Page 99 of Sweet Venom
He motions at his aides, and they move her onto the stretcher. I groan, foaming at the mouth to fucking destroy Julian as he strolls to stand in front of me again. “I suggest you give up on her.”
I snarl.
“Listen, I mean her no harm. If anything, I’m impressed by all the data we’ve gathered these past few months. Perfect test subject, if you ask me. Besides…” He tilts his head to the side. “The poor girl chose to undergo this, knowing there was a fifty percent chance she’d die, just so I’d help her escape you once she wakes up. Get a hint, little bro.”
My eyes widen.
No.
That’s not…
Violet wouldn’t agree to this knowing she’d leave Dahlia behind. She just wouldn’t?—
“I’ll keep my word and send her and her sister out of here. Somewhere you’ll never find her. Besides, you also knowsomeone in Vencor wants her dead, right? The reason behind her attack and Mario’s coma is someone closer than you think. Yes, my men saved her from them and had to abandon her down at the bottom of the bridge so you’d find her, but I truly wasn’t the one who hurt her. There was a third party. You still can’t find them and probably never will, so let her escape alive.” His eyes darken, a harsh emotion shining through. “While you can.”
How…?
Lucia wouldn’t have told him we’ve been investigating and coming up empty about the hit man’s connection to the Armstrongs. I even asked Preston to look around, but he didn’t find anything except that we should blame his dad because he’s an asshole.
The Armstrong family tree is huge, but only a few of them live in the mansion. Preston’s grandfather is frail and an honorary chairman. His father, Lawrence, is a milder version of mine but an autocrat through and through. His grandmother is vicious, but I’m biased because she always calls Preston names that correlate to his mental illnesses, and his stepmother is a socialite who only cares about image, power, and money. His sister is pretty young and irrelevant.
That leaves two people. His uncle, Atlas—Julian’s best friend and, therefore, a secretive, cunning son of a bitch—and Preston’s late mother, who was absolutely crazy, to say the least, and did a lot of questionable things to remain relevant. But she died a long time ago.
That only leaves Atlas—who has no reason whatsoever to kill Violet.
Zilch.
Like Julian, he’s more interested in an internal war tokick Preston’s dad off the throne and take all the power he can get.
Atlas, Julian, Serena—Marcus’s half-sister—and Kane’s uncle Kayden have always been power-hungry assholes who’d kill and sabotage just so they can remain on top.
But there’s no reason for Atlas to kill Violet. Her death wouldn’t benefit him in the least.
Also, if he’d wanted to kill her, Julian would definitely not have intervened.
“It doesn’t matter how much you search,” my brother says. “You’ll still come up empty.”
Fuck you,I say with my eyes.
“Take my advice, let Violet go and focus on your role within the family.” He pats my cheek. “Don’t disappoint me or taint Susie’s hard work, yes?”
And then they carry Violet out.
And I can only watch.
21
VIOLET
My eyelids feel heavy.
Tired.
Almost as if I haven’t slept in ages.
I open them with agonizing difficulty, and all I see is…white.
Too much white.
