Page 34 of Claimed By the Ruthless King

Sapphire angles her head to the side. “I’ll judge the definition of severe.”

“But you know what I mean. It was more than a pin prick. Enough for him to dye my resignation letter red.”

“God,” mutters Sapphire, folding her arms over the table. “Mr. Moretti has a lot of charm, but he was being inconspicuous."

“How?”

“I had a feeling. Billionaire CEOs rarely show their face in hospitals unless they’re running a charity event.”

“And was he?”

Sapphire flashes me a dead look. “Salvatore avoids public affairs like the plague.”

“Maybe he gets camera shy.”

Another dead look from Sapphire. “Or maybe he would rather see the rest of the world suffer.”

I grind my jaw, contemplating that comment. Sapphire could have a point. All the evidence I have on Mr. Moretti so far points to him doing more bad deeds than good. I suppose you can get away murder with a face like that.

“You look like you’re drinking outdated milk,” observes Sapphire. “What is it?

“I’m pretty sure my boss was involved in organized crime when he was a teenager."

Sapphire blinks rapidly, trying to come to terms with that. “What the hell, Phee?”

“It sounds bizarre, I know, but the crow tattoo he has across his chest is identical to a drawing my mother sketched out back when she was alive.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m positive.”

“But that makes no sense.”

“I know, but there has to be a correlation here. I asked Aunt Viv about the drawing, thinking she was the one who sketched the crow. She told me a group of teenage boys used to run rampage, vandalizing shit and stealing bleach around the city. She assured me the Crows were no big deal and the entire thing was safely buried in the past, but my mom wouldn’t warn me about the Crows on her deathbed for the fucking crack.”

Sapphire watches me closely. She thought the Crows thing was hilarious, like me, a symptom of the medication. Clearly, I’m not going crazy—she looks like she has a sour taste in her mouth now.

“Something was left unburied.”

“The question is what?”

“Your boss still has to be involved.”

“The Crows could be still flying around the city,” I state.

“Shit, Phee,” cusses Sapphire under her breath, nibbling on the corner of her lip. “Lives could be at stake here.”

“I think we could be getting ahead of ourselves with murder.”

“This organization existed when your parents were around our age, correct?”

“My parents?” I scoff. “Talking about my father is a waste of time.”

“Right,” says Sapphire. “Because he disappeared before you were even born.” She swipes a finger over her lip in contemplation. “Maybe he was connected to the Crows somehow.”

“It’s a possibility, but what difference does it make? He still abandoned me.”

“Salvatore could know your parents, more specifically, your mother…” Sapphire looks at me questioningly. “You don’t think your mother and Salvatore…?”