The Rules of the Red - 2nd Edition |✓|

Chapter Twenty, Part Two - Bitter Pills

If I hadn't been so preoccupied with thoughts of my imminent ruination, I would've felt more unease at seeing my grandfather standing in my dining room the next morning. Fortunately, I'd been expecting his visit. Still dressed in my kimono robe, pajama shorts, and baggy t-shirt, I slouched into a seat at the table.

"Good morning, Grandfather." I patted a yawn as he glowered from the corner. "The way Mrs. Trentley yanked me from the bed and dragged me down the stairs, I was expecting a fire. Now I almost wish there was one. You wouldn't mind letting me have just one cup of coffee before you start scolding, would you?"

"And there it is--that famous sarcasm," Charles said coldly. He still had his jacket and briefcase in his hands and made no move to sit. "So like your mother..."

"Yes, of course," I agreed. "I'm a blight to the family name, I've shamed my future children, and I'll never have what it takes to be a 'true Leader', blah blah blah..."

"You are an insolent child," he spat, stepping forward. "Two Leaders--two capable Leaders are gone overnight because you think it's fun to play games. If it hadn't been for my quick thinking, you would've been in jail right along with them."

"Then why aren't I there? Hmm? Why am I not cooling my heels in a cell with Sofia or Mathew? Is it because you guessed I might have the original bank statements? The very ones that could put you in jail right too?" I waited, but there was no response. The man had come here on a cloud of hopes that had suddenly blown away and left him falling. "You have nothing," I said, in delicious victory. "So who cares if you figured it out, and so what if Sofia gave the cops my name? None of it matters. It's her fingerprints and DNA all over that file--not mine."

"And Ethan? Have you spared any thought to what you've done to him or his family? Mathew was their only source of income. He was doing what was necessary to support his family--"

"Please, Charles, spare me the parts of this conversation where you pretend to be the good guy--that's so cliché it's annoying." I poured myself a cup of coffee. "We both know you don't give a damn about Mathew. Sofia--maybe, but I have a hard time seeing Diane ok with you offering her preferential treatment..."

Charles straightened his tie, but I knew that he would much rather have been strangling me with it. "Obviously you knew Mathew was stealing the money--I won't ask how, because frankly, at this point it doesn't matter. But what I want you to know, is that I've also known the entire time. I allowed it to happen so he could get out of debt and focus on supporting his family and this Pack. He couldn't have done that worrying about bills."

"But?" I raised my eyebrows as I took the first, tentative sip of my drink.

"But?" he repeated, with a questioning sneer.

I snorted. "Do you honestly expect me to believe you let Mathew get away with stealing out of the kindness of your heart? You had something on him, or he had something on you... Either way, one of your mice got caught in a trap yesterday, so you had no choice but to let the cops haul him away while you turned your back. But now I have a question for you, Grandfather. How did you escape the cuffs--why didn't Mathew rat out his partner? Or Sofia? Why were they both so willing to let you break them? Why did they take the fall for you?"

In response, Charles did something that threw me completely off balance. He laughed, and on his face was a strange and devilish smile.

"Because they're afraid, Naomi. As you should be..."

Angered by his overt threat, I rose from my seat. "Oh? Should I be afraid like you are of the Hunters?"

"The Hunters are no longer my concern." He smirked. "Neither are the Witches, their failed plan, or this Leadership for that matter. I am done with all, as I am done with you." Success. The noose that had stealthy slipped its way around my heart ever since my arrival to Harbor Village disappeared entirely. It was like experiencing a breath of cool air during a humid, muggy day. "Lucas will take my place as Elder, but you'd do well to hold your tongue. This will be formally announced at my next and last Pack Meeting."