His Rule (The Rite Trilogy 1)

“Afternoon. It’s evening. I’ve been calling all day. That dim-witted secretary you have—”

“What can I do for you?” I ask as I check the time. It’s a little past seven. I didn’t even realize how late it was. And Meredith was probably too nervous to say anything. I’ll make sure she receives overtime for the extra hours.

“We didn’t finish our conversation last night,” she says.

“No, we didn’t. And there’s a reason for that. My brother is a grown man. I think it’s about time he speaks for himself, don’t you?”

“You cut him off, Judge. You can’t do that.”

“Why not? He was blackmailing grandfather.”

I can almost hear her displeasure in the pause before she speaks. “He was protecting himself after your grandfather threatened to take everything away.”

“And why did he do that, mother?”

Silence.

“Selective memory?”

“What he did was wrong.”

“He almost killed me.”

“And he’ll apologize.”

I snort. “An apology when my life almost ended… I’m not sure that goes far enough.”

“What do you want from him?”

“I want him to face the consequences of his actions.”

“What? You want for him to stand before The Tribunal? Imagine the shame it will bring to our family.”

“That was grandfather’s area. I don’t care about appearances.”

“Besides, they’ll lock him up, and you know it.”

“Maybe he deserves to be locked up.” My grandfather kept tabs on him over the five years he’s been MIA. I know what Theron’s been up to, and it’s no good.

“Your grandfather wanted to punish him for my mistake.”

“For your extramarital affair, you mean?”

“Watch your mouth.”

“What did I say? The truth?”

“He already punished me. You stood witness. Or have you forgotten? Selective memory, Judge?”

Fuck.

I don’t have anything to say about that. I wish I’d never seen it. I wish I’d never learned what my grandfather, a man I loved and looked up to, was capable of. But then again, I loved Theron too. We were close, but he turned on me and stabbed me in the back. Literally.

“Theron didn’t choose his parents,” my mother continues. I missed whatever else she said before. “It’s not quite fair to punish him for that, is it? And besides, after what I’ve been through, don’t I have a right to say where some of the money goes?”

“It doesn’t work that way. Not for us. We’ve discussed this. Even if father was alive, the inheritance would have gone to me.”

“You and your brother.”