Children of Ambition (Children of Vice 2)

“The poison…” He sighed, drinking. “Being poisoned and cured repeatedly eventually made him sick. When I left Monaco eleven years ago, he was unable to get out his bed and stand on his own. I’ve heard since then that he’s barely able to lift his hands. Though it could be much worse, Sylvia has kept the palace silent. Nothing gets in or out with her knowledge. She’s still loved and her father was recently reelected as prime minster once again. She plays the role of the dutiful, loving princess, kneeling by her sick husband’s side. There are songs of their great love,” he chuckled, unable to stop himself from laughing. “She’s made the whole country think her and my father were soul-mates, that he chose the wrong woman the first time. So, people also believe Xavier was meant to be the heir… After all, he is the elder one. All of Monaco is under their control currently.”

“The only problem is you,” Wyatt finally spoke. “So, you are telling me you want my sister to marry you and move to a country where not even the people within it think you deserve to be their king?”

“Monaco doesn’t use the kingship title—”

“Not my point,” Wyatt snapped. At this rate, Ethan wasn’t going to have to say anything. Apparently, Wyatt was channeling his behavior.

“My parents made a deal with you, correct?” I cut in, trying to remind my dear little brother how we’d gotten to this point. “When?”

“I don’t know,” he replied and paused.

“What?”

“I left Monaco under direction of my father. He told me to go to school in England. At first, I thought he was doing it to get rid me. The heir of Monaco usually studies in Monaco, so I thought he was trying to position Xavier to take over. I refused. The next morning, I found myself on a plane landing in Heathrow. The only person beside me was Sebastian. He gave me a letter from my father, telling me it would be safer for me to not return. That he was doing what he needed to do to protect me. He told me to stay hidden and when the time came, he’d send one final letter to me. That letter come thirteen months ago, and it only had sentence… The door to sovereignty can only be opened with a single key, Donatella A. Callahan is your key. Under it was a number for your grandmother who then told me about the arrangement. We both agreed to wait until was closer to my thirtieth birthday before I approached.”

“Why Dona?” Darcy asked confused.

“Think of a family stronger than ours,” Ethan asked him.

Darcy didn’t answer because he couldn’t.

“Now think of family other than ours with a female the right age to marriage him.” Ethan asked, walking over to the bar, and Ivy slid into his chair. “Around the same time, you left Monaco, our family increased the amount of cocaine entering the country by over thirty percent, thanks to a set of laxer screening processes.”

“So, they sold her for thirty?” Wyatt asked, and I was officially at the end of my rope.

“No one sold me!” I snapped at him. “No one has that power. He gave me an option and I made my choice.” Looking to Ethan, I asked, “Has he provided you with enough clarity now? As much as I am thrilled about this little history lesson, it doesn’t change my mind. If anything, it only makes me more excited to meet Queen—”

“She’s a princess—” Helen interrupted.

“Not the point,” I said through clenched teeth, “They chose us…me because they knew that when it comes being ruthless, no one compares to us…to me. So, I’m going to my room to make sure my things are packed and to take a long, hot bath. You all are free stay here and keep listening.”

GABRIEL

When she left, we were all silent and I wished more than anything to escape with her.

“I don’t care.” Wyatt rose to his feet. “I don’t care if you are the Prince of all of Europe and the goddamn moon, too. I don’t care about whatever deal was made with my parents. I don’t care about you or your sad prince life. I don’t like you and I trust you even less. Find someone else. Or, here’s a thought, grow some balls and fix your damn country on your goddamn own.”

He looked over to Ethan as he moved to the door. “I’m going to talk to her before she thinks she’s Queen Katherine.”

“Monaco doesn’t have a kingship—” Ivy said to him, and he replied by slamming the door.

Leaving me with the rest of her family.

“All of you leave,” Ethan declared, and they all got up just like that. Ivy stayed until he gave her a look. They exchanged nods before she got up, taking her cashews with her. True kingship, apparently.

When the door closed, I was left face to face with him, the eldest and hopefully most rational of them all.

He needed to know. “Whatever happens, I’m either leaving this house dead or with your sister.”

“Kings…princes…monarchs, you all are very good at ordering the deaths of others,” he said as the doors opened again and Rocky and Coco dragged in two of my former guards. Two other men put down plastic wrap because before Rocky and Coco dropped the traitors to the ground. Both looked around them as they shook their heads, trying to beg for their lives but the tape over their months muffled all their efforts. “For some reason, when it comes to killing men with your own hands, you all stumble.” Ethan went on, “I do not know why. I do not care why. But it is good to know you are different than that…which is why I brought you gifts.”

He reached behind his back and pulled out a gun, handing it to me.

Without blinking, I took it and shot them both through the skull. “Thank you. You shouldn’t have.”

“You seem eager to get this over with.”

“I’ve came too far to let anything or anyone get in my way,” I said, returning the gun. “Even if the devil himself tries to stop me, I’d burn alive fighting against him.”