“My dear Violet,
I’m assuming you’ve been living your days of joy and love like I suggested.
I know your boyfriend is trying everything in his power to prevent me from getting back to what is mine, but the truth is, he’s just fooling himself.
I’m closer than you all think, and even with a lot of packs after me, no one seem to be able to find me.
Which only proves how you’re all out of my league.
Anyway, I heard you’re trying to persuade your sister, or should I say, ex-sister. Is that even a thing?
I suggest that you stop. My Gwen is too smart to fall for this stupid speech of love and the whole “do the right thing”.
She is already doing that.. Rebuilding the things you destroyed when you ran away to your boyfriend’s arms like a scared and disappointed little girl.
Gwen has the strength to do what needs to be done, and soon I’ll be back to where I belong and shouldn’t have left in the first place.
And after I do that, I'll come for you. You know I don’t have much tolerance for traitors, don’t you?
With love,
Dad.”
Violet realized her mouth opened in complete shock.
The fact that Arden could still be sarcastic and joke about those things were something out of her understanding.
But even so, she felt the urge to warn Jack and Lance about it.
She wasn’t thinking clearly and maybe she was letting something escape her eyes as she read the paper in her hands.
Running away from the room without even changing her clothes, Violet rushed to the hospital, hoping that she could find the two of them there.
But there wasn’t anyone. Lucinda was sleeping and the doctor said they had just left.
Violet then proceeded to the only place she thought they could be.
With the letter wrinkled in her hand, Violet entered Jack’s office skidding.
As expected, the two men were there, talking about something she didn’t bother to ask.
“Violet, what happened?” Jack asked with concerned eyes when he saw her entering the room.
“I…” she tried to speak, but needed to stop to grasp some air. “I…”
Seeing that the words weren’t coming out, Violet simply stretched her hand and handed over the letter to him.
Lance looked at it with intrigued eyes.
Jack let him get closer and read the content of the paper over his shoulder.
“Are you kidding me?” Lance bursted out after he finished.
Jack clenched his fist with the letter inside of his hand.
“How the hell did he get this letter in your room?” Jack asked more for himself than for any of the others present.
“I asked myself the same question. Peter is in the dungeon, isn’t he? Then it wasn’t him. Maybe it arrived by the post office and someone put it on my pillow.” Violet suggested as she also considered that option.
It wasn’t something impossible.
“How can he be so despicable? Calling you my dear, and threatening you right after. He’s a monster.” Lance spat it out, going to the window to look at the view.
Violet noticed his hands shaking slightly but didn’t say anything.
She could imagine how Lance was feeling.
It should be even harder for him. He had fought by Arden’s side for years, and when Arden adopted him he was old enough to understand some things.
So he should be the one feeling most betrayed.
“I’m going to talk to Peter. I should’ve done that already.” Jack said as he left the office without even looking at them.
He looked distressed, and Violet worried that he was going to do something reckless.
But she couldn’t do anything to stop him.
Lance was still looking at the window without uttering a word.
“Lance?” she murmured, trying to catch his attention.
But he seemed to be too far from there, so she tried again, louder this time.
“Lance? Are you okay?”
Slowly, with his eyes still looking beyond the walls, Lance turned to face her.
He seemed to be mumbling something to himself that she couldn’t understand, and his eyes were glazed, like he was trying to figure out a really hard math question.
“What is it?”
“I’m just trying to remember something…” he commented still not looking at her. “The letter said that he was closer than we thought, right?”
Violet nodded, but then reminded that he wasn’t looking at her.
“Yes, why?” she replied.
“Once, I overheard Arden telling someone about a secret room inside the palace. But it couldn’t be…”
“What? What couldn’t be, Lance? You’re making me nervous!” she complained, slamming the table in front of her.
Lance seemed to get out of a hypnosis.
He blinked a few times as he looked at her.
“I’ve never seen this hidden room, but I know how to get there. If it’s true that Arden has a secret den inside the palace, could it be possible that he’s been there this whole time?”
Violet’s jaw dropped in absolute terror.
“What?” she whispered.
But then the door made a loud sound, and they both turned to see what it was.
Jack was back and he seemed pale and lost.
“Jack, what happened? Is everything okay?”
He closed the door and walked towards his chair, where he simply crumbled.
“Peter is dead. He killed himself.”
