“That’s ridiculous!” Dacia yelled. “Who the hell does he think he is? If he’s innocent, then he has nothing to worry about. Armel deserves to find justice.”
Mother pressed two fingers into her temple. “Dacia, these people aren’t your average gangsters. They’re regarded as nobility in France and are smooth criminals from the higher-echelon variety. Even if Zeno didn’t murder Armel, this investigation can go on for lengths and he can’t afford to have his name slandered in the press.”
Nobility. Criminals. Murder.
I was struggling to wrap my head around what my mother just stated.
“So now they’re threatening you to close the case because it’s inconvenient for them?” Dacia scoffed. “What a load of bullshit. What are they going to do if you don’t?”
“Expose our secrets.”
“What are you talking about?” I gulped.
“Every sin we’ve ever committed. Every mistake we’ve ever made. Every bit of dirt associated to our name. They knoweverythingand they’re blackmailing us because we will bend to their will.” Mother’s neck strained with her words. Even Alberto stood at the outskirts of the dining room with a grim expression. “They will not rest until we’re skeletons in their closet.”
They knoweverything.
Zeno called me Principal Hill today.
I only ever told him I was a teacher.
He was digging around us this whole time because he had an ulterior motive.
The taste in my mouth turned acerbic.
“Zeno presented me with a folder containing everything we’ve ever tried to hide.” Mother took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Darla, they even know what happened to you in university.”
My fearful gaze shot to her to confirm if…
Mother nodded in agreement.
Oh, God.
During my undergrad studies, I took a complimentary business class upon my mother’s insistence. We had a group project and my teammates and I had separated the project equally amongst ourselves, meeting up twice to compile our findings into one report. It was the worst and most difficult project I’d ever done and, unfortunately, one of my teammates plagiarized his part.
None of us caught it before the submittal deadline.
The academic violation resulted in us being called to the Dean’s office. I remember being a crying mess; we were all supposed to get kicked out of Vesta University for our mistake.
Until Diane Hill paid a huge chunk of hush money to keep the institute quiet.
She wrote them a million-dollar check to ensure I stayed at school and the public never found out about this mishap.
The teammate who plagiarized was severely reprimanded, yet I remained untouchable because of my last name and my family’s wealth.
“If anyone ever finds out about this, you will lose all sense of credibility and respect amongst your colleagues…along with your position at St. Victoria. I’m so sorry, Darla. I thought I fixed the situation. I never expected it to come back and bite us.”
My stomach knotted. I was going to vomit my dinner.
Mother turned to Dacia with hostility. “They also know you’ve slept with Officer Bazoli.”
My sister paled.
So did I.
“Bazoli helped testify on many of your cases, Dacia.” Disappointment coated her tone. “I thought as an adult you’d be more careful with your flings. Yet here you are, being reckless once again. If this gets out to the public, your reputation will be ruined and this will open a can of legal problems that our money cannot fix!”
This was above and beyond horrendous. My mind struggled to digest the situation as I replayed every moment with Zeno.