Legacy // H.S

25.

'Payback's gonna come your way'

*

Harry

'How long does it take for one woman to get ready for a meeting with her dad?' Zayn asks from the driving seat.

We told him and Babz about our desire to steal the rest of the letters the next day, formulating a plan together. Atlas and I will go in, but they'll remain outside on watch, our getaway drivers. Liam has been secretly helping with the security and tech side of things without Claude knowing, because we knew he'd say it was a reckless idea. And it's true, we're not denying that. Going directly into the lion's den is one of the stupidest things we could do, but that's why it's genius.

It's the last place they'd expect us, especially after we've been hit with so many blows already. While Santine is aware that I know where she keeps her mother's belongings, she'd never assume that I'd willingly try to steal them from her. She'd think I'm smarter than that, that we all are, but this is our way of playing them for fools for once.

None of the others will be brought into it, though. I fought with Babz and Zayn for hours about them coming along, both Atlas and I insistent that we didn't want more people to be put in harm's way. But we're a team, and when one goes down, we all do. Getting to stay outside was the only compromise they were willing to come to, so we all had to settle with it.

In theory, it shouldn't be too dangerous, though. Routine, really. Sneak in undetected, which should be possible now that Liam has encrypted the security system of her apartment, get the letters, and leave.

Santine lives in one of those apartment blocks that's far too expensive simply for the purpose of saying it's expensive, jutting out of the historic London skyline with dominance, even though everyone hates looking at it. She moved out of her father's house at 20 years old, originally intending to pursue fashion school like the walking cliché she is, but eventually she went into business with her father. At least on the surface, anyway. To many, they think she manages the press the company gets, and she does, but it's not just that. It's also about drawing the attention away from her father's activities, scouting people that will help her do it, and finding ways to manipulate others into silence.

I suppose that's why she insisted on getting a place of her own, just so she had some way to escape Hugo. I wonder if he's aware of all the things she gets up to there, though. It is his money, or rather the money he's swindled from millions, that paid for it.

Under that sky-scraping roof, all sorts of illegal and damning acts happen. Parties for sex and drugs and gambling. Orgies and dealings, bets and bullying. Everything salacious, everything sadistic. She likes to bring people that are both her friends and acquaintances, but mostly people her father would very much like to have dirt on, so she can break them down, encourage addiction, and then use it to ruin them. It's always a game.

When I first started dating her, I wasn't aware of this side of her life. And then slowly, she introduced me. She told me about the gatherings, the types of freedom they could bring, and she invited me. I joined a couple, lapping up the booze and sex and money, but they were never to my taste. It was too much for me, too claustrophobic. Only after Hugo made me take on a more violent role in his work did I finally learn the purpose of them.

Of course, her father isn't clued up on the exact details of them or how she gets the information she provides him with, but he knows enough. It wouldn't surprise me if the place is bugged, or secret cameras have been set up to keep tabs on his precious little daughter, though. That's something we've had to put into consideration of our plans, and Liam has been working tirelessly the past week to locate whatever signals he could find there.