Page 121 of Shadow

Daphne glanced at Asher. He was listening, but something more.

“Ralph got scared,” Asher said.

“Yeah. He realized he’d invited a monster into his house. That Draven wasn’t there to reconcile. He was there to destroy. To take everything Dad had built.”

“Did Draven kill Ralph?” Destiny asked quietly.

Roger flinched. “The cartel murder was real. But⁠—”

“But Draven set it up,” Asher said, voice hard. “Cartel did the hit. Ralph survived long enough to land in the ICU. Draven finished it with poison there. Forensic pathologist ruled it complications. Got his revenge and made it look like business.”

Roger nodded.

“And you knew,” Destiny said. Voice dead. Empty. “You knew, and you didn’t tell me. You let me believe—” She stopped. “Are you in this with him, Roger?”

His mouth opened. “No. I’ve been working with him for three years, trying to—” Roger stopped. “Trying to find proof. Trying to get evidence. Trying to stop him without getting us both killed.”

Daphne stood. Looked at Asher.

His eyes had narrowed. “Draven isn’t the head of the syndicate.”

Roger frowned at him. “What makes you say that?”

“The syndicate has been around a lot longer than Draven.”

“My dad was in charge.”

“No, he wasn’t.” Asher stepped forward. “I read your dad’s arrest report. He was definitely acting under the orders of someone else.”

Roger’s mouth tightened.

“You knew that,” Daphne said.

Roger shook his head. “I don’t know. Dad never told me. Said it was safer if I didn’t know. That way I couldn’t be forced to tell.”

Daphne looked at Destiny. The woman stood frozen.

“Come on,” Daphne said gently. “Let’s get you out of here. Get you some space.”

Destiny didn’t resist. Just let Daphne guide her out of the room. Down the hall. Away from Roger and the shattered glass and the lies.

They made it three doors down before Destiny’s knees buckled.

Daphne caught her. Supported her weight. Helped her into her own bedroom. Guided her to the bed.

Destiny sat. The mattress dipped under her weight. She stared at the floor. At nothing.

“Destiny, why did you think Roger was the mole?”

The woman looked up at her, and something—it looked like fear—crossed her face. “Because I found this in his things.”

She reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a burner phone. “It was next to him in the car when he got out tonight.”

Daphne took it. Opened it. A text displayed on the screen.

Unknown number

Time’s up.