Page 75 of Seal My Fate

“I know, I know,” I stop in the doorway, holding up my hands “I just dropped by to see Tessa. Where is she?” I ask, glancing around the suite. There are silk and feathered dresses everywhere; the bridesmaids all getting their hair or makeup touched up as Annabelle snaps selfies with her family.

“I don’t know,” Imogen shrugs. “I thought she went to find you.”

I shake my head, getting a strange prickle of unease. “We must have just missed each other. This place is a maze. Text me when you see her, OK?” I ask, wondering where she is. I can’t forget, we have enemies still out there. Maybe in this very cathedral.

“Sure. I’ll let her know you can’t go an hour without her,” Imogen replies, smirking.

I walk away, keeping my eyes peeled for Tessa among the uniformed wait staff buzzing around down here, bringing trays down for the reception. I check the basement level, but there’s no sign of her, even in the grand crypt area, beneath the main cathedral floor. “If you could please send coffee to the groomsmen,” I ask, remembering my task, and pull one of the—male—servers aside. “And food, too. Thanks.”

“Let me guess, my son needs something to soak up all that booze.”

I turn. It’s Max’s father, Cyrus Lancaster, decked out in full white tie, complete with a top hat and tails. “Christ, it’s a madhouse up there,” he says, rolling his eyes. “This is the only spot I can take a call without being interrupted every five seconds. The VP’s here… Wills and Kate… and that Deputy Leader is getting desperate,” he adds with a smirk. “Had to invite him, of course. Bad for the optics if it’s only Lionel here today. But everyone knows the PM position is sewn up. The Ambroses will be taking up residence in Number Ten by the end of the month.”

“My father says the polls are strong,” I agree, as we stroll back upstairs.

“Everyone knows it’s time to put this country in the right direction.” Cyrus gives a satisfied nod. “With the right people steering the ship. The past points the way to our future,” he adds, quoting from the Blackthorn Society lore. “Ensuring our legacies stand tall for another generation. Max will do his duty with the DeWessops girl,” he adds. “He was chomping at the bit for a while there, but he knows what’s expected of him. All you boys do,” Cyrus says, slapping me on the shoulder. “I know you won’t let us down, despite whateverdistractionshave been leading you astray. Family’s what matters in the end.”

I feel another bolt of unease. Cyrus’s icy blue eyes are fixed on me, like he’s waiting for some kind of answer.

“Of course,” I reply vaguely. “I should actually go find mine.”

“Over there,” he nods, to where my parents are chatting with some other guests in the main cathedral. The crowd has swelled with new arrivals. Everyone from the British elite has showed up today, and half the international power players, too. “Now, I need to have a little chat with the French PM about those new online privacy policies…” He gives me another pat, then moves into the crowd—which parts for him like the Red Sea.

My unease grows.

If I would pick anyone to be my father’s coconspirator, it would be Cyrus. His rise to media mogul has been meteoric, and he’s achieved everything he has by crushing his business enemies without mercy. He’s a huge investor in Ashford Pharma and getting rid of a few pesky whistleblowers would be nothing to him, not if it stood in the way of increasing his wealth and power.

And his talk about loyalty… Family… Duty…

Does he know I’m already working to expose them all?

Either way, there’s no time to lose. I cut through the crowd and intercept my parents.

“Anthony, darling,” my mother greets me with a bright smile. “Don’t you look dashing? Isn’t this a lovely event?” She adjusts my cravat, and I bat her hands away.

“I need to talk to you, Dad,” I say urgently. He’s dressed up for the occasion, but he has dark shadows under his eyes, and he seems distracted.

Is the guilt already getting the better of him?

“Now’s not the time, Anthony,” my mother answers for him, waving at someone across the room. “Louise! Let’s catch up after!”

“Yes, now is the time,” I say firmly, taking my father’s arm. “It can’t wait.”

“But son—”

“You need to hear this too, Mum,” I add. “And you, Robert.”

My brother stops, looking surprised as he arrives with the wedding schedule in his hands. “What’s going on?”

“Your brother’s got a bee in his bonnet about something,” my mother sighs. “But I’m sure it can wait until after the ceremony—Anthony!” she sounds a protest, as I grab her arm, too, and steer them away from the crowd, and into an empty vestibule. The small room is off a hallway, away from the main crowd, and I shut the door behind us.

Three confused faces stare back at me. “Honestly, Anthony, what an earth’s gotten into you?” My mother complains.

I ignore her protests. She needs to know this. They all do.

“I know, Dad,” I tell him, blocking their exit. “I know everything. You had the trial data faked for the Alzheimer’s drug. Valerie found out, or maybe you made her do it in the first place, but she was blackmailing you, wasn’t she? That’s what the payoff was for.”

My father’s jaw drops. “That’s preposterous,” he tries to bluster, but I can see it in his eyes. Guilt. Shame.Fear. “I won’t have you accuse me—”

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