Page 24 of Ruthless Legacy

Igive a courtesy knock on my dad’s office door before walking in. He’s sitting behind his desk, staring out the window that has an amazing view of the beach. As I get closer to, my gaze snags on a handprint on the glass. Looking over my shoulder with a smirk, I tease, “Looks like you were enjoying an up close look at the view. Might be time to get some glasses, old man.”

“Don’t start shit with me, Finn.”

I stare at him, letting him know I’m not gonna drop it.

“Fine, okay. I’ve been working a lot, so your mom brought me dessert.”

“You mean, lunch.”

His lips twist. “No, I meant dessert.”

I groan, because Ido notwant to hear that, even though I started teasing him first. “Ugh, you win.” I rush to change the subject. “What did you want to see me about?”

“I wanted to check in with you and see how you’re doing.”

“Great. The semester’s off to a good start. I’ll probably stick with my schedule.”

“How are things with the fraternity?”

“We’re planning the crossover ceremony. The administration’s given us permission to resume. We won’t need to redo the season, although I think some organizations have decided to, anyway. The last group of pledges were less than ideal.”

“They want to cannibalize the pledges that didn’t make it through Rho Beta Psi?”

“Exactly.” I wave my hand dismissively. “They’re welcome to them. There’s a reason they couldn’t cut it with us.”

He laughs. “It seems recruitment efforts all around have been having a tough time this year. Even the guardian lines have had some unexpected hiccups with their promotions and advancements. That’s why assigning Joshua Laurent’s line was such a big deal. I’m not sure what they’re going to do since that didn’t work out.”

I was checking out my cuticles while he was talking about the guardians. Now my gaze snaps to his. “What do you mean, ‘it didn’t work out?’ He said yes.”

My dad nods. “You’re correct. Joshua said yes, but it appears his granddaughter did not.”

“Thea? She can’t decline, it’s…impossible.”

“Declining isunheardof,but not an impossibility. As long as there are discussions going on surrounding her identity, Joshua doesn’t really have a claim to her as his legitimate heir. The League can’t force this on her.”

“But didn’t the Hughes do a DNA test to prove who she is?”

“Yes. Of course, but it turns out there’s some grey areas when you relinquish custody of your child, and Thea’s nineteen. She has to apply to MISTIC and sign her own contract in order for the assignment to be binding. She’s refusing on all counts, so the council is trying to determine their next step. It’s likely responsibility for the Laurent line defaults to the next oldest male family member, who, to my understanding, is a Meyers, not Laurent.”

“There aren’t any more Laurent males?”

“Afraid not. Joshua has sisters, and there’s an aunt whose married name is Meyers. Her son would be the next male from the Laurent line.”

“That’s gotta suck.”

“What?”

“To be on ice all this time and to think there’s a way back, only to find out you’re gonna lose it all, anyway. Joshua Laurent can’t be happy about this.” Inside, I’m thinking this couldn’t have happened to a better guy. It’s clear from the way he talks to Thea that he’s on some kind of power trip. We all are, but he doesn’t even have the good sense to pretend otherwise.

“No, he’s not. He’ll just have to make her change her mind.”

I bark out a laugh. “She’s not changing her mind.”

My dad leans forward, steeling his fingers beneath his chin. “Explain.”

“You can’tmakeThea do anything. So if he’s been telling her she has to, that’s the very reason she won’t. This has to be her choice, and Joshua regaining social standing and power is not enough of a reason for her to do what he wants.”

“Sometimes aligning with the devil you know is the better choice. We know nothing about the Meyers. What wedoknow is Joshua and his descendants will be permanently removed from the active members’ list.”

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