Page 61 of Silent Vendetta (Vendetta Duet)

“If his death was linked to the financials…” Jeff started.

“If!Are you fucking serious right now? Of course his murder must be linked to that missing money!”

“Keeping my mouth shut was your father’s last wish.”

“And yet you’re breaking it now! And it was his last wish because he was fucking murdered over it, Jeff! Three days after my dad moved the money, he wound up killed, and you said nothing. You know what it’s called when you withhold key information about an active crime investigation? Obstruction.”

“I never felt good about it, Hunter. I reconsidered confiding in the cops many times but…”

“You waited twenty years. And let’s be clear. Coming forward now is not clearing your conscience, Jeff. If you wanted to do that, you would’ve told the police, not reporters. If you really cared about my father as much as you claim you did? That would not have been your move.”

“Hunter, I did try to—”

“You’re fired, Jeff.”

I hung up and began pacing, clenching and unclenching my fists so hard, that it stung my palms.

“I can’t believe that guy.” Uncle Alexander shook his head.

My head was spinning, processing everything I had just found out. I needed to talk to Barry ASAP.

Alexander’s hand on my shoulder felt like an anchor in the hurricane that erupted around me.

“This will be okay,” he reassured, his voice a steady and a familiar balm. “I’ll talk to the reporters to clear your father’s name. Your father was a good man, Hunter. If there’s talk of embezzlement, it wasn’t him.”

I swallowed the guilt welling up. His steadfast determination to preserve the Lockwood legacy had always seemed like a thorn in my side. But standing here, with the weight of the world pressing in, I was grateful—for the protection he was about to give, a fortress standing between my father’s reputation and the hungry wolves outside.

A torrent of gratitude came over me.

“Thank you,” I said, hoping he’d hear not just the words, but the depth of emotions behind them.

“What’s wrong?” A crease deepened in Luna’s forehead as a cloud of concern passed over her gaze.

We were now sitting in the back of the sedan.

I wanted to tell her what my uncle said about the missing funds. And also, how his fear—of my father’s name getting smeared—reminded me that my secret identity could hurt my family.

Every choice I had made was fueled by good intentions, right? Justice for the innocent, avenging my father.

But in all of it, collateral damage scattered around me like broken fragments of a mirror. Reflecting back to me my choices and how they hurt the very people I cared about.

I never meant to tarnish my father’s name in the process of seeking justice. And I never meant to hurt Luna.

“Nothing,” I lied, straightening my tie.

She took my hand in hers, a gesture I didn’t deserve, but I was greedy, unable to resist the warmth of her touch.

I met her gaze, the veil of unease softening into a gentleness. Even after all I had done, she somehow managed to look at me like I wasn’t a monster.

“I can tell something is upsetting you,” she said.

Outside the window, the ground flew beneath us, just like the last few years had flown by in my life.

“With Barry digging into my father’s past,” I hedged, “I have this fear creeping in…” I bit my lip. “What if my dad wasn’t as perfect as I thought?”

What a hypocrite I was to need him to stay up on his pedestal. When I’d fallen into a dark chasm, I wanted to believe the good parts of me were all him. And the bad parts were me.

I needed my dad to stay my hero. Otherwise, it rocked the foundation of my world, and if it cracked beneath me, I wasn’t sure how much darker I could become.

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