"Okay, who's going to make the call?"

The five look at each other before Kenna takes the phone and slips hers out of her pocket. She searches for a voice changer app and downloads it before testing it out.

"It works," she says, handing the phones over to Francis.

"Why me?"

"Because you're leading this?" Mary asks.

"I thought that was me!" Catherine cries out in shock. "The eldest, although young, is the brains of the operation."

Bash rolls his eyes, taking both phones from his brother. "I'll do it. As it was my idea in the first place." He clears his throat and dials Henry's number. It's quickly answered. "Is this Henry Valois?"

"Yes."

"I have something you want."

"How much? That's how these things go, right?"

"Seems like this stick is important to you," Bash says, shrugging lightly at the others. "And I've seen what's on it. How do lawyers fare in jail, do you know?"

Henry sighs heavily. "Look, whatever the price, I'll give it to you. You can even pawn my wife's jewellery, I just need that stick."

"You can have the stick... eventually," Bash says, hanging up. "I'll call in a few hours."

Mary blows out a puff of air. "So, now he's shitting his pants."

"Good," Kenna says, placing her hands on her hips. "I know something else we could use on him."

She digs into her bag and hands Francis a file.

"He gave that to me for safekeeping when we were still friendly," she says tightly. "He forgot about it, I guess. Said he couldn't trust anyone at home to hide it there."

Francis flicks through before giving it over to Bash. "Money laundering?"

"So, this firm is losing money because Henry is paying off the French organised crime?" Mary asks, eyes wide. "Francis!"

"Surely he wouldn't be that stupid..." Catherine mutters. "Jesus, what has Henry got us into?! Narcisse can use this!"

"Who else knows about this?" Bash asks Kenna.

She shakes her head. "No one. I kept it in a cereal box and I've never invited someone to my new place..." But you, she thinks, meeting his eyes briefly before they look away.

Bash sighs. "Great, this is exactly what we need," he says sarcastically. "This won't only hurt him, it hurts all of us. All of us in this room are compromised if the police find out."

"What do we do with it?" Mary asks.

"Catherine will hold onto it for now," Bash starts, giving her the file to look over. "Along with all the rest of the evidence we have against Henry. We must do everything we can to remain a united front and protect this firm's reputation. Or else Henry will bring us all down with him."

"Shit," Francis mutters, pulling his phone out and seeing a text from Louis. "Killian's awake. I'll go with Louis to question him."

Bash nods. "I've got to pick Irene up from school, Isobel's working late."

"I could come with you?" Kenna suggests.

"I-If you want," Bash replies, giving her a small smile.

"Oh, just kiss already," Catherine mutters with a roll of her eyes as she grabs her bag and stuffs the file inside. "We all know you've slept with each other."

Kenna blushes. "Actually, no marriages were consummated on this end. We're friends. Or at least something close to that..."

Bash rolls his eyes, pulling a face at Kenna's way. "Ignore them," he says as Francis and Mary chuckle at their expense. "We'll see you all later at my place. 8 PM, don't be late."

Just before Bash and Kenna leave, Francis pulls his brother out and off to a side, looking around for eavesdroppers. When it's safe, he turns back to Bash and hands him a USB stick.

"I found this beside the one you gave him," Francis mutters. "Sex tapes."

Bash raises his brows. "Whose?"

"His and..." Francis's eyes draw over to Kenna who's talking to Mary about the baby, the women's hands rubbing the baby bump happily. "I didn't know what it was, I don't know why I took it. I looked at it when I got home and..." He takes a deep intake of breath in. "She told him to 'stop' a couple of times and that he was hurting her. He didn't."

Bash sets his jaw, squeezing the stick in his palm. "Don't say anything to anyone about this."

"I won't," Francis promises. "If it was Mary, I'd lose my shit. I don't want to invade her privacy. She can either burn it or keep it for future situations. Like a case against Henry. This, pushing him out of SVM, isn't enough. He has to pay for what he did to her and all those other women, including our mothers. She's a good person, she doesn't deserve that."

"Thanks for letting me know," Bash says, stuffing the stick into his inside pocket when Kenna heads up to them. "Ready?"

She nods, smiling. "Yeah," she says, turning to Francis. "When I see you and Mary later, I've got some things for the baby to give you."

"Oh, thanks," Francis says happily. "See you later then."

"I'll head to the car," Kenna says, accepting Bash's car keys as she heads off.

Bash sighs, turning to Francis. "We're doing the right thing, aren't we?"

"If he's not protected by SVM, things will be smooth sailing. Don't worry, we won't do anything that will fall back on us, most of all, on Kenna," Francis tells him. "Now, go. I have to see Louis."

Walking away, the stick feels like a burning fire against Bash's chest and he wonders if telling Kenna is the right thing or not. He'll bring it up at another time.

...

"I-I can't remember," Killian breathes out, turning to his uncle. "I don't even know what the damn day is."

Louis places a calming hand on Killian's shoulder. "It's Saturday. Saturday the 12th of January."

Killian frowns. "All I remember is that I was coming home after chess-club at school."

Louis gives Francis a look as if to say, 'See? He's a perfect angel', and he turns back to Killian. "Don't worry. Just relax, bud. We'll find out what happened, okay?"

Killian nods, patting his uncle's hand. "Thank you."

Louis smiles, gesturing for Francis for them to leave as Maddie comes inside to swoon over her son, pressing kisses on his head as Killian's father and Maddie's husband, Milo enters, shaking the men's hands.

"Find out who did this to my son," Milo tells them. "I'll have anything you need to be made available for you."

"Don't worry," Francis replies. "We're here to find the truth and to stop Killian from being punished for something he didn't do." They noticed the cufflinks on Killian's less dominant hand attached to the hospital bed but didn't bring it up, the boy seemingly unaware. "Good day, Milo."

"Good day, gentlemen," Milo mutters before Francis and Louis head outside.

"I want to know about Killian's friends," Francis starts as they get to his car. "Who he spends time with, who's his girlfriend, people at his clubs... Everything. Then I want to know all the places he frequents with these people. Especially if one of them is that place that got burnt down."

Louis nods. "I'll find them out for you. Thank you for doing this."

"It's not over yet," Francis tells him over the car before they get in. "This doesn't mean a trial is non-existent. Now that he's talking, the judge will accept the prosecution team's probes to go ahead with the trial. We're nowhere done with this."

Louis sighs heavily. "And it doesn't look good with Antoine's divorce case. People will think we're problematic-"

"And use that against Killian," Francis finishes as they get into the car and close the doors. "Innocent or guilty, it's my job to keep Killian out of prison. But if he did do this, Louis-"

"I'll strangle him myself," Louis says tightly. "I don't give my trust lightly but when we were kids, Maddie and I were troublemakers too. A few lock-ups and warnings... I don't want Killian to be like that. We're better people now, we don't need to be resented just because our parents are rich enough to bail us out every time. We want this generation to do better."

Francis nods. "Then, time to get to work."

...

"Francis found this," Bash says, leaning against the back of his sofa as Kenna tidies up after Irene.

The girl has gone to bed after being watered and fed and played with, warming up to her mother's cousin and his beautiful female friend. They're pretty much friends at this point. Dinner was lovely and he took her home afterwards before sharing a small glass of Bailey's as a nightcap. They didn't kiss, but Kenna knows something is there. She realised the second Bash blushed and hurried to the bathroom after she brushed against him by accident when they washed the dishes after dinner.

They are husband and wife, yet they feel like primary school kids who blush or stammer around each other. She wants more but they need to take things slowly, she can't afford another mess of a relationship, she needs someone better.

Kenna turns to him, placing Irene's new Build-A-Bear onto the sofa as she takes the stick from Bash's hand. "What is this?"

"Yours and my father's sex tape," Bash informs her. He watches as she pales, her brows furrowing in confusion and then he's sickened to know that she doesn't know.

"Sex...?" She breathes out, going around to take a much-needed seat on the sofa as he rounds it to join her, taking one of her hands. "He filmed us having sex?!"

"I'm so sorry, Kenna," Bash whispers, cupping her cheek as tears spring to her eyes. "I didn't watch it. Francis found it with the other stick and he stopped watching after a while. He couldn't continue, he got angry and upset for you..."

Kenna lets a few tears fall. "If Francis didn't find it... He would have used that at court."

"He probably wouldn't, since it was filmed without your consent," Bash informs her. "But we can use this against him."

"I don't want this to go to trial-"

"There are a few women who are willing to come forward," Bash cuts her off gently. "You won't be the only one."

Kenna runs her hands down her face, standing up. "I need to think," she tells him. "Tell Mary and Francis, I'll drop off the stuff later."

"Kenna-"

"I can't, Bash," she says, her voice breaking. "I want this to be over. I don't want to even think about your father! It's like I'm learning something new every day and I can't take it, I'll get paranoid even more and I can't function-" She's wrapped up by Bash, him pressing a kiss on her head as she sobs, gripping onto his shirt tightly. "I'm scared."

"I know," he whispers. "You don't have to do anything you don't want. We'll find a way to stop him."

She sniffles, pulling back a little to look at him. "I think I love you."

Before he can kiss her, Irene calls out for him and he sighs, resting his forehead against hers as she shakes against him.

"I'm going to go home," she says after a short while, stepping back from him as she wipes her tear-stained cheeks. "Say 'night' to Irene for me."

"Yeah, I will," Bash promises, grabbing the teddy from the sofa as it's most likely what Irene's searching for. "Get home safely. Text me?"

"I will," Kenna replies, giving him a small smile before getting her things and going.

...

"You have something else I want," Henry says. "Name your prices."

"I don't think money is enough," Bash says, twirling the USB stick between his fingers. "I watched both of these and these are career-ending."

Henry gulps. "What else do you want?"

Bash bites his lip, the stick heavy between his fingers. "Might just... leak them." I could, couldn't I? Show the world what a monster he is. He's angry with his father for all he did to Kenna. The unlikely faux-wife of his who he has feelings for. If he does this, he's ruining her life too but she could gain support, she could come out of this unscathed as the victim.

"No, you can't!"

Bash closes his eyes. He's alone. The others were meant to be here for this but after Kenna left, he had to make the call himself. Had to taunt Henry as he taunted Kenna. He can't get away with this, he won't have it, it's wrong and his wife is innocent.

"That poor woman. You've hurt her more than you can ever imagine. Men like you are filth," Bash continues, feeling his blood boil. "Disgusting love rats. And don't you have a wife? You're ruining so many lives here and you sit down and let it all burn around you. Forget the money, if you don't step down from your firm and relinquish the power you have, the videos will be leaked. You have twenty-four hours to make a statement. The police won't even be able to help you with the mob I'll send your way."

He hangs up, his hand clenching into fists after he's thrown the phone onto the coffee table.

After a while, he gets up when he's calm enough, checks on Irene and heads back to the living space to get a glass of something strong. He downs it desperately, sending Kenna a text once she's texted to let him know that she's at home.

She loves him.

And he loves her too but he'll save it for a special moment. Not in the middle of this storm between them and his father raging on and they can't forget about Narcisse running about with Knox on the other end...

For now, he makes do by retrieving his grandmother's ring from his safe behind the painting on the hallway wall, inhaling the soft flowery scent of his late grandmother and mother on the velvet purple box before pocking the small object.

Soon.

...

"Where are you going?"

Catherine turns and scowls. "Dear Lord, Henry! Haven't you heard of trousers?"

"Shut up and listen," Henry says, dragging her away from eavesdroppers. "I am screwed!"

"Who by? The girl whose lips were wrapped around you this morn-"

"Remember the burglary we had a few days ago?" Henry asks, pulling her into his chest even more.

Catherine rolls her eyes hard. "How can I forget? My precious diamonds, all gone!"

"I'll buy you new ones-"

"We're getting divorced, I don't need shit from you," she replies, narrowing her eyes. "Now what?"

Henry sighs heavily, running his hand over his balding head. "The arsehole took two memory sticks. They contain... delicate situations."

"How delicate, Henry?" Catherine asks, feigning fear.

"I could be sent to jail," Henry tells her. "Our children fatherless-"

"Please, they've been used to your lack of presence for years now," Catherine replies, forcing her arm from his grip. "What do you want from me?"

Henry bows his head. "I need to leave. Get out of the firm, out of the country, out of everything... Or else he'll leak it all and ruin us all."

Catherine mentally curses Bash for not letting them be present as she crosses her arms and clicks her tongue. "Well, then it's done."

"What?"

"You leave Stuart, Valois & Medici. Sign your rights to Francis and leave," Catherine states simply. "Turns out, this little burglary is a blessing in disguise because if I don't have to see your ugly face ever again... I'd die a happy woman. Hell, they can sell all of my jewellery. It's worth what I'll get in return."

Henry narrows his eyes. "You bitch."

"We never cared for each other, Henry. Even the sex was menial at best," she tells him, pulling her gloves on. "Now, be a good little boy and write your leaving speech. I'll get the cake right now to celebrate. 'Best Wishes, Henry' sound good to you?" Then she pulls a face. "Probably, 'Good Riddance!', sounds better!"

Her breath hitches in her throat when he grips her shoulder, eyes boring into hers and she smiles widely.

"I'll get my divorce, you'll leave SVM and then we can all breathe a little bit easier," Catherine tells him. "Now, let me go unless you want me to add abuse to our divorce trial?"

He lets go of her and she presses a kiss on his cheek, tapping the other one afterwards.

"Good boy," she says, heading back to the foyer and throwing over her shoulder, "I'll be back whenever I want, you can deal with the kids."