beyond the ante, the one that would scan their face if they passed through and instantly kill Cara.

They were going to find a way out, and they were going to take Cara with them. And if the Swan House princess was pregnant with their son, they were going to take her as well.

She wasn’t going to like it but fuck if they cared.

Her life was in their hands, and she didn’t even know it.

Chapter Eleven

It hadn’t been bad enough that Alexandria had to go shopping with her mother for a baby that would never exist, but immediately after returning home, they’d been bombarded with guests. Aunts and cousins she hadn’t known existed before revered her and showered her with presents she didn’t need or want. She’d gathered from the snippets her mother had dropped and what she’d caught from paying attention that everyone who was a Swan seemed to be going through financial issues. They deemed this centenary celebration the event that would appease the gods. They kept touching her stomach as if she were pregnant already.

Jokes on them.

Alexandria had wanted to shake them. Were they so desperate for wealth and privilege that they’d believe a ritual would change their luck? She was all for having fate and being hopeful, but it was based on a mindset not capturing three men and blackmailing them into impregnating Swan House’s princess, who just happened to be her. And then kill them for their troubles afterward.

By early evening when she was finally alone in the confines of her bedroom, she forced her heart to stop racing. How was she going to tell Cara about her brothers?

She already knew what leaving her room would do to her, but Cara had promised she’d be okay. She just wanted to be with her sisters, wherever they were. Now, she had to break the most devastating and confusing news to her. How was Cara going to react?

It was now or never. She couldn’t waste any more time, certainly not to have a mental breakdown. She needed to stay super alert and strong. Within a few hours, they would be on the other side of the Swan mansion, cutting all ties with them. The path Cara chose still needed to be decided. She hadn’t spoken to Rhea yet either, opting not to use their messaging system for something like letting her know that Cara had been taken from her brothers when she was just a child. They intended to use her as a pawn, a bargaining chip, to gain their cooperation. Her brothers were the men in the dungeon.

God, even saying it in her mind, still rattled her. What kind of people were her supposed family?

Taking a fortifying breath, she was just about to step out of the dining hall and head to Cara’s when her mother intervened yet again.

“I forgot to mention we’re hosting dinner for all the members of the Swan House council tonight. They inspected the evidence of your virgin blood and the dragon seed, and they’d like to congratulate us in person.”

“Mother, I have a headache. I think I’m coming down with something,” Alexandria said.

“Nonsense. It’s a celebratory dinner, and you’ll be there. She doesn’t have much time to get ready,” her mother continued, dismissing her daughter and addressing the trio of priestesses who followed her into Alexandra’s bedroom. “She’ll wear the pale pink dress. Leave her hair open and adorn it with the swan hair clip. It will please the council.” Alexandria would have had to be blind not to see the envy in her mother’s eyes when she looked at her. Did she want this role? Alexandria would give it to her with open arms. But it wouldn’t matter in a few hours. Still,

That was all she needed on the night of their escape. Try as she might, she became more rattled with every minute that passed, sick to her stomach to be seated at the same table as the gross, cowardly people. Her misery threatened to break her in half. Every time she asked her mother to be excused, she was quietly told to put a smile on her face and be grateful for the part she had played in the ritual. She was even guarded when using the bathroom. If drinking half a bottle of Scotch the night before the ritual hadn’t put her off alcohol completely, she’d have drank another bottle.

Time ticked by. She still had to talk to Cara.

Oh god. Did her mother know of her escape plans? Was that why she was keeping her here?

It was ten minutes to one o’clock in the morning. The dinner party now consisted of a bunch of drunk men who made crude jokes about dragons’ seed in her body. Her parents entertained them, laughing with them.

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