he'd thought of something. I turned slightly to meet his pensive gaze.
"Of everything, it was your records that had been most thoroughly wiped. I bet Deb was hiding the fact that she had a daughter at all"—Archer's brow was tight as he thought it through—"eliminating you as a target for the killers who would eventually be coming for her."
Annoyance rippled through me. "So, what? She just went into hiding here in Shadow Grove, got some guy to do a half-assed job covering her tracks, then crossed her fingers and hoped for the best?"
"What would you have done?" Demi asked, genuinely curious. "In her position as a woman in a loveless marriage with an eight-year-old daughter to care for... what would you have done differently?"
I gaped at her in disbelief. "Seriously? Anything else. She just stuck her head in the sand and hoped whoever had just murdered her mother would give up and move on? No way. I'd hunt that fucker down and make damn sure he wasn't threatening the people I loved any longer. I sure as hell wouldn't be content to live in fear."
My heart was pounding and my palms sweating, but Demi just gave me a long, considering look. "Yes, I can believe you would do that. You're a strong woman, MK. Was Deborah? I never met her; I couldn't say."
Her question made me hesitate. What did I really know about my mom? She'd died when I was only eleven, and more and more I was realizing huge chunks of my childhood memories were missing. Had she been a strong woman? Something told me that Katerina had been, but Deb?
"No," I admitted with a long exhale. "No, I guess she wasn't."
Every little girl wanted their mom to be perfect, and I used to think mine was. But with the clarity of hindsight, I had to admit she’d been deeply flawed. She’d been selfish and impulsive, quick to anger, then quick to forget. But she’d loved fiercely, and I knew she’d loved me. Sometimes, that was enough.
Sometimes, it wasn't.
She probably could have left Shadow Grove when she suspected someone had found her. She could have done any number of things to keep herself—and me—safe from this fucked up life of death and violence. But she'd stayed... because of Zane. Of that, I was sure.
"Okay, so then I guess the only question here," I said, gritting my teeth against a spike of bitterness toward my dead mother, "is who inherits if I'm dead? Archer?"
His muscles tensed, his arm around me going rock hard. "Kate, if you're asking whether I killed your mom—"
"I'm not," I cut him off. "I'm just pointing out the fact that people are still trying to kill me now, eighteen months after we were legally married. Although, you said you wouldn’t get access to my trust until I was twenty-one, didn’t you?”
Archer nodded, his rough cheek brushing my shoulder. “That’s right. If you die before you take control of your trust, it goes to the next blood heir.”
I frowned. “Right. So there is something more complex going on." Then another thought crossed my mind. "Demi, what line of business was my family in? What was Abel's company? I'm assuming that's what is up for grabs here."
Demi's brows rose. "You don't know that much?" Her gaze shifted to Archer behind me. "You paid Samuel Danvers fifty-two million dollars to purchase his daughter and her trust fund. How was that even put on the table without seeing the financials?"
I turned my face to catch him glare daggers at Demi. "It wasn't about the money, Demi. You, of all people, know that."
Well, color me curious. Demi gave a tight smile in return and dipped her head. "Fair point." She cleared her throat and turned her attention back to me as Archer's arms tightened around my waist. Like he was reminding me that he wouldn’t let go...
"Wittenberg has a number of smaller businesses under the parent company, but the jewel in the crown, so to speak, is Brilliance." Demi paused, letting that information sink in.
I blinked at her several times. "Brilliance," I repeated, dumbstruck. "Wittenberg owns Brilliance."
Demi cocked her head to the side, seeming amused by my shock. "No, sweetheart. You own Brilliance as you're the heir to Wittenberg."
I spluttered a laugh, sure I must have somehow slipped into a delusion. "What the fuck is even happening right now?" I whispered, running a hand over my face and shaking my head.
Kody blew out a long breath. "That... was not what I