Page 111 of Sinful Palace

I nodded. “I know all about Q.”

His eyes widened slightly. “Really? What do you know so far?”

“I don’t know who it is, but I know it’s a woman,” I said.

“Holy shit. Are you sure?”

“Yes. Definitely.”

“I fucking knew it,” he muttered, rubbing his chin.

“What do you mean?”

He frowned. “I’ve suspected that Q is a woman for years, but I’ve never been able to prove it.”

“What made you suspect it?”

“A whole lot of shit.” He hesitated for a beat. “I have to tell you one more thing, but you might want to sit down before I do.”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay. Promise you won’t slap me when I say it?”

My lips curved into a weak smile. “I promise.”

Jamie nervously fidgeted with his hands, forehead wrinkling. “I started thinking Q might be a woman eight years ago. For the last three of those years, I’ve had a very specific suspect in mind.”

“Who?”

“This is the part you won’t like,” he muttered.

“Just tell me.”

“I… I think it might be your mother.”

I nodded, unsurprised. “I actually think it might be her too.”

His brows shot up. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“I know how ludicrous it sounds. Q for Quinn. I mean, who would be that obvious about it, right?” Jamie said. “But it makes sense for so many reasons. Also, it’s like hiding in plain sight with the name. No one would ever suspect her even though her name literally starts with Q. Everyone assumes it’s a man.”

I nodded. “Not only that, I’m pretty sure everyone else in the Order thinks it’s probably another society member. Like one of the high council members. They’d never suspect my mom, because as far as they know, she’s not even awareof the Order.”

“Exactly.”

My forehead creased. “Why do you work with her if you think she’s Q?”

“When I started suspecting her, I also started trying to get close to her. I thought if I could become one of her most trusted confidants, I could eventually find out if I was right. Maybe even find out some more useful information about the society.”

“That makes sense,” I said, slowly nodding. “Did it work?”

“No. In fact, I think it was the worst possible thing I could’ve done.”

“Why?”

Jamie sighed. “I think she’s using me.”

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