Page 96 of Sinful Palace

“I think it’s pretty safe to say she did it, though, right?”

“Yes.” She rubbed the back of her head. “But you didn’t answer my other question. Why the hell would she kill her own husband?”

“Because he became a serious liability to the Order over these last few months,” I said. “You remember the vows you have to take during initiation, don’t you? I vow to serve the society above any other entity, including family, church or state. It means the society comes first. Always. Q believes in that more than anyone.”

“Hm. That’s true.”

“Also, if your mom is Q, then that means she knew all along about your dad’s gambling and the way he nearly destroyed your family, which could’ve wrecked her political career before it even got off the ground. That would be enough to make her despise him, and I’d say it’s probably a hell of a lot easier to order your husband’s death when you can’t stand him.”

“Also true.”

“Not to mention the fact that he went along with the Order contract and agreed to sell you off to my family just to save his own ass.” I hesitated and scratched my jaw. “I hate to say this while you’re still grieving, but he wasn’t exactly Husband of the Year material to your mother, was he?”

“No, I guess not.” Her lips flattened. “But I still don’t get why she’d set up that contract in the first place, if she’s actually Q.”

“I don’t know either,” I admitted. “I’ve been thinking about it for ages, and I can’t figure out why she would want to force you into my family. The only reason we were ever given for it was that shit my dad always told me—that a Thorne-Rhoades marriage would be politically advantageous for us. But that wouldn’t help your mom at all, because she’s on the opposite side.”

“Then it’s not her. Or if it is, there must be another reason she wanted me to marry you. Right?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think we can figure it out ourselves. We’d have to hear it from her.”

“I suppose so.” She rubbed the back of her neck, brows puckering in a skeptical expression.

I leaned closer and grabbed her free hand. “Look, I realize all of this sounds completely crazy, but I think I’m onto something here. I really think your mom could be involved in this shit.”

Willow’s forehead creased. “I don’t know,” she said in a reluctant tone. “It still doesn’t add up to me. You said Q was around your dad’s height at the meeting, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Your dad is almost six feet tall. My mom is barely five-four.”

“I know, but remember, Q goes out of her way to make everyone think she’s a man. She uses that thing to give herself that deep, creepy voice, and she wears billowing robes to hide her body, along with that massive mask with the horns. The horns make her look even taller, and the robes go all the way down to the floor. She could be hiding giant high-heeled boots under them.”

“That’s true. No one would ever suspect it,” Willow mused, leaning back on the couch. “They’d just assume it’s an average man under all that stuff. Not a petite woman.”

“Exactly. It’s the perfect disguise.”

“Hm. Yeah.” She nodded slowly, twisting her lips.

“So do you agree with me now? Do you think your mom could be behind all this shit?” I asked.

“I’m still not sure.” She nibbled her bottom lip and averted her eyes. “Some of the stuff you’ve said makes sense, but overall it seems pretty crazy to me. Sorry.”

I lifted a brow. “There’s one thing we could try to find out if we’re on the right track.”

“What?”

“I could take you to see Chloe. She had such a strong reaction to your name last time, so if she actually sees you and hears your voice, we might be able to get something else out of her and find out if she was actually involved with Q and the Order.”

Willow nodded. “That’s a good idea.”

I stood, pulse racing. “Let’s go now.”

“Wait. Let me get dressed first,” she replied, gesturing at her chenille robe.

My lips curved into a faint smile as I watched her slip into the walk-in robe to find an outfit. It was the first time she’d decided to put on real clothes since her father died. Yesterday’s funeral service didn’t count, because I practically had to drag her out of bed and dress her for that myself.

I knew she was still devastated and nowhere near a point where she could begin to heal and move on, but this was a start. At the very least, it was a decent distraction; something to take her mind off the shock and heartbreak for a while.

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