Seal My Fate (The Oxford Legacy, #3)

by Roxy Sloane

I’ve known every man in this room at least half my life, if not more: boarding school, university clubs, and all the same parties. Our parents were friends, and so here we all are. But somehow, I barely recognize them anymore. Hairlines are receding, torsos are bulging with middle-aged spread, and there’s a cruelty in their jokes I don’t recognize anymore, complaining about their wives and children, like a prison sentence somebody forced them into taking.

Awww, isn't he just so refreshing!

She’s changed everything for me, I realize. She opened my eyes to the corruption and seedy lies soaked into the fabric of my privileged society. I thought that simply turning my back on it and forging my own path in life was enough, frittering away my time with parties and women, like that was any better. Until she demanded more from me. Justice. Honor.

I tease, but it is nice to see, when we get dual POV, what he really thinks.

I turn to my mother, shocked. She meets my eyes defiantly. “She brought it on herself, getting greedy, threatening to report the whole thing. As if morals mattered to her. She was happy enough to take the money and falsify the data to begin with. It was her fault the drug didn’t work in the first place,” my mother purses her lips in distaste. “If she’d been better at her job, then none of this would have happened.”

This is a fun new development. We don't suspect women nearly enough. Look at my implicit bias showing!

“And who’s fault is that?” Robert explodes suddenly. His face is red, shameful and frustrated. “If your girlfriend hadn’t started digging around, if that sister of hers had just stayed dead, then none of this would be a problem!”

🤣 What a fucked up family!

I’m shaking with rage. My own brother. He tried to kill Tessa, fired a bullet right at her that flew only inches from her heart. “How could you?” I demand. “What the fuck is going on with this family?”

Ha! I'm with you, Saint.

I back away, shooting them all a look of pure disgust. “You’re dead to me now,” I tell them, finality in my voice. “The Ashford name, the one you’ll do anything to protect… It’s yours. Keep it.”

I mean, i would hope so. You know, what you really should have done is record all this. Go in there with a mic instead of waving a gun around.

“It wasn’t just you,” I tell Wren in horror, bile rising in my throat. “This has been going on for years. Countless victims.” She looks back at me, stunned. “What the hell have they been doing down here?” “It’s called loyalty.” The voice makes us spin around. Hugh is standing in the doorway, a grim smile on his face. And a gun in his hand—pointed directly at us.

Eww! But they're sexually abusing them!! It's not just drugging and imprisoning witnesses, threatening them and coercing them not to talk... They're also sexually abusing them!!! What the fuck does that have to do with loyalty?!?!

“They do what it takes to prove their loyalty,” Hugh finishes for me. “Call it mutually assured destruction.”

EWW!!! RICH SNOBS COME HERE AND FUCK UNCONSCIOUS KIDNAPPED PEOPLE TO PROVE THEY'RE LOYAL TO OTHER RICH SNOBS!!!

And since Saint would never have agreed to play a part in all of this, Robert had to represent the family.

I love how Saint is immediately absolved. How did they know Saint wouldn't play a part?? I mean going into this series i don't think anyone had more of a reputation than he did! Seriously no one tried to get him in on this????

Hugh nods. “I was due to pledge my loyalty, so it was the perfect timing. The drugs were supposed to wipe away everything,” he adds, talking to Wren over my shoulder. “But clearly, we didn’t get the dose just right. Too bad. But you still should have kept your mouth shut and left us all well enough alone. But no, you and your sister just had to stir up trouble at the worst time. My father is weeks away from becoming Prime Minister, and we all stand to make billions from the drug launch. We can’t afford any loose ends.”

Ok... I was already on board with this being interesting because of the pharma conspiracy and now it turns out YES there is a pharma conspiracy but ALSO we're a bunch of rich assholes kidnapping and fucking people to all hold something over each other's head and the pharma conspiracy was just a convenient reason this time... Layers, man!! This is fucked up!!

“Where’s the fire extinguisher, or a hose? Your father has to have one in here, somewhere.”

You gonna use water on a gasoline fire?? There's our smart girl...

Which means he’s still eye-poppingly wealthy.

🤣🤣 convenient