Heartstrings on Fire novel Chapter 1154

Mono was talking a mile a minute as he bolted for the door, eventually disappearing into the night. Agnes didn't even try to stop him. She had asked Karla to get him drunk, hoping to loosen his tongue when his guard was down. Sure enough, she gleaned some secrets.

Mono had let slip that The Obsidian Order was now under the control of Albert’s Arms, and just like that, Agnes felt a chill down her spine. It was as though the truth was veiled, just out of reach, and yet, she couldn't quite pull back the curtain.

Agnes lingered in the Capital for two more days until Jarvis rang her up, revealing a breakthrough. The bullet casings found on the balcony traced back to room 108 on the sixth floor, a detail that sent Agnes's heart plummeting. That room was Kearney's private sanctuary.

The night of Phenix's wedding, he'd been drunk, staggering, and Naylor had escorted him to that very room. Agnes had double-checked the room number with Naylor herself. As Jarvis recited the room number, everything clicked into place for Agnes. The ugly truth she'd been trying to avoid stared her in the face: Kearney was behind it all. But the thought that he could have killed her brother was too much to bear.

Jarvis's call had come in the morning, just as Agnes was planning to hit the grocery store for some veggies to whip up lunch. The news left her reeling, groceries forgotten in the trunk of her car as she struggled to process everything.

"Ms. Pritchard, are you there? Do you have any leads?" Jarvis's voice snapped her back to reality, and all she could muster was a request to meet in person.

They decided on a bookstore near the Ford Hotel, a discreet location because Jarvis was without a vehicle. Agnes's drive there was a blur, her hands trembling so much she could barely start the car. The truth about Kearney orchestrating the tragedy at Phenix's wedding, possibly out of twisted love turned to hatred, was unfathomable. Yet evidence pointed to him, suggesting his ultimate target was Reggie. But why? Agnes's head spun with unanswered questions.

Without concrete evidence, all she had were connections leading back to Kearney, hinting he might also be linked to a drug trafficking case that had mysteriously gone cold. The realization that Kearney was virtually running Albert’s Arms, devising schemes right under Reggie's nose, was terrifying.

Agnes was at a loss. If Kearney was behind everything, what was she supposed to do next?