“So, it was all nonsense?”
Cut shook his head. “Not quite. You have a cousin. A few times removed but still bearing the Weaver name. We would look at all avenues if the future required it.”
Poor cousin.
I overflowed with rage. “Do you ever listen to yourself? You’re talking about people, for God’s sake.”
If Cut went after my unknown cousin, that didn’t explain the previous generations that’d had no children or were killed off before carrying on the bloodline. How did it continue for so long when having a child was never a guarantee?
I knew how. They’d amended it. Tweaked the so-called unbreakable contract to fit with the Hawks’ demented ideals.
Marshall plucked the paper from my hands. “I believe we’re getting off topic, Ms. Weaver.” Waving the parchment, he said, “Let’s focus on today’s subjects. Happy now you’ve seen the evidence with your own eyes?”
“Happy isn’t a word I know anymore.” I bared my teeth. “She wouldn’t have signed that without being threatened. I don’t care what you say.”
That fleeting afternoon when my mother returned home, adorned with the diamond collar and hugging me so tightly, came to mind. She’d been terrified but resigned. Broken but strong. I hadn’t understood back then, but now I did.
She’d reached the same stage I had. The stage where nothing else mattered but getting even, claiming justice.
There’s a point to this meeting.
My heart froze solid, finally understanding. “I won’t sign anything. I can assure you of that. You might as well pack up and piss off because I’ll tear apart anything you put in front of me.”
Jasmine growled; Cut merely chuckled. “I’m sure if you did that, you’d make Daniel a very happy man.”
Daniel draped an arm over me. “Oh, please, Weaver. Do it for me. You have my full permission to refuse the amendment and cut Jaz out of the updated terms.”
“Like hell she will.” Jasmine looped her fingers together in aggression. “You’ll sign, Nila. You’ll see.”
I didn’t reply, glaring at the table instead.
Marshall shuffled the paper. “All right, let’s carry on.” Pinching the top sheet from the newest looking tower, he pushed it toward me. “This is the latest amendment and requires your signature.”
My blood charged through overheated veins. “I told you—”
“Shut it.” Jasmine snatched the paper and stabbed the bottom where an empty box waited for my life to spill upon it. “Do it. It’s your only choice.”
Our eyes locked. Not only did I hate her for what she’d done and how much she’d tricked me, but I hated that she looked so much like him.
Jethro.
The shape of her nose. The curve of her cheekbones. She was the closest in appearance to him, and it hurt to hate someone who looked so much like the man I loved.
“I told you. I’m not signing anything.”
Jaz’s cheeks flushed. I wouldn’t put it past her to slap me. In fact, I wanted her to because then I’d have an excuse to fight with a girl in a wheelchair.
Could I kill her? Could I slide my blade into her heart all while knowing Jethro had cared for her?
He was tricked…same as me.
I would honour his memory by destroying yet another person who’d betrayed him.
Hartwell shifted in his chair. “You don’t know the terms yet. Listen before being hasty.”
Jasmine tore her eyes away from mine, glaring at the lawyer. “The terms being that I have full right to both Weavers, Nila and Vaughn. In return, Daniel can have the estate and all monetary wealth that comes from being heir.”
I flinched, shivering in the sudden arctic hatred she projected.
“That has been discussed, Ms. Jasmine. I feel you’ll be satisfied with the arrangements.”