I couldn't breathe not because of the smoke, not because of the chaos, because suddenly everything I believed about my parents was falling apart. My mother hadn't died in a random accident. She had been murdered and somehow Arthur Blackwood was connected to it. I looked at Victor. My hands shook violently.
"Why?"
The word came out broken.
"Why would Arthur Blackwood want my mother dead?"
Victor opened his mouth then stopped. My patience snapped.
"No."
I stepped closer.
"Don't do that."
His jaw tightened.
"Elena"
"No more half-truths."
My voice echoed across the harbor.
"Tell me everything."
For a moment nobody spoke then Victor sighed.
"Twenty years ago, Arthur Blackwood wasn't just a businessman."
A chill slid down my spine.
"What was he?"
Victor's eyes darkened.
"A c
