Page 123 of Crown of Lies

“Hey. How’s it going? Any word on tracking down The Saint?” I ask, my voice tight with anticipation.

“Victor’s been working on it, but I don’t think he’s found much so far. He’s still on it though. This Saint guy is like a ghost.”

I grit my teeth. “Keep me posted.”

“Will do,” she assures me.

I hesitate, then decide to take a chance. “Hey, Willow? You think Victor could do some digging into something else for me? I need info, the kind that wouldn’t be easy for me to get on my own.”

“Yeah, of course,” she says. “What do you need?”

I lower my voice out of habit, even though all of my men obviously know everything I do. “Ask him to do some digging on the Dark Lotus Syndicate. I need to know everything I can find out about them.”

There’s a moment of silence on the line, and I can almost see Willow’s eyes narrowing in suspicion. “What’s this about?”

“I have reason to believe my father was connected to them,” I admit, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. “I need to know more. They’re some kind of powerful mafia group, but that’s all I’ve got to go on.”

“Shit,” she murmurs. “Of course, we’ll help. Hang on, let me put Victor on.”

There’s muffled noise, and then Victor’s voice comes on the line, businesslike as always. “What can I do for you?”

I explain what I need as he types away, then wait for what feels like forever while he works his hacking magic.

“Hm. I’m already turning up some interesting stuff,” he says, after several long seconds of excruciating silence. “This organization is tight-knit, and they’ve got operations all over the world. Your father was mixed up with some heavy hitters.”

“Do you recognize the name Malcolm Mercer?” I offer the name I discovered earlier, praying I’m wrong.

“Gimme a sec.” There’s another pause, and then Victor’s voice turns deadly serious. “Yeah. Malcolm Mercer. It looks like he’s high up in the Dark Lotus Syndicate. Very high up. He’s one of the leaders.”

“What else can you tell me?” I ask. Knowing his skills, he’s already dug up quite a bit in just a few minutes.

Victor clears his throat. “Doesn’t seem to be a family-run mafia organization. More like a collective. People join, they’re not born into it. Kind of like… a society, almost. They abide by a set of rules and oaths, and in turn, they get the benefits of the organization’s resources and connections.”

“Go on,” I prompt, knowing there’s more.

“Well, from what I can gather, it’s not a group to be taken lightly. They’re very loyal to each other, but they’re also… ruthless. If you cross them, or break their rules, you pay the price.”

I think back to what Ambrose said, about the Syndicate being dangerous and shady. It seems Victor’s findings are confirming that.

“Can you confirm that? Any instances of their retaliation?” I ask, steeling myself for the answer.

Another long pause punctuated by some typing. “There’s one incident I can see where a member is suspected to have been killed by the others. He allegedly broke one of their rules, and his body was found a few days later. It was made to look like an accident, but…”

I swallow hard, my mouth suddenly dry. “But they made an example of him.”

“Yeah. That’s how I’m reading it.”

Joining this organization sounds like signing your life away, and the price for membership could be your life. The fact that my father never joined, in spite of apparently being close to a leader, gives me serious pause.

I end the call with Victor, promising to be in touch soon. The Princes are silent, waiting for me to fill them in.

“So, my dad was close to the Syndicate, but he never joined,” I say, pacing the room as I think aloud. “And Victor is confirming what Ambrose told us—the Syndicate is dangerous as hell. You piss them off, they come for you.”

Atlas nods. “So assuming we can find the marker, you’ve gotta use it, right? That kind of power? Those connections? It could solve all our problems.”

Killian nods in agreement. “This Dark Lotus Syndicate is apparently no joke. With that kind of backing, Enigma would be untouchable and Carnage could rebuild everything we lost and then some.”

I can’t deny the appeal. The thought of having that kind of influence, that kind of protection, is tempting. It could be the answer to all our problems, a way to make things right after what I did to their clubhouse.

---