Page 4 of The Obedient Lie
“I’ve spent three days managing your fallout. Closed-door council talks. Apologies to the Caplans. Silence clauses. Do you know what a kiss from an Adams daughter implies?”
“It was mine to give.”
“No,” he said. “Itwasn’t.”
He looked me dead in the eye.
“In our world, every choice is read as allegiance. Every touch is strategy. Every public move is a message.”
My chest tightened.
“You kissedbothof them, Emilia. In front of cameras. In front of dynasty sons and daughters who’ve been trained since birth to read between the lines.”
He didn’t shout. He didn’t need to. Alexander had perfected the art of quiet fury — the kind that slid between ribs and set fire from the inside out.
“Iknowwhat the Crow name means,” I said.
“No,” he replied. “You know therumors. Let me remind you of thefacts.”
He took another step closer.
“The Crow family doesn’t merge. They don’t negotiate. They don’t align.”
He looked like he couldfeelit under his skin, the weight of what they were.
“They conquer. They burn alliances. They tattoo their women. And when they want something — theytakeit.”
I looked away.
“Adams blood survives bystrategy,” he said. “By building moats around ourselves. By merging with old families. By playing the gamebetterthan anyone else.”
“And the Crows?”
“They don’t play the game,” he said. “They flip the board.”
He shook his head.
“They aren’t like us, Emilia. They don’t wait for opportunity. Theymake it bleed.”
I swallowed hard.
“They’ve erased entire alliances,” he continued. “Tore through half the Cabello trade network in two years just to prove a point. And you think kissing them sends no message?”
“It wasn’t a message,” I said. “It was a reaction.”
“Do you think the dynasty families see it that way?” His voice was ice. “Do you think the Caplans see it as anything but betrayal?”
“I didn’t promise Griffin anything.”
“You didn’thaveto,” he said. “You were the Adams daughter.”
He took a breath.
“You were ourjewel.”
Silence.
Suffocating.
