Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 137326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
My eyes keep flitting over the members with black masks and rings. Their number exceeds those who were present during my initiation. I spot at least twenty in total, but many of them have older voices, so perhaps they’re politicians and public figures and, therefore, the mask is a perfect camouflage. Also, their rings don’t have distinctive symbols like the ones on Kane’s, Jude’s, and Preston’s.
I keep craning my head, looking for Kane, but come up empty. It’s impossible to single him out among so many people.
I spot three silver-masked men by a table and inch closer so that I’m around the corner from them. Out of sight but close enough to hear their conversation.
“…And you’re okay with your sister being kicked out, Gav?”
Ryder Price. That’s his voice.
The one he’s talking to is Gavin Drayton.
The latter loosens his bow tie and sips from his glass beneath the mask. “There’s nothing I can do. If three Seniors vote her out, she’s out.”
“She did mess with Davenport’s latest toy when he warned her to back off. She had it coming.” The third one—a player because I heard his voice before, but I can’t place him.
Gavin slams his glass on the table. “Well, my father is locking her up and taking her privileges for a couple of weeks. I think she’s suffered enough blows to call it quits. No need to rub it in.”
“Hey, don’t get so worked up.” Ryder wraps an arm around Gavin’s shoulders. “At least you’re still in, so silver linings. We can still make it to Senior members after graduation if we keep in line.”
“Is something wrong, boys?” A woman wearing a stunning green dress and a black-and-red mask saunters to the middle of the trio.
Black and red.
A Founder?
A woman who’s part of the upper echelon. I lean in against the wall.
“Nothing at all,” Ryder says with a grin. “You look amazing, Serena. As usual.”
Serena… Serena…
Where have I heard that name?
Oh.
An article I read a while ago comes to mind. “Serena Osborn Says Fundamental Change Is the Only Change Needed in the Industry.”
The current CEO of Osborn Enterprises?
She strokes Ryder’s mask. “You’re a darling. Did any of you see Julian?”
“I don’t think so,” Gavin says. “We saw his brother, Jude, with Preston earlier.”
Jude’s brother, Julian. I remember reading about him, too. If I remember correctly, Julian Callahan’s name was brought up as the country’s top innovator in the pharmaceutical sector.
“I see.” Serena pats Ryder’s mask again and he freezes as if he doesn’t dare to breathe.
It’s amazing how an average-height woman can make three men who are double and triple her size stand so still in reverence.
“Have fun, boys.” She pauses and then tilts her head to the side. “Don’t give my brother a hard time in the upcoming game.”
“Yes, ma’am.” They all but salute.
Her throaty laughter carries in the air as she walks with purpose to the next group. All full of people in black-and-red masks.
I thought there were only four members who had those masks—meaning the heads of the founding families—but in that group alone, there are six. Serena is number seven.
“Don’t give her brother a hard time?” Gav scoffs, his voice low. “I’m surprised she hasn’t already put a target on Marcus’s back, considering he’s rumored to be absorbed back in so he can take her place in the family.”
“Who says she hasn’t?” the third person I can’t name says even lower. “Marcus is just a cat with nine lives.”
Right. Marcus.
I forgot that while I was observing. Marcus Osborn is Serena’s half-brother.
But hold on. Absorbed back in?
Do they even know Marcus? He looks down on everything this world represents. I bet he’d rather be beaten to death than be part of the ‘pretentious snobs,’ as he calls them.
Ryder rubs his hair. “This internal power struggle is making me anxious. Dad says we need to pick a side sooner rather than later.”
“The whole four-families thing is absurd in the first place,” the third player says. “No matter how much they collaborate, they’ll end up stepping on each other’s toes sooner or later. Plus, the generation that preceded us, whether it’s Julian Callahan, Serena Osborn, Atlas Armstrong, or the currently banished Kayden Davenport, only knows how to go at each other’s throats.”
“Our generation is different, though,” Gavin says. “Kane, Jude, and Pres are tightly knit.”
“For now.” Player three stares into the distance. “After Kayden’s banishment, Grant Davenport's business decisions suffered greatly, and it’s starting to impact their standing. It’s just a matter of time before either Serena, Julian, or Atlas uses that opening and crushes them. That will signal a war.”
“Fuck this,” Ryder grumbles. “I don’t like the unknown in this entire thing. I’d rather they send us to kill people instead of picking sides. Better yet, I just want to play hockey and hook up with beautiful women. Is that too much to ask?”