Chapter 17 #2
I instinctively reached for Nathan’s bracelet like I always did when I needed support. I looked at the rough band. At the gate in Louisiana, I had thought it could definitely bear my whole weight without breaking. Now it had to bear a weight, but not mine, and yet so much depended on it.
I frantically went through the documents, picked out five that seemed particularly important to me, and put the paternity test on top. My eyes fell on the last line.
The DNA sequences do not match. Paternity is 100 percent ruled out.
I took a deep breath, pushing down the emotions that were rising inside me again, and then took the scissors and cut Nathan’s bracelet.
His beautiful bracelet without any glitter.
Shakily, I tied it around the papers that I had rolled up.
With the ribbon, it would be heavy enough to fall, but I didn’t want to take more than six documents just in case they weren’t found.
Then there would be the other papers as evidence.
Please, please work!
I stretched my arm as far as I could through the window crack and let the roll fall.
Do you want it back, Will , I heard Nathan ask inside me.
I swallowed, staring out into the night and then I heard Dad calling, “Willa? Where are you?”
I immediately ran to the safe and typed in the code. The soft click sounded. Thank God he hadn’t changed the code yet! Either he hadn’t thought about it or he hadn’t expected me to be back on my feet so quickly. He had probably assumed I’d be asleep until tomorrow morning.
But why was the gun still here? Without thinking, I grabbed it and gathered up the letters.
Did I need anything else? I peered into the safe for a moment, blinking thoughtfully…
then I hurried back to the window and stuffed the letters through the open gap as well.
The more papers rained down on New York, the better.
The more likely someone would wonder why.
When I heard footsteps, I paused at the window. The handle turned, but luckily, I had locked it.
“Open the door, Willa Rae, or I’ll break it down,” Dad said from outside.
Oh, God! He sounded so calm. My mind was racing. I didn’t know what to do, so I automatically picked up the gun that I had briefly set on the desk.
Was it loaded? “Wait, Dad!” I frantically fumbled with the handle of the Glock where the magazine was and ejected it after a few seconds.
Then I pulled the slide. There was a bullet in the chamber.
I hastily removed it and removed the other bullets from the magazine before pushing it back in.
Nathan had always had great respect for guns, even banning them on the Agamemnon and Lost Memories.
And no matter what had happened, I didn’t want to point a loaded gun at Dad!
It was only meant to be a form of protection.
With shaking hands, I put the ammunition in my pocket.
And what if he gets a gun from his gun cabinet?
For heaven’s sake, what was I thinking?
That Dad would shoot me?
He’s not your dad! Stop thinking of him that way!
But I couldn’t do it.
“Anytime now, Willa!” Dad still seemed to be standing right outside the door. “You’re sick and you need to be in bed! What the hell are you doing in there again?”
“I just wanted to use the computer,” I shouted.
“Get away from the door!”
He’ll kick it in or shoot the lock! He might already have a gun . “Wait, Dad. Wait! Please! I’ll open it!”
I held out the hand with the gun and unlocked the door with the other.
Dad stared at me, stunned. “Willa Rae, have you gone completely crazy? Put the Glock down immediately!”
I shook my head. “You killed Mom,” I said, my voice shaking. “You set the yacht on fire on purpose, I remember everything.”
Dad smiled, but it looked grotesque, like a grimace. “What nonsense are you talking about? I was trying to cook, kid.”
“Kid? I’m not a kid anymore. I’m not even your daughter. I know that, Dad.”
Dad’s fake smile faded. “So, you read that letter—I wasn’t certain.”
“That’s not the only reason I know. I overheard you and Mom on the yacht. I heard it from Mom’s mouth, I just forgot.” His eyes showed confusion as he tried to remember the argument with Mom. I nodded toward the hallway. “Let me pass!” Sweat gathered in my palm, making the barrel slippery.
“First, put the gun down. Then, we’ll talk about everything.”
“No! I don’t want to talk to you. I’m leaving now.”
Dad turned pale. “Isaac is out there waiting for you. And I think he’s done horrible things to you. Things they did to him in Rikers Island.”
“You…you know about it…” I stammered, dismayed. The gun almost slipped from my fingers. “You know what they did to him?”
“My eyes and ears are wherever I need them. Yes, I found out about it then, so after a while, I paid his bail.”
“After a while? He was in prison for over two years.” God and benefactor . “You’re a monster, Dad.” The gun trembled in my hand, but I took small steps forward, urging Dad toward the stairs.
He backed away, one hand on the gallery railing. “Isaac sent me photos of you, Willa, photos of you tied up in the most shameful way and wearing only a t-shirt.” He shook his head as if in shock and my cheeks began to glow. “He did a terrible thing to you. Let me make it up to you.”
Involuntarily, tears welled up in my eyes. “Make it up to me? How? How are you going to make it up to me?” And why didn’t you tell me right away that you knew all that?
Dad raised his hands in a placating gesture, standing still even though I pointed the gun at his chest. “I’m protecting you.
I’m looking after you so that this doesn’t happen again.
And now that you know that you’re not my biological daughter…
it makes everything easier. There will be no secret between us anymore…
You know, on your birthday…I was almost ready to tell you.
But after you unwrapped Mom’s wedding ring, you seemed so shocked.
I thought it would be better to wait a little longer. ”
“You’re completely crazy,” I whispered, stunned by what he said. “You killed Mom! How can you think I’d stay with you?” It seemed to me as if he was a different person, as if he had transformed from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde.
“Someone has to protect you, Willa Rae. From Isaac and the others.”
“Don’t mention his name to me again!” I gripped the gun tighter. “Isaac is dead. He’s not out there.”
“Willa, be reasonable! None of the guards will let you through. They’ll put a bullet in your leg first. Besides, Dr. Moore will be here shortly to make sure you get your medication.”
“My medication?” I echoed, confused.
“You’ve been in a mental institution in Denver for the past few months. At least, that’s what everyone believes.”
I wanted to pull the trigger now, but luckily, the magazine was empty. “Why…why didn’t you say I was at a college in Europe or somewhere else…”
“The mental institution was the best thing I could think of. A stay like that can last a long time, sometimes even an entire lifetime. No one would have been surprised if you hadn’t come back.”
His words hit me as hard as Troy’s punches in the stomach. “You knew from the beginning that Isaac had something to do with the abduction, didn’t you?”
Dad remained silent.
“You knew what he wanted to do to me…and yet you hesitated for so long to meet the conditions…you could have admitted your guilt right away…couldn’t you?”
“He wouldn’t have let you go anyway, child. His hatred for me was too great. I was certain he would…” His voice trailed off. “Why admit something when you’re not going to get back what you love anyway.”
It was the profound honesty of his words that finally broke my heart.
The heart of little Willa, who still loved him despite everything he had done.
Because of all the magical memories that were still there in this mess of lies.
A sea of lights full of tender, beautiful moments.
He and I ice-skating in Central Park, snow in his eyelashes; he and I in front of the fireplace, reading the Christmas story, a cup of cocoa in our hands; me riding on his shoulders in the garden at Rosewood Manor.
I still loved the dad he had been to me, I couldn’t just switch that off.
That was impossible, his words, however, pierced me like a dagger in the heart.
I gasped, shocked. “You…you didn’t even try. You didn’t even try to save me…” Tears ran down my cheeks. “I would have given my life for you. They lured me away because they said they would shoot you. I…I just left without thinking.” I couldn’t continue.
Dad briefly held out his arm to me. “You were always different from your mom in that respect. She always only thought about herself. You were the complete opposite of her. Such a sweet, well-behaved child, so selfless…let me make it up to you.”
“You can’t…ever.” And I had only been such a good child because I always believed I had a debt to pay.
I stared at him and wiped the tears from my face with one hand.
Now I wanted to know the whole truth. “Why did you suddenly give in?” I asked.
“Why did you offer to reveal everything to Isaac and the others?”
“As I said, we were tipped off. We wanted to buy time, shoot them all, and free you.”
“You wanted to kill them all so that nothing of what you had done would become public! That was why you used Arrow Corp. Those mercenaries follow orders and don’t ask questions… You only ever wanted to protect yourself!” I raised the gun a little higher. “Why did you give Isaac money?”
“Because Bill Luther and his team didn’t find you on the Agamemnon. The cutter was deserted. We were back at square one, and at one point, Isaac offered to release you.”