My Lovely Headmaster

Chapter 43

"Absolutely not." Leo's voice cuts through the room like a blade. "We are not destroying Blackwood because Theodore's a psychopath."

"Blackwood was built with blood money," Vlad counters. "The original endowment came from grandfather's embezzlement—money he stole from Jasmine's father before murdering him."

"That was forty years ago! The students here now, the teachers, the scholarship kids like Jasmine was—they had nothing to do with Theodore's crimes. You want to punish them?"

"I want justice," Vlad says quietly.

"No, you want to self-destruct out of guilt, and you're using justice as an excuse." Leo turns to Adrian. "Senator, legally speaking, what are our options?"

Adrian considers carefully. "Theodore himself is the real target. The murder was Henry's crime, and he paid for it. The cover-up, the memory modification, the ongoing conspiracy—that's all Theodore. If we can prove it—"

"We can," Julia's voice comes from the doorway. She's back, looking like my dark mirror in her black coat and harder eyes. "I have everything. Twenty years of evidence."

"How did you get in here?" Leo demands, hand moving to his concealed weapon.

"Your security's pathetic. Also, I've been getting into Blackwood since I was fourteen. I used to watch Jasmine from afar, making sure she was safe." She moves into the room with predatory grace. "Hello, sister."

"Julia." I don't know what else to say to this ghost made flesh.

"We need to talk. Alone."

"I'm not leaving her—" Vlad starts.

"Yes, you are." Julia's voice is steel. "This is between twins. Between the one who remembered and the one who forgot. You Dickensons have done enough."

"It's okay," I tell Vlad, though I'm not sure it is. "We need to talk."

Everyone files out reluctantly, Leo last with a meaningful look that says he'll be right outside. Julia and I are left alone in our quarters, two versions of the same woman, separated by memory and trauma.

"You look good," Julia says finally. "Happy, despite everything. That pisses me off."

"I'm sorry—"

"Don't apologize for surviving. Even with fake memories, you survived. Found love, had a child, built a life." Her voice cracks slightly. "I spent twenty years in the shadows, remembering everything, trusting no one, living for revenge. Which one of us got the better deal?"

"You remember our father?"

"Every day. His laugh. How he'd throw us in the air and call us his twin stars." Tears run down her face, and it's like watching myself cry. "You were always the bright one. I was the serious one. Mom used to say we were two halves of a whole person."

"We could be again—"

"No." She cuts me off. "Too much has happened. I'm not that little girl anymore, and you never got the chance to grow from her naturally. We're strangers wearing the same face."

"Then why find me?"

"Because Theodore needs to pay. And because..." She hesitates. "Because I needed to know you were okay. That at least one of us got to be normal, even if it was built on lies."

"Nothing about my life has been normal."

"No? You fell in love, got married, had a child who adores you. That's normal. That's what we should have both had if Henry Dickenson hadn't—" She stops, composes herself. "I have a proposition."

"What kind?"

"Help me destroy Theodore, and I'll disappear. You'll never see me again. You can keep your fake memories, your Dickenson husband, your fairy tale life."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I do it anyway, but messier. Public trial. Media circus. Your son growing up with everyone knowing his great-grandfather was a murderer, his grandfather a monster who experimented on children." She leans forward. "Or we do this quietly. Theodore goes to prison, you get justice without destroying Devon's future."

"How?"

"I have a meeting with him. Tomorrow. In Switzerland."

"He agreed to meet you?"

"He doesn't know it's me. He thinks he's meeting with a potential investor who has information about irregular DNA tests involving his grandson." Her smile is sharp. "He's so paranoid about Leo's forgeries, he'll come running."

"That's dangerous—"

"Everything about our lives has been dangerous since we were six." She stands. "I'm going to record everything. His confession, his threats, whatever he says. Then Adrian can use it to prosecute."

"Let me come with you."

"No. You have a son, a family. Things to lose." She moves toward the door. "I have nothing but revenge. That makes me stronger."

"Julia—"

"One more thing." She pauses at the door. "Your pregnancy. Be careful. Theodore has people everywhere, even here. Especially here."

"What do you mean?"

"Jessica Hartley wasn't his only spy. He has someone close to you, someone you trust, reporting on Devon." She looks back. "Ask yourself: who's been pushing you toward certain decisions? Who always seems to know things they shouldn't?"

She leaves before I can ask more, leaving me with a sick feeling of dread. Someone close. Someone trusted.

Leo? No, he's been protecting us, even if through questionable means.

Dr. Winters? She appeared awfully quickly tonight.

Genesis? She's in California—or is she?

Richard? He's been Devon's doctor since birth, would have access to everything.

The door opens and Vlad returns, followed by Devon who immediately climbs into my lap despite being too big for it.

"Mom, Aunt Julia's scary," he says matter-of-factly.

"Aunt Julia?"

"Well, she is my aunt, right? Genetically speaking?"

"I suppose she is."

"Is she going to hurt Grandfather Theodore?"

I look at Vlad, who's stone-faced. "Maybe."

"Good," Devon says simply. "He hurt you first. That's justice, not revenge."

"Where did you learn the difference?"

"Uncle Leo. He says revenge is emotional, justice is logical. Aunt Julia seems very logical."

From the mouths of babes.

Adrian returns with documents. "I need you to sign these. Testimony authentication, witness protection papers in case this goes badly."

"Witness protection?"

"If Theodore realizes we're moving against him, he might try to run or retaliate. These ensure you and Devon are protected."

I sign, my wedding ring catching the light. Married less than twelve hours and already planning to destroy my husband's family.

"There's something else," Adrian says. "Your father—biological father—left something. It's been in escrow for twenty years, waiting for you or Julia to claim it."

He hands me a key. "Safety deposit box. Bank of Z-City. Whatever's in there, Theodore tried very hard to destroy it. Which means it's important."

Another mystery. Another secret. My life is becoming layers of revelations, each one darker than the last.

"Tomorrow," Adrian says. "Julia meets Theodore at 2 PM Swiss time. That's 8 AM here. If she gets what we need, we move immediately. Arrest warrants, asset freezing, everything."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Then we go to Plan B."

"Which is?"

Leo answers, his smile sharp as winter. "We let Devon testify that his grandfather tried to have him kidnapped. Thomas already confessed Theodore hired him. That plus the forged DNA tests equals conspiracy charges."

"You want to put our seven-year-old on the stand?"

"I want Theodore in prison," Leo says flatly. "By whatever means necessary."