torturous death, you do as you’re told… My first assignment was infiltrating a stubborn family.”
“ The richest family in the country had held out for decades. The patriarch suffered an unfortunate accident. The son and daughter weren’t old enough to join our ranks, so the mother was left to raise her children. Their religion was their priority. I respected them for it, as did my elders. Faith in one’s God should trump all else. Ethics are nothing compared to one’s children, but faith… If you believe your God has an ultimate plan for you, then you accept your death because it was fated by your God. Another generation, another try, another set of stubborn religious fanatics. A corporate jet explodes mid-flight, eradicating an entire generation. The small family was down to three- one elderly female and two minor children. The heir to all of that power was my responsibility.”
“ I knew what would happen if I didn’t do my duty, as did Daniel. With Daniel’s help via his wife, Mrs. Zeitler agreed to betroth her youngest grandson to me. He was taken into my care until he was of age, and then we married. My next duty was to create a child, an heir to bind our families... My sensibilities,” Diane shudders, her body racked with pain. “I am a lesbian; we all know this, as do the elders. After my first punishment, I couldn’t stand the touch of a man. So I sent my husband to Olivia. She made the child they wanted, but it wasn’t within the confines of marriage. I was punished for my insolence in the way my father was punished for his. My son was taken from me, and later my Celeste’s son, and our housekeeper’s child was mistakenly taken in lieu of my sister’s daughter, Divina. You all know what happened next. I have no need to relive that particular torment.”
“Daniel and I have done everything that was asked of us from that moment on. Dalton’s arrival signaled that Pierre fatally learned that lesson, and now Olivia is living out his punishment. I’ve been left alone since Ray Hunter’s attack attracted the notice of the FBI. It was an assignment and punishment gone awry. One of Daniel’s last assignments was Regina. He was punished for failing to deliver a married Grant and Regina with their lovely son and daughter. Grant’s false death pushed the punishment onto one of his siblings. They received a reprieve when Whitt married Regina and adopted the children as his own- a unified family with an exorbitant amount of money and two minor heirs coming of age. You’re their golden goose. After Daniel’s punishment, I swore I’d never allow this scourge to visit upon our children’s generation.”
“I took a stand, Daniel took a stand, and Olivia took a stand. Olivia lost her cherished club, I’ ve lost ShadowHaven, and they were coming after Daniel next. We’ve been working to stop this cycle. I divorced Marcus before they could touch the Zeitler money. I was punished by losing my fortune and home. I have nothing left. Daniel was being proactive by signing it all to his heir. Our children have paid the sacrifice. Restraint, the paparazzi, the Mistress and Master of Restraint books, the events leading up to Adelaide’s imprisonment at WinterCrest, all of it was the elders. We don’t want to do these heinous actions, but we have to or pay the ultimate price. It may not even be our death, because that would be too easy- a quick, painless trip to purgatory. If you want out, you offer up one of your next generation to take your place.”
“Olivia refused, and as a result, they tried to murder her son and pin it on her. She loves her children. Spyder was pushed away for her own safety. Olivia’s erratic behavior is to throw off the elders. I refused to give them one of the next generation- he’s my only child. I have to figure this out before Ava is of age. Daniel was saved when one of his children took his place. Now we’re fighting to save them from a similar fate. This… this creates