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The silence is deafening until Beatrice sighs.

“I don’t see how anyone in sports would benefit from his death. Only you. Hell, even in the Turris, we have a perfect system to replace Chairs. Hell, you were both signed in as the new Chair and Heir before his body was cold!” she cries out, pointing at me then Liv, then she pales. “Sorry, that was insensitive.”

“You’re fine,” Liv says, speaking up for the first time. “I also don’t think this is connected to any league.” She smiles apologetically at me. “But out of everything that’s been said here, the only thing that connects all of this is that someone with a lot of skill is doing it and they’re doing it to Turris members. Maybe they were trying to destabilize us. Eli, you had an Heir while your father was in the hospital, didn’t you?”

He turns back around and like everyone, stares at Liv with complete focus.

“What if they wanted to test the changing of the guard, let’s call it.” She pauses and I swear even the particles in the room stop moving. “If whoever the mole is doesn’t know Tucker well, then they wouldn’t have known he’d be happy to make any of his sisters his Heir. Maybe they thought Tucker was as sexist as Jim and would have a hard time picking someone.”

“It was a test,” Iris whispers, as horror dawns on all of us.

If they killed Jim as a test, then there’s nothing they won’t do to get whatever the fuck it is they want.

“Then they’re more dangerous than we thought,” Harrison concludes, and it’s a little comforting that he doesn’t flinch. Very little.

“We already thought they were dangerous,” Eli mumbles, looking up at his dad with fear in his eyes.

“Increased security. Everyone,” Harrison declares. “I’m going to announce it at the meeting. Eli, please do background checks on every single spouse, family member, child, and friend. I don’t care who the mole is, no one else is dying.”

“I’ll monitor everyone,” Eli promises.

“If I can offer my assistance,” Eian says, and damn, I’d almost forgotten he was here—that’s a troubling failure of my survival instincts. “I think Seamus should help with your company while you work on this, or maybe he can find someone else. You can’t afford to have a chink in that armour and you’re going to be busy.”

Eli sighs, and turns back to his computers. “I’ll find someone, don’t bother him.” He sounds almost protective.

“All right,” Eian murmurs. “If you need any help finding security, I can vet them. I’ve got more than enough men who served and have friends looking for work.”

“Thank you,” Beatrice tells him, and it’s honest as far as I can tell. As the most low-key family in the Turris, the Altons probably have the least security set up.

“We need to leave,” Iris declares. “The meeting starts in half an hour.”

So we disperse, go our separate ways, only to meet in another windowless room in another building.

With the four other pairs of Chairs and Heirs.

Baron updates everyone on my interrogation and what we learned of Amanda’s plan and payments, then Eli lays out the difficulty he’s having with finding who paid Amanda to kill Jim.

Richard Cockerton is again the first to speak. “It’s not like Jim lacked enemies,” he says so easily.

I look at him closely for the rest of the meeting, even while I’m aware of Zack next to me the whole time as well.

In the end, I can only think Richard is either very stupid or very not guilty.

Zack doesn’t say a word even after Harrison strongly advises everyone to increase their security, without any more explanation.

I’m almost expecting Sunny to demand answers when I get home later that evening. I did leave Wes at home and was out the door earlier than usual. When I came back earlier they were out at the park, Wes told me, so I didn’t get a chance to say hello.

I should’ve known better.

He’s beaming like he’s about to explode with happiness when I find them in the playroom, and he completely forgets where he is as he jumps into my arms and kisses me . . . right in front of the boys.

I don’t mind of course, I feel in my bones that Sunny isn’t going anywhere even when he does get the job he really wants, but we hadn’t set a date for telling the boys.

Maddox is staring with his mouth wide open, and after staring too for a few seconds, Mason bursts into giggles so hard he falls on his butt.

“Shit,” Sunny hisses low enough that I’m the only one who hears.

I have my suspicions for why he’s so happy, but I ask anyway.