Page 100 of Sold to the Devil
As I look at my friends, laughing and carefree for an evening, my heart fills with warmth. They are my family as much as Mattheo is. The boys are too, even if we have been less close these days, I know that we will always do everything to protect each other.
The sound of the door slamming against the bedroom wall makes us jump and leap in our beds. The girls and I look at the boys who've burst in, confusion on our half-asleep faces. They look both angry and shocked.
What happened?
“Matt? What's going on?” I ask in a small voice, rubbing my eyes and yawning.
He rushes towards me, his large hands cupping my face, and I frown, even more confused as to why he looks so distressed. He inspects me carefully for a few seconds, then sighs and rests his forehead against mine.
“We know who the traitors are.”
I freeze, my eyes widening as my muscles tense. I'm truly awake now. I can feel the lioness inside me growling, excited at the prospect of finally hunting the prey she's been lusting after for weeks. Finally, we know who it is.
Matt and I are finally going to avenge our baby.
“Who is it?” Paula finally asks, now wide awake too.
I feel Matt tense up more, then I see his jaw set hard.
“Payne and Clayton,” he growls, hateful.
A wave of rage runs through my body, my lioness growls loudly in response. I knew it was strange for them to befriend Tom, but I never thought they were playing us.
“Are you sure?” Nancy asks, her voice full of anger.
“Yes. We heard them last night,” Enzo replies in a cold voice.
“Those idiots were drunk at the bar in Coldingham, talking about the money they made selling you to O'Connor,” Arthur spits.
“They did it for money?” Kiara's voice is high-pitched, outraged.
They all mumble 'yes,' but Matt remains silent, his eyes closed and his forehead still presses against mine. As I ruminate over what we've discovered, a horrible thought crosses my mind, making me tense even more, my jaw clenches and my eyes blaze with hatred.
“Did Tom know?” I ask through gritted teeth.
Mattheo leans back, his brown eyes opening again and looking at me, anger shining brightly inside. His shoulders begin to shake with rage, and that gives me an idea of the answer.
Please, no.
“Not exactly,” Theodore sighs.
My head swivels towards him, my brows furrowing in confusion.
What does that mean?
“Well, once we heard them confess that they were the traitors, we went to them and... Let's just say we forced them to tell us more,” Cameron shrugs before clearing his throat. “Rigast invaded their minds and discovered they hadn't told Tom they were spies for O'Connor. But he included them in his grand plan to kill Mattheo.”
“Being new disciples means they weren't invited to your wedding. They didn't know the date had been changed,” Enzo adds.
“But for Tom's plan to succeed, he told them. He didn't know they were spies, but he was the one who told them when the wedding was,” Theodore finished explaining.
I disconnect from reality, my mind racing with a thousand thoughts. Tom has betrayed us in more ways than one. He's the reason we lost our child. My hands clench into fists and my body begins to tremble with rage. My lioness roars, demanding justice for our loss. I barely feel Mattheo's hands on my face as he lifts my head to his. I only notice it when our eyes meet.
“I want him to pay.” I growl with such venom in my voice that I see the others shudder in horror.
Mattheo nods, the same hatred and thirst for revenge in his eyes. He turns to our friends and orders them to fetch Payne and Clayton, both tied up tightly and left unconscious on the Manor's steps. Then he turns to look at me again.
“We're going to visit my father,” he growls, a devilish smile on his lips.
