Chapter 21 Florian
Florian
Despite her pleading to put her first, I couldn’t bring myself to abandon this war against my father because he will never let it go.
I have to finish it because it’s the only way I’ll have any peace.
It’s the only way we’ll get any peace. He’ll always come for me because I’ve taken everything that’s important to him, which means she’s in danger as long as he’s breathing.
So, when she asks for time away, I agree.
It’s not because I’m letting her go. That will never be an option. But it’ll give me time to kill him and give her time to cool down. She’ll eventually understand that not only am I doing this for me, but I’m also doing this for her.
When he showed up to the theater, I couldn’t put it off any longer.
Not even for her. It didn’t take Nero and Asva long to find my father and bring him to me.
His ego refused to let him hide from me.
So, they snatched him from one of the brothels he likes to visit after giving the madame a hefty sum of money to keep her mouth shut.
He never believed I would make a move against him.
“Are you sure you want to sit in on this?” I ask Didrick for at least the fourth time while we’re on our way to Hell’s Kitchen.
I know Didrick feels the pressure to prove himself to me and our father, but deep down, he’s not cut out for this lifestyle. He’s not cut out to witness this type of brutality, and I have bigger aspirations for him than this life.
My other brothers are lost causes, and I’m sure, after I kill Olan, they’ll come after me.
However, I’m not worried about that. I’ll be ready for whatever they want to do or whatever they have planned.
What does worry me is the impact all this will have on Didrick.
He’s clean now. I don’t want to send him spiraling back into addiction to numb his feelings about the gruesome death of his father and his role in it.
Maybe I need to put him in therapy once Olan is dead since, technically, I’ll be his guardian until he turns eighteen.
Didrick wants to prove to me he’s ready to enter this life, but deep down, I know he’s not prepared. He doesn’t have what it takes to live this life. He’s too sensitive.
I also know he wants to prove to Olan that he isn’t a complete waste of space, even though none of that matters to me as long as we’re not under Olan’s thumb.
Since getting out of rehab seven months ago, Didrick has made significant progress. He’s like a new person. He’s looking to do more in life than get high, like go back to school and get a job. I hope that dealing with Olan won’t destroy all the progress he’s made.
“How many times are you going to ask me that?” Didrick asks, irritation lacing his voice.
I really don’t care if he’s irritated with the constant questions. He needs to make sure this is something he wants to do. Once he decides it is, there’s no turning back.
“As many times as it takes for you to be damn sure this is what you want to witness.”
“And why wouldn’t I, Florian?” he asks. “He’s treated me like shit my entire life.”
“I know he’s treated you like shit, but he’s also your father.”
“He’s yours too, and you have no problem doing whatever you are about to do to him.”
“We are not the same, Didrick. Although he is my father, it’s only by blood.
” I let out a weary sigh, feeling the tension in my body as I pinch the bridge of my nose.
“He didn’t raise me, Didrick. We didn’t live under the same roof.
He had nothing to do with me growing up, other than when he came to my home to fuck my mother and tell me I wasn’t worth shit and that he wished she had aborted me. ”
The horror and pity on his face mean nothing to me. He needs to understand the differences in our childhoods. Yes, Olan is father to us both, and he’s treated us both like shit, but being treated like shit as his bastard was totally different from what Didrick and my other brothers experienced.
“I’m not telling you this for your pity, Didrick.
I’m over what happened to me as a child, even if I’m not over what he forced my mother to go through.
But you need to know that, even though we both had it bad as his children, we have two very different histories when it comes to Olan. You’re his son. I’m his bastard.”
He fails to see this is the most important distinction between me and him. I have no emotional attachment to Olan, which is why I can separate our connection by blood. He made me this way, which is something he didn’t do with his other children.
Didrick lets out a sigh of frustration, his hand sweeping across his forehead.
He looks different from the way he did when Alrick found him behind my warehouse.
He’s got a buzz cut, which makes him look older, and the most shocking change has been his weight gain. He looks so much healthier. Happier.
“That may be true, Florian, but I still need to do this for me. I need to prove to myself that he doesn’t define who I am. I need to show him that he doesn’t hold that kind of power over me anymore. He needs to see that I’m my own person, and that I’m somebody without him.”
I understand the need to do all that because I can admit it was something I needed to do when I was his age, too.
As I look at him, I observe no sign of doubt in his eyes. If this is something he truly believes he needs to do to move on with his life, I won’t stand in his way. I just hope he prepares for the consequences of watching his father die a painful and brutal death.
“I won’t try to convince you not to do this anymore, Didrick, because you have made up your mind. However, there’s only one rule that you must follow.”
“Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it, Florian.”
“You do as I say.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.” I shrug. “This is my world. This is my business. I run a very tight ship, and what I say goes. I need you to understand that, in this situation, I’m not your brother, Didrick. I’m the one they call Beast. And I don’t bend to anything or for anyone.”
“Do you actually use that name?” he asks, smirking. “I’ve heard our brothers call you that.”
“I do, and I fucking earned it.”
The smirk on his face immediately disappears.
“Every man in that room is under my command. All loyal to me and me only. If you step foot in that room, that means your loyalty is to me, too, not to our father. Do you understand?”
“I do,” he says without hesitation.
“Make sure you believe what you say, Didrick because if my men think you aren’t with me, that’s a death sentence.
Blood or not, loyalty is everything to me and to these men.
These men are my family, and our father is the enemy.
Nothing you can do will save him, so make sure when you step out of this car, your loyalty is to me.
If it’s not, that means you and him will leave here in body bags. ”
His eyes widen. “Are you trying to scare me?”
“No, I’m not trying to scare you, but I’m telling you how it will be.
This is the reality of this situation, and I’m treating you like an adult.
The blood we share doesn’t change the outcome of what happens today.
Far will die. Hopefully, you won’t join him.
If you get out of the car, I have your complete loyalty.
If you decide that you’re not ready to make that commitment to me, I understand, and I won’t hold that against you, but those are your two choices. ”
As the car comes to a stop, I take a moment to give Didrick one last look before opening the door and stepping out of the vehicle.
He has a lot to think about and a short amount of time to make his decision.
If he remains inside, I have my answer. He isn’t ready to witness the death of our father.
If he gets out, then he’s with me. It’s a tough choice for a kid his age, but a necessary one.
After a few minutes, the car door opens. He steps out and then looks at me. I give him a curt nod and walk inside the building with him following me. There’s no more time to discuss his choice. He has made his decision. I just hope he can live with it for his sake.
As usual, the men who work in this warehouse don’t pay attention when I arrive.
Without fail, I make it a point to visit Hell’s Kitchen at least twice every week so they can get used to my presence.
If my men know that I’m always hands-on, then that leaves little to no room for anyone to make mistakes.
However, today, I’m here for a totally different reason. Today, I’m here to kill my father.
“Are you sure Didrick being here is such a good idea?” Alrick asks.
“No, but he wants to be here, so I won’t stop him.”
“Can you trust him?”
His question gives me pause because I truly have to think about how to answer it. I want to trust Didrick, but the thought lingers in my head that maybe he’s been totally corrupted by our father, and there’s nothing I can do to change that fact.
There are only a handful of people I trust. Alrick and Asva, most definitely, are a part of the small number of people, as well as few of my other men I surround myself with, including Hugo and Nero.
But those who are my blood relatives, I don’t trust at all, including Didrick.
Of course, I want to trust him but wanting to and actually doing it are two different things.
“You know there’s only a few people I trust, Alrick, and he isn’t one of them. At least, not yet. But my concerns, as well as my expectations, have been made very clear to him. So, he’s a friend until he’s not.”
Alrick’s gaze shifts to Didrick, who scans the warehouse with curiosity as we stroll by my men who are stacking crates of guns and ammunition before returning his attention to me.
Alrick knows exactly what that means, and a sly smile creeps across his face.
If Didrick does anything to interfere, Alrick or Asva will kill him.
We make it to the back of the warehouse, and Asva opens the cooler doors.
As expected, the twins have already restrained Olan and stripped him of all his clothes.
I have no sympathy for the bastard. He doesn’t look like the strong man he likes to portray himself to be to the men who are loyal to him.
He looks like a cowardly motherfucker who is finally going to meet his maker.
“You go in first, Didrick.” He looks at me with eyes as big as saucers. “Let him think you are here without me.”
“But why?” Didrick asks.
“Because I said so.”
He looks at me, his gaze lingering for only a moment before finally nodding.
I can sense his nervousness as he steps inside the room alone, his eyes darting around anxiously.
His trembling hands and unsteady stance betray his overwhelming fear of Olan—a reaction to being in our father’s presence that will take him years to get over.
“What do you think he’ll do?” Alrick asks.
I shrug.
This is Didrick’s test. I need to see how he will react when he sees Olan in this vulnerable position. Will he plead with me to let him go? Or will he sit by and let happen what’s supposed to happen? Hopefully, he remembers my warning.
I watch from the threshold of the door with my arms crossed over my chest. Olan’s shoulders sag in relief when he sees Didrick walk into the room. He thinks he will save him. Desperate times call for desperate measures if he believes the addict he kicked out of the house will save him.
“Thank God, Didrick!” With every ounce of strength he can muster, Olan tugs at the restraints holding him in place. “Get me out of here! Florian has lost his fucking mind!”
Didrick’s head tilts to the side, a questioning expression on his face. “You think I’m here to save you?”
“Of course!” Again, Olan tugs at his restraints. “I need you to cut this damn tape, then call your brothers so I can tell them where we are. I need all my men to gather and hit this place again.”
Didrick crosses his arms over his chest. “After everything you’ve done to me, why the hell do you think I would do that?”
Olan stops pulling at the tape and glares at my youngest brother like he could kill him for even asking the question. This is the type of man Olan is. He tries to intimidate you into doing whatever he wants.
He starts this brainwashing at a very young age, so when you’re old enough to resist, you won’t even think about it because you’re scared to death of how he’ll react. I’m proud that Didrick doesn’t cower to Olan’s attempt to intimidate him even though it’s ingrained in him to do whatever Olan says.
“Because I’m your goddamn father!” he shouts. “Cut me the fuck loose, Didrick! Now!”
“Fuck you,” Didrick says. “You can rot here for all I fucking care.”
Although I would have liked for him to be more forceful with Olan, at least he’s finally making a stand for himself. I’m proud of him for being able to do that at such a young age.
“You ungrateful little shit!” Olan sneers with such malice in his eyes and voice, you’d think Didrick was just a stranger, a random person on the street.
If you were on the outside looking in, you wouldn’t believe that this man was actually speaking to his son.
“I’ve done everything for you! Every fucking thing, and you’re treating me like this? Wait until your brothers find out.”
Didrick laughs, but there’s no humor in it. Immediately, the anger drains from his face and is replaced with heartache. “Kicking me out of the house after you got me addicted to heroin is doing everything for me? You’re a piece of shit!”
Now that’s news to me. From what Olan told me when he came to me and asked me to pay Didrick’s drug debt, Didrick was in a bad accident and became addicted that way. I guess there are some more questions I need answers to.
As I enter the cooler, Olan glances at Didrick and then shifts his attention to me. “You! I’m going to fucking kill you!”
“Yes, it’s me, Olan.”
I approach my younger brother. “Now, tell me how our father got you hooked on drugs and why.”
Now that I’ve heard that Olan is behind Didrick’s addiction, I’m going to need to hear the entire story.
I’m sure he used Didrick to get to me because he knew that I would help him if the price was right—the price being Larsson Industries.
However, I’m not sure what part Didrick played in this little scheme, but I hope he wasn’t a willing participant because I actually believe he has a chance at a long and prosperous life.
As long as he didn’t cross me or try to fuck me over.