47. Omniscient
Chapter forty-seven
Omniscient
S tephan lay back on the couch in his apartment as he was close to falling asleep. The door busted open, and he couldn’t have even bothered to see who it was. It couldn’t have been the landlord since he was using his father’s money to pay the bills, but he didn’t care at the moment.
“Get up. I need you to meet someone,” Luca said, and Stephan opened his eyes and looked up slowly.
His eyes widened as a man holding Delilah’s prominent features walked into the room. Stephan sat up quickly as he gaped at both of the men.
“I can’t believe you actually did it. You really want to tear this family to pieces,” he said in disbelief, and Luca shrugged harmlessly.
“Well, when you put it in such practical terms, sure, that would be the end goal.”
Michael placed his bag on the floor as he looked around. “This place looks like shit, but I guess it’ll have to do for now.”
Stephan shook his head quickly. “No. No, no! He’s not staying here!”
Luca sighed. “He is, Stephan. Please, enough with the theatrics for one day?” he asked sincerely.
Stephan shook his head as he placed his hands in his hair. “Please, he can’t!! Oh God... he’s going to kill me if he finds out!” he said, looking out of the window as if on instinct.
Michael tilted his head. “I’m assuming he’s talking about Eugene?”
Luca nodded. “Yes, that’s usually a recurring theme here… with him being a serial killer and all. But oh! Please, that is more than just a family secret.”
Michael nodded. “I’m aware; Marissa spoke of him frequently. God, she’s petrified of the man.”
Stephan fell to the ground as he held back a dry heave, trying not to throw up. He shook his head. “No, he can’t stay here. Marissa. No, no, he’ll kill me too!” he said frantically.
Luca sighed as he grabbed Stephan by the arm and picked him up. “Okay! That’s enough from you. The grownups need to talk, so it’s time for a nap.”
Stephan shook his head vigorously as he gazed back to Michael.
“He’ll kill us! He won’t show mercy!! He’ll—” Stephan started, but Luca pushed him into his bedroom and slammed the door.
“Magnificent!”
Luca walked back over to Michael and sighed. “Don’t mind him. He’s just… a little on the verge of going clinically insane.”
Michael nodded and leaned against the counter. “So, you got me here, Crawford. What now?” he asked.
Luca smiled. “Curious, are we?” he questioned, and Michael shrugged.
“You obviously brought me here for a reason. If you want something more from me… I’m going to need something from you.”
“What an interesting way of viewing our situation. You want something in return. How about this: let me hear what it is, and I might just tell you why I need you here.”
“You might? Why can’t you just tell me?”
“Well then, you’re just full of questions and requests, but sadly… it’s a secret, for now.”
Michael nodded. “I need money, so to speak. I was planning something along the lines of extortion or bribery from Killian.”
Luca crossed his arms as he tilted his head. “Pray tell… what would you use to bribe Killian to give you anything in return?” he asked.
Michael remained silent for a moment before muttering, “The only thing he and I have in common.”
“You’re going as far as using your own daughter as bait… Killian will surely pay any amount to keep Delilah safe. Very interesting indeed. So what do you need me to do?” Luca asked.
Michael shrugged, leaning against the edge of the couch. “Keep quiet about it and help me do it. The faster it’s done, the faster I can leave,” he said nonchalantly.
Luca placed his hands together as he stepped away for a moment in thought. Placing his hands on his knees, he closed his eyes as he tried to connect as many dots of his plans as he could while encompassing Michael’s plans.
After about a minute or two, he finally stood up and looked back to Michael with a wide and almost conniving smile.
“Of course I’ll help you. Better yet, I have a plan that is guaranteed to work out well for both of our situations.”
Michael nodded, and Luca began explaining the plan—well, the plan that Michael needed to know about. All the while, Luca tried his best not to smile as he envisioned his own plan slowly coming to life.
Stephan was right. Eugene was going to kill someone, and it was going to be disturbingly beautiful.
Delilah
“My name is Michael, and Delilah, I’m your father.”
A painful smile came to my face as I almost laughed.
“That’s humorous. I could’ve sworn I heard you say you are one of the most important people in my life,” I asked, and he shook his head with a heavy sigh.
“I am your father, Delilah,” he said, and I crossed my arms as my defense mechanism of being lighthearted about this situation was dwindling.
“Right, Michael, let’s get one thing straight. You provided the cell that entered another, which created me. Let’s not confuse that with the word ‘father,’ because guess what? That man standing there—” I pointed back to Killian as my blood began to boil—“the one that has been there for me ever since I was a literal child, the one who loves me unconditionally, the man that would give everything up every day for me, the man that bent his entire world up to accommodate me, to provide for me, to love and cherish me—that man, my dad, my daddy, my father , is standing right there! Show some respect for both him and my mother, because coming here and demanding to ‘see your daughter’ makes you seem like less of a man the longer you stand here. Now I will ask you again. Can I help you with something?” I fumed without stuttering a word.
It was now silent.
Michael looked at me with a certain look in his eyes. I couldn’t tell if it was love, hatred, or embarrassment, but I was sure I didn’t want anything to do with it.
“Delilah, I know I was never here. I know that, but I want to ask for a chance to explain everything. I at least wanted you to know who I was and where I’ve been.”
“A bit too late for that, don’t you think? What are we going to do now? Go out for coffee? Spend the day together? Whatever happened to you teaching me how to ride a bike, changing my diaper, or knowing who the hell I am! Whatever you’re doing right now is unneeded and unnecessary, because I think after twenty years, you can see that I’m doing a hell of a lot better than you, without you. So do us all a favor, do me a favor… and stay the hell away from me. ”
He stared at me for a moment longer before making eye contact with someone behind me and walking away. I closed the door, and my hand stayed on the knob.
There was an uncomfortable silence, one that made me want to crawl into a hole and just die, because after closing that door, those walls came tumbling down, and I again felt like that little girl: afraid of the truth, scared of reality, and just wanting to be held by my mommy and daddy.
As if hearing my thoughts, I felt a hand turn me, and I looked up to see my father—my dad—Killy. I threw myself into his embrace as I gripped his shirt in my fist. He shushed me softly as small sobs racked my chest, placing small delicate kisses in my hair and rubbing my back soothingly.
“It hurts, Daddy,” I cried into his chest as my heart clenched.
He nodded as he pulled me closer to him. “I know. I know it does, sweetheart. I know.”
We stayed liked this for a short while, and soon my eyes were closing from exhaustion. He picked me up slowly, and I continued crying into his shoulder. We entered my room, and he sat me on the bed. My mother sat beside me, and I laid my head on her lap as she pushed the hair behind my ear, calming me with her soothing voice.
I knocked on the penthouse’s door, and only a few seconds later, Archer opened it. It was two in the morning, and I wasn’t going to get any sleep anytime soon, but if I knew anything, it was that he would make me feel better.
He would let me feel anything but the numbness that I was slowly starting to embrace. I know I looked tired and exhausted, but I didn’t care, and by the looks of it, he didn’t either.
“Come here, Princess. Let’s get you into something comfortable and try to get some rest, hmm?” he said, thankfully not diving in to ask me what was wrong.
I grabbed his hand as he pulled me inside.
He placed a kiss on my cheek and directed me to his room. And it started to hurt less. The subtle guilt and regret of my actions and words weighing me down were starting to go away, and it was all thanks to him.