189 Confession, Conditioned

Points

Lucian

I left the room and headed for the right wing. Halfway there, I ran into Darian. I told him everything-every sharp-edged truth-and without hesitation, he fell in step beside me. He wanted to be there when I confronted Martha. He said he’d try to get through to her.

I didn’t say anything at first. Just nodded. But inside, I felt something I hadn’t expected: pride.

My brother-my actual brother-had taken my side. Despite everything. Despite Mara. I knew he still cared about her, but it was different now. Mature. Detached. Like he’d finally seen past the illusion. That meant more to me than I could say. I hoped the bond we were building wouldst. It felt good-solid. Like something real in the chaos.

We reached Martha’s new room. The door was cracked open, and we walked in without knocking.

She was curled up on the bed, weeping.

Her sobs weren’t quiet or ashamed-they were dramatic, exaggerated, meant to be heard. She’d probably left the door open hoping Father would walk in and y savior. Typical. She wouldn’t fix herself, wouldn’t own a damn thing-she’d just pine for the man she broke. Pathetic.

“I don’t think it’s wise for Father to separate from his wife like this,” I linked Darian, my tone neutral. I wanted to see where he stood.

He turned to me, stunned. “She’s done enough, Lucian,” he linked back, his voice thick with frustration. “She still hasn’t told me about ric.”

That stopped me cold. She was still holding back. After everything, she still hadn’t cracked. That silence said one thing- what she was hiding was worse than anything we already knew. Anyone else would have used the truth to cut a deal, to save face. Not her. She was ready to die with it.

“Martha,” I said aloud.

She stopped sobbing, wiped her face roughly, and sat up. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot, her expression twisted with bitterness. She looked at us like we’d just spit in her drink.

“What the f**k do you want?” she snapped. The venom wasn’t aimed-it was sprayed in every direction.

I didn’t flinch. The auditor was already on her way. We didn’t have time for theatrics.

“I want to know how much you helped Daniel steal from Steel Corp,” I said, my voice low but steady. “I need every detail -every transfer, every conversation. You’ve been through enough today, Martha. I don’t want to arrest you over this. And despite what you think, I don’t hate you.”

She sniffled, wiped her eyes with trembling fingers, and looked up at me, her defenses cracking just a little.

“I swear, Lucian-I didn’t steal anything.”

Her voice was thin but clear. “Daniel paid me. He transferred money into my ount. All I did was make sure your father approved the contracts and released the payments without looking too closely. That’s it. You can arrest me if you want- it’s all there in the bank statements. But I didn’t take a damn cent from your father. I only made those deals so I could pay ric.”

And just like that, I knew she was telling the truth. Her shame wasn’t in what she did-it was in why she did it.

“How much is ric asking for?” I asked, part curiosity, part calction.

Toy Confession, Conditioned

*B Points She exhaled shakily. “It doesn’t matter now. I paid him to protect my marriage, to keep Darian safe. My parents. Lacy. Me.

Then her voice dropped into something cold and hollow. “Soon I’ll be out on the streets anyway. Maybe then he’ll finally stop hounding me.”

There was no fire left in her. Just the smoldering remains of a woman who had bargained away every piece of herself trying to hold her life together.

“Martha,” I said gently, “you have toe clean about ric. If we’re going to fix any of this, we need the truth. Crying won’t help you now. Talk to us, and I promise-we’ll speak to Father about the separation.”

She gave a bitter smile and shook her head.

“If I tell you everything…” Her voice cracked. “Then my marriage won’t be the only thing I lose.”

That was it. The door mmed shut in her eyes. We weren’t getting anything else from her-not today.

The ric lead had gone cold. But Chase? We were closing in on him. And soon, he’d run out of ces to hide.

Darian and I left without another word. On our way back to the left wing, I linked my father about the meeting with the auditor. We still had a fight to finish.