Chapter 948
“No,” Julian said. “He missed. Dominic disarmed him and kept the bullet as a warning — to me. To keep my brother on a leash. It has been there ever since.” He looked at Skye. “I have spent my life cleaning up Ethan’s messes. And protecting this city from the sins of our fathers.”
The library doors burst open.
Liam walked in. He wasn’t alone. His own security team flanked him on either side. He moved with a slight limp, favoring his left leg — a remnant of the battle at the hotel — but his presence filled the room regardless.
“Get away from him,” Liam ordered Skye.
A𝖽𝗱𝗶𝘤tіv𝘦 𝘯o𝘷𝖾l𝗌 о𝗻 𝘨𝖺𝘭𝗇𝘰𝗏𝗲𝘭ѕ.𝖼𝗈𝗆
“Liam?” She turned. “What are you doing here?”
“Saving you from a sinking ship,” he said. He fixed Julian with a look of cold contempt. “The Vance Elders just called a tribunal. They’re invoking the Rite of Succession.”
“Now?” Julian tried to rise but fell back, gasping.
“They know you’re weak, Julian,” Liam said. “They know you’re dying. They’re coming for the seal. And if they get it, they hand the Mastermind the keys to the city’s entire surveillance grid.”
“We can’t let that happen,” Skye said.
“We have to leave.” Liam took hold of Skye’s arm. “This is internal Vance politics. It’s going to get bloody. We walk away.”
“No.” Skye pulled her arm free. She looked at Julian — gasping for air, alone in his great chair — and thought of the Wolf Strategy. He had made himself the target to protect them.
“We stay,” she said.
“Skye,” Liam warned. “Don’t be an idiot.”
“I’m not an idiot,” Skye said, stepping to stand beside Julian’s chair. “I’m the Queen. And the Queen protects her knights.”
Outside, the sound of heavy vehicles crunching over gravel announced the arrival of the Elders.
The heavy oak doors of the Vance manor didn’t simply open — they were thrown wide by men who moved as though they already owned the place.
Three old men walked in. They wore suits that smelled of mothballs and old money. The Vance Elders.
Leading them was Marcus Vance, Julian’s uncle. He leaned on a cane topped with a silver skull.
“Julian,” Marcus sneered, his voice like dry leaves scraping across pavement. “You look terrible.”
“Uncle,” Julian managed, his hand trembling on the armrest. “To what do I owe the intrusion?”
“We are here for the Seal,” Marcus said. He snapped his fingers. A lawyer stepped forward and placed a document on the low table. “Sign the abdication. For health reasons. We will ensure you are comfortable in a facility.”
“A hospice, you mean,” Julian said dryly.
“You have lost control,” another Elder barked. “Attacks in the streets. Fake heirs. You are playing games while the city burns.”
“I am holding the line,” Julian retorted — though his cough cut him off before he could finish.
“The line is broken,” Marcus said. He swept his gaze across Skye, Liam, and Alistair. “And you have brought outsiders into the Sanctuary. A violation of the covenant.” He turned to his bodyguards. “Get them out.”
Four massive men stepped forward.
.
.