“I’m sure many of you are curious as to the reason I asked you all here tonight.”

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd. Everyone wanted to know why they’d been summoned, and judging by the nervous glances they were shooting each other, they were all wondering which of their enemies might already have made a deal with Madeline and what it might mean for them.

“Tonight is the beginning of a new era in Ashland,” she said. “And yet, also a return to the old ways.”

More murmurs, the tone a bit more speculative this time. Old ways could be good or bad, depending on your point of view.

“All of you knew my mother,” Madeline said. “Many of you worked for her, or paid her to let you go about your business. And for years, the system worked, and everyone got rich. Until one woman came along—Gin Blanco.”

This time, the murmurs degenerated into ugly mutters, curses, and sneers. I knew that I hadn’t exactly been beloved, but I hadn’t expected quite this level of hate. I should have, though. Given how many people here had tried to kill me.

“Blanco thumbed her nose at my mother and killed her men. And for what? To add yet another sad, sordid chapter to an old family feud that Mab had forgotten about years ago.”

My eyebrows shot up at the ringing conviction in Madeline’s voice. Mab hadn’t forgotten about the Snow family and the daughter who would supposedly grow up to kill her one day. It had always been lurking there, in the back of her mind. And when she found out that Bria was still alive, she’d gone after my sister with everything she had, thinking that Bria was the one who had both Ice and Stone magic, instead of me.

But Madeline was twisting the truth around, making me look like more of a villain than I already was. My fingers clenched around my champagne flute, causing the glass to creak. Any tighter, and I’d break it with my bare hand. But I didn’t need the attention that would bring. Not yet. So I forced myself to rein in my temper and listen to Madeline’s version of a bedtime story, as full of lies as it was.

“But Blanco hadn’t forgotten about the feud, and she set about terrorizing my mother.” Madeline pressed her hand to her heart. “And then Blanco stabbed my mother to death. This woman, this assassin, killed my mother. You don’t know the pain that caused me, that it still causes me.”

Madeline dabbed her finger against the corner of her right eye, as though she were holding back a tear. Please. She had cared even less about her dead mama than I did. At least I’d always respected Mab as a powerful, dangerous enemy. I doubted that Madeline had had even that much regard for her.

“Now, many of you were as outraged by my mother’s death as I was,” Madeline continued, when she’d seemingly gotten control of her emotions again. “You, her business partners, her friends and confidants, you were the ones who rose up against Blanco and tried to avenge my mother’s death.”

This time, I couldn’t hold back the snort of derision that escaped my lips. But luckily, everyone else around me was too focused on Madeline and her sob story to realize that I wasn’t as enraptured as they were.

“But Blanco was a cunning enemy, a powerful elemental, and many of you lost friends and family to her. Brothers and sisters in arms.”

Friends and family? Please. What she really meant were the disposable minions the bosses had sent after me, since none of them had had the balls to come down to the Pork Pit and actually face me themselves.

“Still, even though you all suffered great losses, you kept trying to eliminate Blanco. And for that, I thank you.”

She bowed her head for a moment, and everyone leaned forward a little more, completely captivated.

“I was away at the time of my mother’s death,” Madeline said. “Regrettably, my mother and I were not as close as I would have liked. There were also some other matters that delayed my return to Ashland.”

Her green eyes slid in Jonah’s direction, and he swallowed and clutched his tie again, as if it were strangling him. The cloth couldn’t do that, but I imagined that Emery would soon enough, with Madeline gleefully watching.

“I’d heard the rumors about Blanco, but I have to admit that I didn’t believe them,” Madeline continued. “How could one woman be responsible for so many needless deaths? For spreading so much fear and terror among you all? It seemed incomprehensible, given what I know of the people of Ashland. How brave you are, how strong, how determined.”

If she kept this up, I was going to double over with laughter and give myself away. I’d wanted to hear what Madeline had to say, but I’d never thought that she’d bother to tell such outrageous lies. Not to these people who had already realized that she was a younger, stronger, more ruthless version of Mab. Not when they knew that the real reason they’d been called here tonight was so that she could tell them in person just how much she was going to tighten her grip around their throats while her other hand dipped into their wallets and took as much of their money as she could grab.

“When I saw how Blanco was terrorizing you, my heart was heavy. I didn’t want to take her on. I’m just a businesswoman, the same as everyone else here. But it became apparent that Blanco was determined to continue with our family feud and her reign of terror throughout Ashland. And I knew that my mother would want me to avenge her, and all of you as well.”

Madeline straightened up to her full height. “So I set about planning how to take Blanco down once and for all. And not just her, but everyone who ever helped her murder one of us.”

Murmurs of agreement and appreciation surged through the crowd, louder than before. They were hanging on to her every word.

“But unlike Blanco, who used the shadows and her knives to terrorize, I decided to do things the right way, through legal means.”

That whopper finally caused a few disbelieving titters to sound, since legal wasn’t a concept that many folks in the ballroom were acquainted with, much less embraced. But a cold glare from Emery silenced the snickering rebels.

“Some of you helped me,” Madeline said. “And for that, you have my thanks.”

She bowed her head, and several folks puffed up a little taller. Some of them I recognized as people Fletcher had files on in his office, but I made note of all the others too. Silvio was discreetly angling his phone and snapping photos of them, just as I’d asked him to. I’d need the information later on. It wouldn’t do me any good to take out Madeline only to have to worry about all the people who’d been loyal to her. Across the room, Bria’s expression twisted with disgust as she realized how many cops were here.