Page 94 of Sinful Palace

“I know.”

She shook her head slowly. “Who is she?” she asked. “Who was Chloe warning me about?”

I rubbed my jaw. “I don’t know. But I might have an idea. Everything could be linked here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just think about it.” I held up a hand and lifted one finger for each point. “It had to be someone who wanted Chloe gone for some reason. It had to be someone who was able to make it look like a horrible accident. It had to be someone who wanted to get you involved and had the ability to do so. Someone who could’ve monitored you and figured out your regular riding schedule and exact route. Someone who knew a collision like that would kill Chloe—or at least leave her permanently fucked up—but would only leave you with a few injuries because of your helmet.”

“But who would plan something so complicated? And why? If they wanted to get rid of Chloe so badly, why not just shoot her in the head? Way quicker and easier.” She lifted a shaky palm. “No offense,” she added.

“None taken. I get what you’re saying. It seems crazy to plot out such an intricate scheme just to kill or maim someone. But… who’s someone we know who loves plotting big, grandiose schemes that fuck with people’s minds before hurting or killing them? Who do we know who’s capable of pulling off that sort of shit? And who do we know who doesn’t seem to give a fuck about using innocent people in their schemes?”

Willow raised her eyebrows again. “Q?”

“Yup.”

Her nose wrinkled. “Why would Q be after Chloe? She was only sixteen when that whole thing happened. She couldn’t possibly have known about the Order or gotten involved in any way.”

“Not true. Dad told both of us about the Order when we were kids. He never cared much about the rules.” I leaned forward, knitting my hands together. “And you remember what Chloe was like back then. Smart and nosy as fuck.”

“That’s true. She was always getting in other people’s business,” Willow murmured, looking away.

“So she could’ve done what we’re doing now. Started looking into the Order. Maybe she found out too much and Q needed to get rid of her. So they drugged her with something to make her dazed, took her to that spot, oiled up the road, waited for you to show up, and then shoved her in front of you. They knew you wouldn’t be able to control your Vespa and swerve away in time when it was so slippery.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Willow’s face suddenly fell. “Wait, no. That doesn’t make sense. Chloe was specifically saying to get away from her, so she was scared of a woman. Q is a man.”

I coughed to clear my throat. “Well, actually… there’s something I need to tell you.”

“What?”

“I discovered something about Q a few days ago. I didn’t mention it before now because you’ve been going through so much over the last week, but it’s pretty big.”

“What is it?”

“We were wrong about my dad.” I hesitated for a beat, shifting my weight in my seat. “Q is a woman.”

Willow’s eyes bulged. “What? Are you serious?”

I nodded, lips pressed in a grim line.

“Holy shit.” Spots of color appeared on her cheeks. “I’m so embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed? Why?”

“Because it never occurred to me that it could be a woman.”

I shook my head. “Don’t feel bad about that. Q really, really doesn’t want anyone to discover her true identity, so she probably likes to push all the rumors and assumptions that she’s a man, because that’s what she wants people to believe. It makes it far less likely anyone will ever realize who she is, because they’re all looking in the wrong place.”

“How did you figure it out?” Willow asked.

“I managed to steal a straw Q used during our meeting. I took it to a lab and asked them to get DNA off it, because I genuinely thought it was my dad and I wanted to prove it. Then the scientist told me that the saliva sample came from a woman. Some shit about chromosomes.”

Willow blew out a short, frustrated breath. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me any of this.”

I hesitated again. “Sorry. It’s just… I’ve been thinking about it ever since I got the call from the lab, and I think it might be your mom.”

“What?” Her forehead creased. “You think my mom is Q?”

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