chapter374
Night Eagle's place made his mother's house look plain by comparison. Every room shimmered with expensive decor, and there were statues and idols tucked into
corners, watching over everything.
His office was spotless, like someone had wiped away every trace of his real business. Still, Lydia and Connor managed to dig up enough scraps to connect the dots. Black Eagle had been dealing with those Southeast Asian syndicates from three years back.
"They're still clinging on?" Lydia said, her tone sharp.
Connor's brow furrowed as he remembered. "I've had a few close calls in the last three years. Assassins. I bet it was those guys."
"We need to find out where they're hiding," Lydia replied, her voice like ice. "And make sure they never cause trouble again.
They moved into Night Eagle's living quarters, and something on the shelf caught Lydia's eye. It was a photo of Night Eagle surrounded by his wives. Everyone knew he had more than a few, but no children, thanks to his own rumored health
problems.
Then, Lydia's attention zeroed in on another photo. This one was old and faded, a group shot of Night Eagle with all his wives. Each woman was beautiful and dressed to the nines, but one face stood out to Lydia. She couldn't quite place it at first.
The woman looked barely out of her teens, sitting close to Night Eagle in a pale yellow dress. Her features... There was something so familiar about her.
"Does she look familiar to you?" Lydia asked, pointing right at the woman.
Connor leaned in, studying the photo. It took a while, but suddenly he got it. He glanced over at Lydia, surprised. Lucinda?"
Lydia let out a short, amused laugh. "Knew I recognized her."
Connor stared at the photo, his mind racing. "Lucinda is Night Eagle's daughter?" Lydia shook her head, still trying to process it. "So who's her real mother, then?" Connor went quiet. Everything had just gotten a lot more tangled.
Grace, Lydia said after a moment. "The nanny who's always with Lucinda."
woman in the photo is
"You think they
Grace?" Connor's eyes widened. He remembered Grace well, since she and Lucind
were almost always
together and she seemed to have more power in the Norwood family than any nanny should.
Lydia nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure of it now."
"But the difference... It's a lot. Grace is older now, but compared to the woman in
the photo, they almost look like two completely different people.
"I need to dig into this when we get back," Lydia said. "If I'm right, this whole situation is way more complicated than we thought. Maybe the mix-up with me, Lucinda, and Sandy wasn't an accident. Maybe someone planned And what about Frank? He's supposed to
be Lucinda's real father, but what's his part in all this?"
She snapped a picture of the old photo, just in case she needed it later.
At the same time, word spread all over the Triangle about Black Eagle's failed move against Mount Gemspire. The news was everywhere. Every gang was shocked.
Black Eagle, just... wiped out? Was the people behind Mount Gemspire really that strong? Some people gave the credit to Lydora. They att knew about the bad blood between her and Black Eagle, and figured. Mount Gemspire and Lydora working together was what finally brought Black Eagle down.
Still, it was hard to believe. Black Eagle had been the biggest, most dangerous
group in the Triangle, and now, overnight, they were gone.
One thing was clear. Mount Gemspire and Lydora weren't people anyone wanted to mess with.
If you're tired, get some sleep, Connor said softly. "I'll wake you when we get there."
Okay, Lydia murmured, closing her eyes.
With everything handled, Lydia and Connor could finally head back to the Capital.
Cameron and Kylie had been worried sick while Lydia was away. They'd spent days fretting that she'd run into trouble, out there all on her own.
Lydia slept deeply, and when she opened her eyes, they were already back in the Capital.
"Wana grab dinner before you head home? Connor asked. After spending the last three days with her, he wasn't ready to let her go just yet.