Page 87 of Buried Betrayal

“Traditions change.” Richard frowned as he studied our reactions to William touching Kat. I swallowed, realizing they were testing us. And we’d fucking failed. River backed up half a step when he realized the same thing. Eli looked like he was about to throw fists as he took a deep breath.

“I will not have you fucking up your future marriage by spreading your legs and getting pregnant.” William spoke directly to Kat. “You will finish school. You will do what we ask of you to help out with the business. If you’re needed. You will do what is expected of you.”

“This is not how it’s supposed to be,” I said tightly. “Once we graduate, this city is ours. It is not your place to control her life. Or mine. Elias. River. The four of us keep each other in line. That’s how it was for you and every generation before you since this city was founded.”

“You aren’t out of school yet,” William grated out, finally releasing Kat. “You will do as we say.”

“Katalina, you don’t need another reminder about listening, do you?” Richard drawled, catching her arm before she could move away from him and William.

My blood ran cold as I watched fear run rampant on her face. Eli’s eyes darkened as Kat tried tugging out of his dad’s grip. River slinked forward until William stepped up, shooting us a warning look. I wanted to fucking murder him. Smug-ass son of a bitch. He knew we couldn’t touch him. Not yet.

“Don’t,” Kat cried out when Richard pushed her into the front of the desk. “I haven’t done anything. I’ve behaved since coming home. Please.”

The panic in her voice took me back to our childhood. How she used to cower from William. Her fear had been constant unless she was with us or on the basketball court. Fear for herself. And her mother. There had never been peace in her home growing up.

“What the hell are you doing?” Eli hissed, unable to stay in control.

Richard kept his hold on Kat. “You don’t think she got away with everything she did to you and Weston, do you? No, she was taught a lesson. Just because she wasn’t living in Braidwood doesn’t mean she didn’t receive a punishment for misbehaving.”

“There was never proof it was her,” River said in a rush.

“Everyone in this room knows it was her.” William glanced at River. “Her senior year of high school was her punishment for trying to cross me in Detroit.”

Kat’s face was pale, and her chest was heaving as she kept her eyes straight ahead. She wasn’t fighting against Richard. My heart was racing as I stood between River and Eli. They were both as tense as I was while we all stared at Kat. I didn’t trust her. There was still anger from everything that happened in the past. But I also knew I couldn’t sit back and watch Richard hurt her. And I had a feeling Eli and River felt exactly the same.

Richard tugged her closer. “She never admitted to it, and she hid everything well. But we all knew it was her who wrecked your junior year of college. She has a very visible reminder of why she shouldn’t do something like that again.”

I frowned, not understanding what he meant until the memory of seeing the scar on her thigh surfaced. The one that ran all the way to her hip bone and looked like it had been done with a wicked blade. My eyes darted down her body to where her leggings were covering the scar we all knew was there.

“You son of a bitch,” Eli snarled. “You cut her?”

My dad glanced at me and shook his head in disappointment. William had been studying all of us, a scowl on his face.

“The fact that all of you know what I’m talking about proves this conversation was necessary.” Richard released Kat, and she stayed pressed against the desk. “I made sure to place it where no one could see. We couldn’t have her walking around our city with a scar like that. Not when she’s a Whitman.”

Eli lunged forward, and I caught his arm before he could reach his father. Anger was clouding every other emotion, but I knew fighting would only escalate the situation. Eli was past the point of thinking with a clear head.

No one stopped Kat as she fled from the room. They had made their point, and she wasn’t needed anymore. Eli shrugged me off, giving me a look that told me he was calm enough to not attack his dad. River hadn’t moved a muscle, his jaw clenched as he glared between Richard and William.

“In public, you will act how we expect. The four of you are united like the founding families should be,” Richard stated, ignoring the tension coating the room. “In private, you three leave her alone. She is not yours to touch.”

“We have plans for her to make sure this city is in capable hands once you graduate,” William added, making bile burn my throat. “We’re not going to have you fighting over pussy and cause friction between the families.”

“Weston seems to be the only one to keep his distance from what we can tell,” my dad spoke up, giving me a nod.

If only he knew what I’d done to her when she was spread on my desk.

“Did my mom know what you did to her?” River asked tightly. “Or was she kept in the dark like she is about everything else?”

My dad’s eyes stayed on me as I backed out of the room. He didn’t say anything as Richard began lecturing River on how this city runs better with the men in charge. Eli nodded to me before stepping to the side to block Richard from seeing me leave. I slipped into the hall and headed to the front door. Kat’s car was still in the driveway, and I glanced around, trying to figure out where she’d gone.

CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE

The greenhouse waswarm compared to the outside winter cold. Leaning my hands on the table in front of me, I stared at the purple flowers as my childhood memories held me hostage. My hip bone ached as if Richard’s knife was carving into me all over again. I’d never planned on telling the guys how I’d gotten that scar. And now that I knew Noah had lied, all the scheming I’d done seemed worthless. And it made the guilt of handing them over to James worse.

“Hey, Bell.”

I didn’t move as I heard West’s footsteps growing closer. “How did you know I was in here?”

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