Beautiful Lies (Breaking Belles #2) - Alta Hensley Page 0,66
there?”
She opened her eyes and nodded. “Nothing we can do but offer our truth.”
Our truth.
Mrs. H met us at the door. She examined Portia’s face and then said, “Whatever happens in there, I want you to know what you did was right.” She looked at me. “It took courage, and I’m very proud of the both of you.”
She led us to the white ballroom where the Elders sat in their silver cloaks with canes in hand behind a long table. The rest of the members flanked the walls, and I knew what would come next.
Judgment.
The Final Ceremony.
“Sully VanDoren. Portia Collins. You both have failed to reach the 109 days to complete the Trials of Initiation,” one of the Elders announced as he stood and struck his cane hard against the floor as a signal that the ceremony had begun.
109. The address of the Oleander, 109 Oleander Lane. Simple upon first reflection, but some numerologist back in the beginning had a field day with it—100 plus 9. 9 being 3x3, and 3 being the number of divinity, well, it was perfect. To pass through 109 days of Trials at the Oleander Manor was to achieve a kind of divinity among their ranks, and be ushered into the brotherhood, the gods of men, modern day kings of empires.
In other words—Such. Utter. Bullshit.
“Because of your breach of our terms about leaving the Oleander, the Order has called for the Final Ceremony to occur now.”
The elder sitting on the far right of the table asked, “Sullivan VanDoren, please state to us why you broke the rule of The Order of the Silver Ghost and left the manor.”
The fuckers knew the answer.
The old me would have spoken those words out loud. I would have been an asshole. I would have pushed. I would have called names. I would have fought for me… instead of fighting for Portia… for us.
But it was now time I bite my tongue and grow the fuck up. It was time. It was long past time.
“There was a family emergency, and Portia needed to be with her sister. The decision was not made lightly, but we both didn’t feel we had a choice,” I said calmly. “The Order stands for loyalty, and if one cannot demonstrate loyalty for one’s family, how can they hope to do so for the Order?”
The elder who first spoke said, “Loyalty to the Order comes first before loyalty to any outside familial connections. You know better. Is there any opposition by any of the Elders as to why we should not disqualify the two?”
“I oppose,” Montgomery said as he took a step toward the Elders. “I know I’m not an elder, but I am now a member of the Order. I feel that this should not only be an elder decision. I feel that every member should have a say in the fate of Mr. VanDoren and Portia Collins. A vote should be cast. We should all have a say.”
I reached out and took Portia’s clammy hand in mine. There was nothing either of us could do but stand before them and hope that our chances weren’t completely over. Could Montgomery help us?
Unlikely.
But maybe…
One of the Elders spoke. “It specifically states in our bylaws that no recruit going through the initiation may leave the manor for any reason. Due to his breach, he can no longer claim his stake in the VanDoren business nor join our order. The belle can no longer claim her dream.”
Montgomery seemed unfazed by the Elders. “I understand that there are rules. But both Sully and Portia have completed each Trial without fail. They were far from easy, and both did each one with the courage and respect of the process that the Order requires. I believe they deserve to have what they came here for.”
Mr. Sinclair—an Elder I knew was not a fan of me even though I was a very good friend of his son Walker—pounded his cane against the ground to stop the back-and-forth discussion. “Our bloodlines represent respect, prestige, and wealth. We are the elite, and you, Sullivan VanDoren, have resisted us and what we stand for from the minute you walked through the door of the Oleander. You do not value our rules, nor do you respect what The Order of the Silver Ghost is all about. For you to stand there and expect us to have mercy on you and the belle…” he narrowed his eyes and leaned in. “Tell us why we should.”
I scanned the