41

I can’t take it anymore. I can’t stand here while she tries to make Emmett feel bad after everything she’s done. “Well, if you’ve been up Liam’s ass this whole time anyway, just waiting for your chance to run the company,” I chime in, “why do you care what Emmett did? You said you were glad Thomas was gone.”

She shrugs cavalierly. “It doesn’t change the way things work around here. You can’t just take out the crown of the hierarchy around here and expect not to suffer the consequences.”

“You people are all seriously fucked up,” I blurt out.

“I knew what you did, Emmett,” Bernadette grunts resentfully. “I came and told Liam. He was the one who let Mom know.”

“I thought you were smarter than that, Emmett,” Liam scolds. “You know what happens to people who mess with the Elites. You know a thing or two about that yourself, don’t you, Ophelia? So now you’ll walk away with nothing.”

“And if I were you…I’d get out of town,” Malcolm adds. “Now the Elites will rise back to where we belong. And