Page 24 of The Queen
“Bullshit,” James snarls as I just stand there like a deer in headlights.
Felix sneers, looking more like my dad than ever.
Our dad.
I feel my blood run cold yet boiling hot at the same time. This isn’t what I expected. Not from Felix, not now. My mother’s death has always been a wound that never fully healed, an untouchable subject within our family, more so now I know the truth. Or half-truth, as it were.
“Start talking before I lose my fucking patience,” I demand, my voice low with a threat that’s more promise than warning.
“What’s it worth to you?”
James lifts his gun and presses it under Felix’s chin. “Your life.”
Felix licks his lips nervously, the cocky facade crumbling as he senses the gravity of his situation. “It wasn’t an accident, Eliza.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
His eyes flash with triumph, knowing he has me on the ropes. And he does. I daren’t even breathe right now. The sheer numbness that has washed over me is making it difficult to stand. I have the worst feeling he is going to tell me my dad did it.
The tension in the air is tangible, heavy, and electric, as if it’s ready to spark and ignite at any second. I keep my gaze lockedon Felix, drowning in the venom of his stare, battling the storm that’s raging inside me. The cold of the basement seeps into my bones, but it can’t chill the fury boiling in my blood.
“Eliza, whatever he says, don’t listen to him,” James warns, his voice growling with protective ferocity. But his caution goes unheard; I need to know.
“I’m waiting,” I press, my voice steady despite the hurricane rampaging in my chest.
Felix glares at me, buying himself a few precious seconds. James’s gun is unwavering in its position—a silent player in our deadly game.
“Your father didn’t kill her,” Felix begins, and I hold on to the sob that was about to burst out in relief, not even sure why I’m entertaining this madness. This went from Felix trying to kill me to him knowing who killed my mum.
What the actual fuck?
“You’re bullshitting to save your ass, aren’t you?” I feel sucker punched. My vision blurs momentarily before snapping back into focus with lethal clarity.
“Nope,” he says again.
“So, who was it?” James asks. “And choose your words wisely, I’m getting pissed off with you, and I want to kill you.”
“Wow, he doesn’t mess about, does he?” Felix asks, giving me a shaky grin.
“Who was it?”
“Do you know what my last name is?” he asks, catching me off guard.
“Who gives a fuck?”
“You will.”
“Enough!” I roar, gripping his shirt tightly as I drag him closer to me. “Who the fuck killed my mother?”
“Mymother,” he says steadily. “Want to know my surname now?”
I let him go as my fist goes limp. He could give me three guesses, but I’d get it in one. I just know.
“Foster,” he spits out, and the ground rushes up to meet me as everything goes black.
13
ELIZA
