I adjust my position in my chair. “I honestly don’t know. But what I can say is that if Aunt Jo had a shot at taking out my mom’s killer, there is no doubt in my mind that she would take it.”

“Hmmm,” Layla says, and she and Matteo look at each other.

“What?” I say. “What don’t I know here?”

“It’s not that you’re wrong,” Layla says. “It may very well have been the reason she killed him. It’s just that taking out another Family’s high-ranking officer is the utmost offense.”

“That sounds like Aunt Jo,” I say, remembering all her tirades about my dad’s Family and her penchant for dramatic gestures. To my surprise, a hint of a smile appears on Matteo’s face.

“Still,” Layla says, “it’s never been done.”

I look at her sideways. “You mean in the thousands of years Strategia existed, one Family has never assassinated a high-ranking officer in another? Is that even possible?”

“There have been no assassinations of that kind since the Council of Families was established,” Layla says with a weighty emphasis that makes me think I haven’t been examining the situation with enough gravity. “It’s the golden rule of Strategia internal politics—we do not use force to interfere with another Family. Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if we did, and the casualties? We could easily cause irreparable damage to all of Europe and beyond as a result of a civil war among Families.”

I listen to her and frown. “So what does it mean, then, if Aunt Jo killed the Regent?”

“Your father has been accused, at least privately,” Layla says. “Although I assume even the few Strategia privy to that information probably don’t believe it—it’s equivalent to accusing a phantom. So that’s the first thing to consider, that Jag is already twisting the Regent’s death into a narrative that suits his own purposes. And the next thing to consider is the motivation. I know you said your aunt wanted revenge for her sister’s death, and while I understand that’s a reason, I am skeptical that it was enough.”

“Really? Aunt Jo was…well, she was a force to be reckoned with, and she wasn’t what I would call a rule-follower,” I say, and Matteo snorts, only I can’t tell if it’s in amusement or disdain.

“I don’t think you’re understanding,” Layla says. “Collectively, we have been able to prevent the assassinations of global leaders, we dismantle terrorist plots before governments ever know about them, and we circumvent wars. If we were using our energy to fight each other instead, all these missions would be abandoned.”