Page 231 of Heartless Legacy

He’s smiling down at me again. “I really thought you’d have figured it out before now, but your ignorance was my bliss. All those jobs you did for the league, seducing secrets and jewels from lonely housewives. You were really working for me.”

“You’re lying. The League contacted my mother with those jobs.”

“Your mother was the liar here. Not me. She knew you’d need the proper motivation to do what we wanted, but we also needed you to keep your mouth shut. She told you the league issued the solo challenges, but you were working for me the entire time.”

“She would never risk her reputation like that.”

“You have no idea what your mother would risk.Hasrisked. She’s a true visionary and has been my partner in this business for years. Your father has never appreciated her or consideredwhat an asset she could have been. I noticed that drive in her the first time we met.”

Stepping out of the shadows, he says, “In fact, it was her idea to use you after you started with all the tattoos. Her proximity to the wives in town gave her a certain insight into their desires. You gave them the outlet to fulfill their bad boy fantasies.”

He gestures towards the nurse. “My new clients still want that fantasy, but I can’t very well give that to them if you’re too injured to perform.”

“I’d rather die than fuck any of your clients.”

“Death isn’t an option, but extreme pain and torture are. Like I said, my clients have fantasies and some need to inflict pain to get aroused.”

Glancing over to the right, he says to the girl, “You shouldn’t have run, Amaya. I planned to put you in rotation with the other girls, but now I think you’ll need to earn that right in the gauntlet.”

She sobs, “Wha- what’s that?”

“I’m glad you asked. Working for me is a privilege. When people throw my generosity back in my face, they must earn the right to stay employed. Sometimes my buyers bring back the merchandise, but I don’t offer a restock fee, so others can rebid and take them off of the previous owner’s hands. Before that happens, they can request to see the merchandise in action to determine if they’ll be a good match. Since you’re a runner, and will require obedience training, it’s either the gauntlet, or adjusting my asking price.”

“She’s a kid!” I hiss, yanking my hand away from the nurse.

“Her age doesn’t absolve her from her debt.”

I grit my teeth when she sobs, “I’ve never borrowed any money”

“That’s true, but your case worker has, and as part of his repayment terms, he provides me assets to keep my business going.”

“Are you kidding me?” I ask, unable to hide the look of revulsion on my face. “He can’t promise you kids as payment.”

“Why not? She’ll age out of the system in a year and the state isn’t going to put in much of an effort to find her. Same with the unhoused. Nobody’s looking for them.”

He walks back over to the bed, and says, “That’s what makes Rockridge so special. The League locks their undesirables and enemies away and forgets about them. Once they’re flagged for the intensive rehabilitation program, it’s easy pickings for me.”

His phone buzzes. He reads the message with a smile on his face. “My latest acquisition is here. We can get started.” Looking up at me, he says, “I think I’ll add on an extra punishment for you.”

“What’s that? Talking me to death? Telling me my daddy doesn’t love me either?”

“Oh, you already know that. If he gave a shit, you wouldn’t be here. No, I think I’ll give you a seat next to me, and let you watch your favorite contestant fight for her life.”

Finn

Stealing is easy. What’s hard is putting shit back. Or in my case, putting things where they weren’t, and making it seem like they were there all along.

I have Thea to thank for that ingenious idea. We’ve been trying to stay one step ahead of the other prospects and solve the bloodline challenge. That wasn’t getting us any closer to a win, so I started planting snippets of accounting ledgers and fake research notes around the dorms and frat houses.

None of the supposed descendants of the twelve even blinked an eye, but the lower legacy family members have been gossiping. Thanks to my expert sleuthing, I knew there were talks of scheduling an emergency session to address the rumors that entire families were wiped from league records, their history and place in the league, stolen.

I take back all the nasty things I said and thought about the complaining parent coalition. This time, their overall displeasure with everything works in our favor.

I’m standing towards the back of the room with Holden. Eloise arrived a few minutes ago with her league buddies. She scans the crowd and walks over when she sees us. Her brows furrow as she asks, “Where’s Pax?”

“Very funny.”

“I’m not being funny, Finn. Where’s Pax? Everyone has to be here.”

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