Chapter 120 Ch. 90
“First order of priority would be tightening our security and reviewing where things went wrong,” Ethan said, looking at the crowd of men gathered in the study.
The clock on the wall read 8:30 a.m., and the early light filtered in through the curtains. High-ranking clan members had traveled to the house as soon as they heard Lorenzo was gone, their expensive cars lining the driveway like a funeral procession.
They stood in small groups inside Lorenzo’s study, looking very sober. Earlier on, they had held a small memorial in the garden for him. There was no body, but his ashes had been scooped up by a human servant—since they were toxic to them—and placed in the ground.
She was, of course, compelled right after.
And then they paid their respects, saying a few words at his grave and dropping flowers.
Prunella had come with her parents, staying only briefly—but Zara was more than glad to see her. Luckily, her parents agreed to let her stay the day with her friend.
“There is supposed to be a ceremony, sir,” one man muttered, stepping forward. He was a stocky vampire with short-cropped hair and a look that said he didn't like taking orders from a teenager. Ethan despised people like him.
“The tradition of the Moreau house says we must swear you in before any major orders are—”
“That will wait,” Ethan interrupted, fighting an eye roll. Swearing-in was one hell of a long and tedious process. “We cannot afford to be distracted by sentiments now, be they tradition or not. The ceremony will wait until I am sure we are not going to be murdered in our sleep again.”
“About security,” a man began, pushing his way to the front of the group.
Ethan recognized him but did not know his name. He was a clan elder, one of those men who always had his nose in everyone’s business. He looked at Ethan with a look that was not quite respectful, his lips curled in a mean way.
“As long as we have the girl in our clan, we will always be under attack,” the elder continued, crossing his arms. “We have enough of her blood now. We have the power we need to defend ourselves. Other clan members who do not live in this house have been fed and vetted. There is no reason to keep the target on our backs. We should get rid of the liability.”
Ethan did not answer immediately.
He let the silence grow until the old man started to shift his feet on the carpet. Ethan’s lips stretched into a sinister smile, his eyes flashing a deep, bloody red. He started to walk toward the elder, slowly and menacingly.
“What did you just suggest?” Ethan asked in a whisper. He still had that smile etched on his face.
“I am only saying what we are all thinking,” the elder said, though he took a step back as Ethan got closer. “She is a target. If she is gone, the other clans have no reason to come for us. We have the power already. Why keep the source if it brings death to our door?”
Ethan moved so fast the man did not even have time to blink. He grabbed the elder by the front of his shirt and shoved him toward the large window.
“Do you think I am asking for your advice on who stays in this house?” Ethan hissed, his grip locked on the man’s throat.
He grabbed the man’s hand and ripped the daylight ring off his finger.
The elder began to scream. It was a loud, horrible sound as the sun touched his skin, making it smoke and blister in seconds. Ethan held him there, right in the light, his face only inches from the burning vampire. The other men in the room gasped, but no one moved to help.
“If you ever speak about her like that again,” Ethan hissed over the sound of the man's agony, “I will not pull you back. I will stand here and watch you turn into a pile of gray dust. And then I will go after your family just to make sure every trace of your fucking lineage is gone.”
Ethan threw the man onto the floor, away from the light, just seconds before the damage became permanent. The elder scrambled away, crawling into the darker corners of the room as he clutched his burnt hand and sobbed like a child.
“What the fuck do you guys think?” Ethan asked, turning to face the rest of the room. He looked at their pale faces and the fear in their eyes. “That you can tell me what to do? You listen to what I say and you do not argue with me, for fuck's sake!”
The men looked at each other, their faces filled with a new kind of fear. They had known Lorenzo was a killer, a man who did not care if he lost a few subordinates because he could always make more.
Looking at Ethan now, they realized the son was no different. He did not care that this man was hundreds of years older than him. He looked ready to kill them all just to prove a point.
“Suggest, yes,” Ethan said, his voice dropping into a more dangerous tone. “But if you so much as suggest something stupid, I will fucking kill you myself.”
He walked to the center of the room, looking at every single one of them until they lowered their eyes.
“Zara is not someone to use and discard,” he continued, his voice echoing in the quiet. “She has a place here. Priority number two is her protection. If anything happens to her—even by accident—I will kill every person in this room. I will make it slow. I will make it painful. I will make sure your families will suffer for years to come.”
He walked toward the door and stopped, turning a bit. “No one touches or harms what’s mine.”