Two Can Play Recap Part 12: The Sparrow Deal

This Two Can Play recap part 12 covers chapters 241–300, with spoilers. Several scenes in this arc involve pressure and bargaining. We keep them general.

Not Dominic

Julian's big trap goes ahead. Scarlett walks into Noir, the members-only club at the Beaumont Hotel, finds "Mr. Dominic Ford" alone in the VIP booth, and goes upstairs with him. She plants two tiny cameras.

When she tries to collect them, the man is waiting, awake, with the cameras already crushed under his heel. "I am not Dominic Ford."

It's Sparrow. And Scarlett knew all along. Sparrow was the reason she came to this city in the first place. Julian, who thought he was running everything, was just the road she used to reach him.

Alexander Ford

Sparrow's chapters explain his "sister-in-law" line. His real name is Alexander Ford. Dominic's father adopted him from an orphanage, and as a teenager he resented Dominic for everything he had. He trusted his gang instead, until his gang brother Bryan turned on him in a warehouse and Dominic took the hit meant for him. "Why?" Sparrow asked. "Because you are my brother."

Dominic survived. Sparrow walked into a church for the first time in his life to pray, and when Dominic woke up he made a vow: "From today, my life belongs to you." Dominic's grandmother never forgave him.

Big Bryan

Scarlett's story is bigger than Julian's blackmail. The Phantom Circle belongs to Big Bryan, the same Bryan. He keeps the young women in it on a leash with a compound called Hemovax, which must be topped up every three months or the body fails. Tasha, Maya and Jasmine have about a month left.

Tasha matters most to Scarlett. She was stolen as a baby from Scarlett's older sister Lynette, who died searching for her. Sparrow checks the story: about 80% true. His people also find what she left out. Scarlett is a trained hacker and fighter, and one of the "lost" boys from the docks, Carter, is alive in Julian's private cell.

The contract

Sparrow's help comes at a price, and it proves he is no hero. When his first demand goes wrong, he makes a different offer: a one-year contract marriage. Scarlett refuses to be the bride ("You need a wife who looks like an angel. I am not an angel. Tasha is."), so Tasha agrees instead: "If it means my sister and my friends live, I will do it." It suits Sparrow twice over. Dominic's grandmother wants a "good girl" for one of her grandsons, and Big Bryan won't be able to resist coming for his runaway bride.

The wedding is in a week, with no photos. Dinner with Granny is tonight.

"I am your aunt"

In the Beaumont lobby, minutes before going upstairs, Scarlett finally tells Tasha the truth. "Your mother, Lynette, was my big sister. I am your aunt." They were born one day apart. Tasha was stolen by her own father, raised as a maid by a cruel stepmother, then taken by Big Bryan to be sold. "Everything I did, I did for you."

Julian cornered

Julian's week falls apart. He finds his mother and sister after Celeste turned their trap back on them, and still refuses to seek revenge ("a dish best served after reconciliation"). Then his own videos go viral and his company's shares collapse. He blames Dominic. He takes his rage out on one of the women he's holding.

Then his lawyer calls. Celeste has filed for divorce, backed by Dominic and an attorney who has never lost a case, and the judge will rule tomorrow morning. Julian opens his door to find his six guards unconscious. Something hits the back of his neck, and the last thing he sees is red hair.

"Scarlett?"

What we noticed

• The three "villain plans" of this arc (Julian's trap, Granny's matchmaking, Big Bryan's ring) all run into Sparrow. He's becoming the book's second lead.
• Scarlett is the most complex new character since Kingsley: manipulative, self-sacrificing and ruthless when it comes to Tasha.
• The divorce is tomorrow. Everything Celeste has been waiting for comes due at the start of the next arc.

Previous: [Part 11](/posts/two-can-play-recap-part-11-the-price-of-everything) · Next: [Part 13](/posts/two-can-play-recap-part-13-free).