Page 92 of Ravage

I narrow my eyes on him, silently making a promise to kill Markeland Christopherif anything happens. I hold up my hand to his face, pulling my cell out with the other to text Byrone.

We could be three feet away with Arthur on the other side of the planet, and it still wouldn't be good enough for me.

Byrone and Leighton appear less than two minutes later, giving me a nod as I pass them on the way to Christopher'soffice. I give one last check to make sure they are in position in front of Markel's door before I step inside the office.

Christopher walks around to the other side of his desk, leaning over to type his password into his laptop. A few seconds later, the printer whirls to life in the corner, pieces of paper spitting out while we stand in silence.

He starts collating it, and I realize he's printed out multiple copies. Footsteps appear behind me and when I turn to look, I spot Grey with Theo close behind.

I give the latter a sharp nod, impressed that even in solitary confinement for days, he still looks kept together.

A bundle of documents is shoved into my chest grabbing my attention, and I start flicking through them as Christopher passes a copy each to the other two.

"I've had a quick glance over it," he says, stapling his own copy together and flicking through. "The order is on the front, and they have annexed the amended trust to the back."

"Fucking cunt," Grey mumbles, sitting down on one of the seats as he scans the document. "He got on that fast."

"Bribery," I confirm, eyes reading over the familiar trust clauses. It always made me laugh that even in death, my mother made sure to fuck over my father. She did her best to make sure he didn't get a single cent. As much as he wanted to contest it, he knew what that would look like publicly—so, locking me up was the next best thing. He got to play the concerned father, while being my only surviving legal guardian. The trust prohibited him from taking funds for himself, but I guess he finally found a loophole.

Theo holds his bundle up, brows pulling together. "Clearly, I've missed a few things."

"Apparently so," I murmur with playful mocking. He raises an eyebrow at me, Grey snorting with insider knowledge.

I probably shouldn't antagonize Theo—though I do want him to know I've been buried inside Avery multiple times the past fifteen hours. Not because I think he'll care, but becauseI do.

Christopher glances between the three of us, picking up on the undertone. Theo is right there with him, but he just shrugs, unfazed as he turns his attention back to the paperwork. "About time."

"Damon," Christopher warns.

"Don't start with me," I shoot back, voice dark. I know he already knows—everyone does. I'm in no mood to deal with his poor attempt at worry for Avery's sake or fucking witty remarks aboutmy feelings.

He looks at the other two, shaking his head as he moves on with a sigh. "I wouldn't be surprised if Alexander has already started moving funds out."

"No doubt I'm buying them lunch right now," I grumble. "But at least we have a small window to figure out a plan. How did you even get this anyway?"

Grey looks up, eyes narrowing on Christopher suspiciously. We know that Alexander wouldn't just share this with anyone.

"Arthur accidentally forwarded the email from Alexander to the staff this morning," he says. "He recalled it, but I was up early going for a run before work, so I saved a copy of the PDF straight away."

"That's one hell of a Freudian slip," Grey scoffs, anger splashed across his face.

"Bastard does love to gloat," I confirm, skimming over the trust clauses. Everything is familiar, but it's been a while since I perused it. Suddenly, a section catches my attention—one I remember but never paid any mind to.

My mother was thorough with things, always trying to cover every base possible. I frown, trying to work out if I've just found a potential solution.

"What is it?" Grey asks, noticing my face.

I look up at him. "Turn to page thirty-four, section sixteen."

The sound of paper fills the room as the others all follow, a silence falling over as they read the clause. Christopher looks up first, eyes slightly wide.

"You're kidding me…" he says in disbelief. "You can't possibly be considering that."

"What other choice do we have?" I retort. "We only have a small window of opportunity here."

My eyes dart over to Grey to assess his reaction. His face is scrunched up, clearly not thrilled at the idea, but considering it anyway.

"I don't love it," he admits. "But it might be our only shot."

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