Page 34 of Salem's Fall
“Okay, fine,” I say as the waiter brings our food over. I take a small bite of the salmon and have to grudgingly admit that Damien is right. It’s buttery and perfectly cooked, flaky and rich with flavor. “What do you want to know?”
“Tell me about your family. Tell me about your father.”
The question catches me off guard, and my heart stutters in my chest.
“What about my father?”
“I’ve heard about his crime and the trial, but I want to know more. I want to hear it from you,” he says, his voice cool and calculated. “You want to play in the shadows, James? Youwant to uncover dark truths? Well, you can’t do that without letting some darkness in, yourself. So… tell me.”
I hesitate, my fingers gripping the edge of the table. Why does Damien want to know about the worst thing that’s ever happened to me? I rarely talk about my mother’s murder.
“I don’t see what that has to do with anything?—”
“Absolute honesty or this conversation is over.”
I suck in a breath, hating how easily this man can make me feel cornered, like there’s no escape but to give in to him. But if I want to learn more about the Veil, there’s no way out of this. So I do what I’ve always done—keep moving forward, no matter how much it hurts.
“My father was convicted of killing my mother,” I say, my voice detached. I don’t let myself feel the weight of the words. “Which you already know, I’m sure. It’s not a secret. It was a very public trial. But before that, he was the perfect husband and dad. There was no warning at all that something was wrong. Then one night, when I was in high school… I came home and found him standing over her dead body.”
Damien doesn’t move. Doesn’t say a word. He just watches me with that same intense gaze, waiting for me to continue.
“It wasn’t the usual type of murder you see when spouses are involved. Not like domestic violence or a crime of passion.” I swallow hard. “It was… ritualistic. Brutal. Bloody. There were strange symbols carved into her body… and in places around the bedroom. The police, my sister, they all believed he did it.”
“But you don’t?”
“He loved my mom more than anything. He wouldn’t have hurt her,” I say, shaking my head. “The trial was a total sham. The judge had his own agenda. His daughter had been beaten to death by her boyfriend, which is awful, but it also meant he thought my dad was guilty from the start. And Dad’s lawyer was terrible. Completely incompetent.”
“And that’s why you went to law school? To right wrongs?”
I look up, stunned. It’s bewildering, Damien’s uncanny ability to see right to the heart of things. I don’t understand how this man who hardly knows me seems to keep pegging me exactly right.
“It’s not fair,” I say, my fingers tightening around the stem of my wineglass, pressing hard enough that I half expect it to crack. “My mom’s murderer is still out there, and if anyone in the criminal justice system had given a damn, things would’ve been very different for my family.”
“I’m sorry. Truly,” he says. “And now your dad is in prison?”
“For almost a decade now.”
For a moment, silence lingers between us. Damien studies me, brows drawing together in thought.
“Interesting.” He nods, like something is clicking into place. “I can see why you’d be drawn to my case.”
I stare at him, feeling exposed, raw.
“Yes, there are some… similarities.”
Vivienne deserves justice. My mother never got it. And if Damien is innocent, I want to save him—because I couldn’t save my dad. But if he’s not… then he belongs behind bars, like my mother’s real killer should be.
“Well, I told you my secret,” I say, swallowing hard. “Now it’s your turn.”
Damien cuts at his rare steak with precise, deliberate movements. “Very well,” he says. “You want to know about the Veil? Let me tell you about my family.”
His voice is low, almost hypnotic, as he shares the history of the Blackhollow family and how his ancestors joined the Veil during the witch trials in order to stay safe after watching their neighbors and friends being executed, burned at the stake.
He explains how the Veil operates in secret, even today,with the primary goal being the founding families maintaining their power in New England. He says it all quite matter-of-factly, like the Veil is just another secret society of powerful people, like the Freemasons or the Skull and Bones at Yale University. I’m disappointed, but not surprised, when he leaves out all the nefarious stuff I’m most intrigued by—the occult ties and bloody rituals, the things Professor Hargrove spoke of.
Not that I thought he’d admit any of that to me.
He explains how his late father, Ian Blackhollow, and his late grandfather, Nathaniel Blackhollow, were both deeply involved as heads of the Veil. How the Veil has always been strongest with a Blackhollow heir at the helm, its influence rising and falling under their control. And then he tells me about his older half-brother, Lucien, the black sheep of the family.
