“You know, babe”—I purposely picked a nickname I never used for Ella—“it’s been an interesting few months. All these games.” I shook my head. “I mean, honestly, I’m shocked you fell for it all. You actually think I’d want you? When I can have her?”
Ella flinched, even though I wasn’t talking to her but to Ryan. The words were just too reminiscent of Dash’s speech all those years ago, as I assumed the resulting gasps from the crowd were, too.
“While you’ve been ensnared in my web, I’ve carefully dismantled every facet of your life. All for the promise of bedding you, which is something I never wanted to do.”
“Mr. Nacht,” a feminine voice interjected. Professor Montgomery stood on the side of the stage, her expression livid. “Give me that microphone right now.”
“No, I’m not done.” And there was no way she’d be able to take this from me now. “And while I appreciate you finally growing a conscience and truly standing up for your student, you’re about three years too late. Because let’s be honest, all your previous attempts haven’t been all that successful.” She was also protecting the wrong girl.
Ryan chuckled, the sound vile and cruel. “Keep going,” she encouraged.
“Oh, I intend to.” I smiled brilliantly at her. “When you approached me about seducing your stepsister and asking me to break her heart publicly, I couldn’t have been happier. Because you single-handedly gave me the power to destroy you instead.”
A pin could have dropped at that pronouncement.
And Ryan’s mouth fell open.
Way to dive right in, Ella said into my mind.
No time like the present, I returned.
“You know, I wondered how someone could be so vicious as to offer herself… Oh, wait, no. You promised me a threesome between you and Carmen, right? Yeah, hard pass, sweetheart. Ella satisfies me in ways neither of you could ever begin to comprehend. But back to what I was saying—I tried to figure out how someone could be so cruel to another person, let alone a family member.” I reached into my pocket to pull out my phone. “However, after some digging with Ella, we figured it out.”
My eyes wandered to my mate, searching her features and mind for any kind of distress and finding her perfectly at ease.
So I continued.
“In case it’s not obvious by now—as I know some of you may need these things spelled out for you—Ryan hired me to fuck Ella and dump her in front of the school. Sort of like what happened a few years ago at the Holiday Ball, only worse since my task was to capture her heart. Which I believe I’ve done.” I cocked a brow at my mate.
She
merely smiled, the look coy and secretive.
Devious minx, I accused playfully.
Delectable fairy, she replied.
I nearly sighed out loud. That whole punishment thing lingers in your future, El.
Bring it on, Nacht.
I smirked. “Yes, for those wondering, Ella’s been aware of her stepsister’s intentions for a while now,” I said, holding her gaze and ignoring all the whispers coming from the room, as well as Ryan’s resulting growl.
But movement across the stage had me sending a sliver of magic to ground the administrators, who had begun to shuffle toward me. They’d attribute the sensation to having their limbs locked in shock.
In reality, I’d frozen them.
Because I wasn’t done.
“Ah, here it is.” I made a show of looking at my phone and pulled up the will Ella and I had uncovered recently. Then I cleared my throat to begin reading. After it became obvious what I held in my palm, I paused and looked at Ryan. “Really, there’s a bunch of legal bullshit that I don’t want to bore the audience with. So let’s jump to the important part where Tremaine Cinder—Ella’s father, for those of you not paying attention—declared Isabella Cinder as his sole heir to his fortune. Clarissa Cinder is listed as the legal guardian of the estate, but only effective until Isabella’s eighteenth birthday. Which was when, darling?”
“Roughly five months ago,” she confirmed.
“Yes, which means you own everything.” I feigned shock as I refocused at a fuming Ryan. “Surely you didn’t know?” Then I smiled, dropping the act. “Except we all know you did. And you’ve been trying to beat Ella into submission all these years since learning the truth—that you’d be nothing without your gorgeous, intelligent, cunning stepsister.”
I faced the administrators, adding, “It also means all those checks you’ve been cashing from Clarissa Cinder these last few months—the ones that allow her children to terrorize the halls—were never hers to write.”
Ella smiled. Mic drop.