79 "thicker than blood"

A week later

I knew the second it happened.The room shifted—just slightly—but enough that I felt it in my chest before anyone else did.

I was standing just behind my father's right shoulder, tablet tucked against my arm, eyes moving between faces and notes like I'd been trained to do in the last few days. It was a routine press availability. Safe. Predictable.Until it wasn't.A reporter asked about land-use negotiations with a neighboring county. I glanced down at my notes, saw the line I needed—confidential, pending—and before my brain caught up with my mouth, I spoke."There's already a tentative agreement—"John's head snapped toward me.Just a fraction of a second too late.The room went still.Cameras clicked faster. Pens froze. A few reporters leaned forward like blood had hit the water.John recovered fast—he always did."What my assistant means," he said smoothly, voice calm, measured, "is that discussions are ongoing. No agreement has been finalized."But the damage was done.I felt it. In my gut. In my hands. In the way Beth's eyes burned into the side of my face like I'd just handed her ammunition gift-wrapped.The briefing ended early.Too early.As soon as the doors shut behind us, the silence was worse than yelling.John turned slowly.I shrank without meaning to."Willie," he said, voice low. Not loud. Somehow worse. "My office. Now."Beth smirked as she passed me. "Told you," she muttered.I didn't look at her. The door shut behind us with a heavy click. I stood in the middle of the room, hands clasped so tight my fingers hurt."I'm sorry," I said immediately. "I—I read the wrong line. I shouldn't have spoken. I know better."John exhaled through his nose, pacing once before turning back to me."This isn't the ranch," he said. "This isn't forgiving a missed gate or a late headcount. Words matter here. Every word.""I know," I whispered.

"You can't know," he snapped, sharper now. I coward back a bit "Not yet. Because if you did!, you wouldn't have spoken without clearing it with me!"My eyes burned. I nodded anyway. "You're right." He stopped in front of me.

"You embarrassed me," he said plainly. "And you embarrassed yourself."That one landed. My shoulders caved. "I didn't mean to." I spoke very soft. Like I was little again. "I don't care what you meant," he replied. "Intent doesn't clean up messes in this building. Control does."I swallowed hard, throat tight. "I won't do it again." He studied me for a long moment. Long enough that my heart started racing. I sqeezed my hands together to stop the shaking the best I could. Then his tone shifted. Not softer—but steadier."This is why Beth said you weren't ready!"I flinched."But," he continued, "this is also why I didn't put you out front. You're learning. And learning hurts."I nodded again, tears blurring my vision. "I'm trying. I swear I am."

"I know," he said quietly. "That's the only reason you're still standing here."He stepped past me, back to his desk. "Go take ten minutes. Breathe. Then come back. We have three more meetings today.""Yes, sir," I said automatically.My legs felt like they might give out as I turned for the door."Willie," he added.I stopped. "Don't let this shake you," he said, not unkindly. "If you fall apart every time you make a mistake, Beth wins."I nodded once and left before he could see my face break. I didn't make it far.The bathroom down the hall was empty, thank God. I locked myself in a stall and slid down against the wall, pressing my fist to my mouth to keep the sound in. I wasn't crying because he was harsh. I was crying because he was right.Because I wanted this. Because I'd finally been trusted with something that mattered. Because messing up felt like proof that everyone who ever doubted me might've been right all along.I stayed there until my breathing slowed.Until my hands stopped shaking.Then I stood, fixed my hair, wiped my face, and looked at myself in the mirror.I squared my shoulders. And I went back to work.

.....Two weeks in, the Capitol stopped feeling like a maze and started feeling like a system.I learned which hallways echoed, which ones swallowed sound. Which doors stayed shut. Which offices people avoided without ever saying why. I learned to walk with purpose even when I didn't have one, learned how not to look lost.That's how I ended up outside the district attorney's office.I hadn't meant to. The plaque caught my eye before the name did. Polished. Important. Heavy with authority.Then the door opened.

"Willie."

I froze. I'd know that voice anywhere.Jamie stepped into the hall like he'd been carved out of it—pressed suit, perfect posture, that calm, careful expression that always felt like a mask he'd practiced in the mirror. He looked exactly the same.

Too the same.

His eyes moved over me slowly. Not warmly. Not kindly. Like he was assessing damage on a vehicle."Well," he said. "You clean up better than I expected."I didn't smile. "Jamie."He gestured toward his office. "Come in. We should talk."Every instinct in my body told me not to.But I went anyway.he wasn't nice to me as a kid. He was  just has mean as Beth. In my  early twenty's he was worse. I didn't like him much. His office was immaculate. Not a paper out of place. Not a coffee ring on the desk. Everything controlled. Everything intentional.

He waited until I sat before closing the door.

"Dad's new assistant," he said, leaning back in his chair. "Didn't see that coming."

"I didn't either," I replied honestly.That made his mouth twitch. Almost amused.

"You know," he said, folding his hands, "I used to sit where you're sitting. Thought I was doing good. Thought loyalty mattered."I stayed quiet.Jamie sighed, like he was about to tell me a secret. "I'm going to say something, and I want you to actually hear it."I looked up at him. "Okay.""John Dutton destroys people," he said calmly. "Not all at once. Slowly. He uses you until there's nothing left and then convinces the world you were the problem."My spine stiffened. "He's my father.""Yes," Jamie said. "That makes it worse."I didn't respond. He leaned forward now, voice dropping. "He'll put you in impossible positions. He'll make you choose between your morals and his survival. And when it breaks you—because it will—he'll tell himself you were weak."

"That hasn't happened," I said.

"Not yet," Jamie replied smoothly. "You're still useful." There it was. I felt my jaw tighten. "So what is this?"He smiled then. Not a nice one. A strategic one."This is me offering you a lifeline," he said. "A job. Under me. Legal liaison. You'd still be close enough to hear things. To learn things. And when the time comes—""No," I said quietly.Jamie blinked, surprised."I didn't say yes," I clarified. "And I didn't say no. But I know what you're asking."He tilted his head. "I'm asking you to protect yourself."

"You're asking me to turn on my father."

"I'm asking you to survive him," Jamie corrected. "There's a difference."I stood. That earned a frown."I appreciate the warning," I said carefully. "Really. But I didn't come here to play sides."Jamie stood too, slower this time. "You don't trust me."

"No," I said honestly. "I don't."He studied me for a long moment, eyes calculating. "You should think about it anyway. He will hurt you. And when he does, don't say I didn't reach out."I met his gaze. "If I need help, Jamie, I won't come to you."Something dark flickered behind his eyes."Fair enough," he said, opening the door. "But remember—pawns don't get to choose the board. Only how long they stay standing."I walked out without looking back.My heart didn't slow until I was three hallways away. Jamie Dutton hadn't changed at all.And that scared me more than anything he'd said.

I was barely ten steps out of Jamie's office when I felt it.That pressure. That sense of being watched like prey.

"Willie."

I didn't stop.

"Willie," Beth snapped again, heels striking the marble as she closed in on me. "You wanna explain why you're crawling out of his office?"I kept walking. Beth fell into step beside me, eyes sharp, voice low but cutting. "What did Jamie want? Money? Dirt? Or did you just volunteer yourself like you always do?"

Nothing.

I focused on the end of the hallway. On my breathing. On not reacting.Beth scoffed. "Unbelievable. Dad gives you a job and the first thing you do is go whispering with the snake."

I said nothing.

She stepped in front of me suddenly, forcing me to stop. Her face was inches from mine now.

"Answer me," she hissed. "What are you planning?"

I looked past her shoulder. "I'm going back to work."

Her laugh was sharp and humorless. "Oh no. You don't get to play innocent. Not with him."

I moved to go around her.

She followed. "You think I don't see it? You think I don't know what Jamie does? You're making deals. You're already choosing sides."

Still nothing.

Beth's voice rose just enough to turn a few heads. "You are a traitor, Willie! Same as him! Same weak spine, same sob story!"

I felt it then—anger, yes—but stronger was something steadier.

Certainty.

I stopped walking.Beth smirked like she'd finally won.But when I turned to face her, my voice was quiet. Flat. Unmoved."You can call me whatever you want," I said. "It doesn't make it true."Her smile faltered."I know what happened in that office," I continued. "And you don't."Beth's eyes narrowed. "Oh, I know Jamie. And I know you."I shook my head once. "No. You don't."She stared at me like she was trying to peel my skin off with her eyes."You really think Dad won't find out?" she asked coldly.

"There's nothing to find," I replied.Beth leaned in close, her breath hot against my cheek. "If you hurt him—if you even think about it—I will end you."I met her gaze then. Fully. Calmly."I'm not you, Beth," I said. "I don't destroy families for sport."That did it. Her face twisted, rage flashing bright and ugly. "You think you're better than me?"

"No," I said. "I think I'm honest."She stepped back like I'd struck her.I turned and walked away.Every step felt heavy, but steady.Beth was still shouting behind me—something about betrayal, about Jamie, about blood being thicker than whatever rot she thought I was made of. I didn't listen.Because I knew the truth.I hadn't gone to Jamie to conspire.I hadn't gone to betray my father.I hadn't said yes.And that was all that mattered.Let Beth scream.Let Jamie plot.Let the Capitol swallow their whispers whole.

I kept walking.