Page 216 of Juliet & Her Romeos

“I happen to be one of the best hackers in the country.” Joseph coughs. “Legallynow, of course. I’m one of the bad Alphas, who Dante helped to reform. But I’ve been helping Laurent. Just from a brief look at the files, they include evidence of abuse and trafficking. My bet would be that we’ll find evidence of the killings. But it’s enough to arrest and probably lock Ms Romeo in the Alpha Center.”

Ambrose strides to me, cupping my cheek.

He wipes away the raindrops like they’re tears. “Forced evidence, see? But my Juliet,we have her. Because when she saw Swan and you in the bravest dance of your life, Mom panicked. She thought that it was my way of threatening her. That’d be the type of ruthless stunt that she’d pull. Maybe I intended to blackmail her, go public or to the authorities. It was such an unpredictable move that she tried to get rid of all evidence of illegal activity, before sending a message on a secretemail to Jacob, telling him to do the same. She may as well have confessed to the murders.”

I gasp.

“Guess who has access to my poor sick dad’s emails, even his so-calledsecretones?” Silvanus gives a sharp smile, looking like a fallen angel.

“I could hug you,” I burst out.

Silvanus flushes, shyly pleased.

“And will yoursickdad be miraculously well enough to stand trial?” Dante asks, dryly.

“Aren’t we all praying for his speedy recovery?” Silvanus smirks.

Ambrose twirls away from me, as dominant pheromones roll from him. “We have enough. Follow me. This ends tonight.”

Benedict takes my hand. Side by side, we follow the other men toward the open gate.

The icy courtyard in front of the Romeo Ballet Academy is wreathed in shadows. It’s surrounded by high stone walls, which are topped with snow.

The castle-like academy stands behind it, which was both my home and cage for so many years. Light spills out of only a couple of the barred windows over glistening steps, which are flanked by gray stone columns.

Olivia is standing unmoving in front of the statue of Romeo and Juliet in the center of the courtyard. She’s not wearing a coat, and her flowing evening dress is so sodden that it looks like molten gold has been tipped over her shoulders in an ancient ritual.

Her hair is falling out of its clips wildly around her face.

She’s shivering.

Her hand is resting on the marble Juliet’s neck.

It’s the same statue that Swan and I have danced around.

That I climbed on.

I’ve always found it both beautiful and haunting.

And now I understand why.

A sharp pain stabs my chest. I double over with a whine.

“My Omega? Are you okay?” Benedict lets go of my hand to crouch next to me.

I’m not.

Because I know now.

I fucking know.

At long last, I realize that I was never truly separated from Mom. I watched her out of my window at nights. She was there, when I danced with Swan.

We were held captive together in this academy all along.

With a scream, I launch myself up and forward across the courtyard.

Adrenaline rushes through me. My heart thuds in my chest.

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