Chapter 16 ~ Alexander
My heart is beating so fast, and the tight feeling in my chest is slowly constricting my lungs, letting less and less air in.
I have to leave this house and get away from her before I go back in there and do more than choke her.
Reaching my office, I slam open the door, and it bounces off the wall.
I go straight to my desk and grip the edge, my nails digging into the wood.
I want to break everything in this room, throw that desk, and watch it shatter into a million pieces, just like I’m breaking inside.
Pulling the tie loose from my throat, I unbutton my shirt and try to draw in a deep lungful of air.
How could she? I can’t believe that she did it or that she is a part of it.
I held out a small hope, thinking that maybe she was innocent, or her dad was playing her, but it was all right there in front of us the whole time in black and white
Isabella Gallo. Her signature is on every page.
All this time, she’s been in his back pocket.
Isabella signs for it; Robert takes the money and hides it, but it all comes back to her, and they both win.
With five votes, my father will lose his seat, and Robert will have the money and influence to do it.
I kick my chair and clench my fist. How far had they intended to go with this?
If it were me, once I held all the authority, I’d take the old regime out to avoid a power struggle.
It won’t be long till he comes after the whole family and that thought makes me sick. My innocent mother, my father and brothers. We all stand in his way, and he put Isabella right in the middle of us like a ticking time bomb ready to detonate when he is ready.
Right now, I don’t have the answers, and it’s driving me crazy.
The longer I have to wait to find them, the more my thoughts spiral.
We will know more after this weekend, and I want to get on that plane right fucken now and find out.
But all I can see are Isabella’s green eyes, red with tears, and her pale blue lips as she tried to spill more lies in my face.
And I did fall for them. Every lie that slipped from her sweet mouth. I almost fell for her. I was so fucking close to that line I could feel my body burn at the thought of the possibility that maybe there could be an us. Like the couple dancing in that painting.
Fucking stupid.
I push off the mantel and look down at the papers on my desk.
I can’t even stand to see them. It makes me feel nauseous.
The evidence of their betrayal spread out before me.
As hard as I try, there is no way to make excuses for her.
This entire scheme depends on her compliance.
She has to sign those transfers or the whole thing will fail.
She is the center of it all, and I missed it.
Gripping the back of my chair, I hang my head off my shoulders.
The pressure in my chest is so tight; I rip my tie off and throw it away.
I want to rage, destroy, and go back up there and ask why?
But I know why: money and power. I need to stay calm.
My father stays cool in times like this, so I try to think like he would.
I take a minute to just inhale some air, count to ten, and breathe. I can’t do any more about it right now than I already have. I need to get to California today, so concentrate on that. Get to the airport and get the hell out of here.
Both Sebastian and Carlos come into the office and stand motionless, staring at me.
I don’t know if they figured I’d go nuclear and burn the house down.
Every fiber of my being wants to, but it’s not going to help me find the underlying cause of this.
I don’t have time for any more bullshit emotions and lying women.
We need to focus on what needs to be done.
I tried playing the game as suggested. Be kind to her, like my father and Carlos advised. And what did it get me? Stabbed in the chest with the truth I felt weeks ago. Screw this, I’m getting our jet and getting that safe deposit box now.
I grab my phone off my desk and open the drawer, take my wallet and the envelope with the key, and put it in my pocket. I approach and stand before Carlos and Sebastian at the entryway. Both stood there in silence, terrified that I would lose my temper and destroy the entire office.
“I want out of here. I’m not sitting around here waiting for that goddamn flight. Fuck taking a commercial. We’re taking the private plane. I need to get out of here now! Grab that bag and meet me in the car. We’re getting the fuck out of here and going to California.”
Sebastian slowly nods, and Carlos turns and grabs the bag as I walk out and open the front door, and head down to the car.
Sebastian follows me and stands beside me.
Both of us unable to find the words to say to each other, both of us were too stunned to say anything.
I feel bad for him. He was the one to discover her betrayal and bring us the truth, and he most of all stood by her side more than anyone and stuck up for her the most. If I feel betrayed, I can only imagine how Sebastian is feeling.
I turn to face him. His eyes and nose are both red and he hasn’t gotten any sleep in days.
“You okay, brother?”
He looks straight ahead and his voice cracks. “No, I’m not okay. I’m so far from fucking okay.”
He turns his head towards me. “Are you okay? You are far too calm about what happened up there.” His face cringes, “You could have killed her, Alexander, Jesus.”
My fists clench at my sides and I grit my teeth.
“I wanted to, brother. I really wanted to. But until we know what’s in that safe deposit box, she’s living on borrowed time.”
Carlos pulls up and I step down to open the back door. “Do you need a ride?”
Sebastian holds up his keys and shakes his head no.
“Fine. If anything shows up while I’m gone, text or call. I want to know every detail those two have planned out. I’ll see you in a few days, hopefully with more answers.”
“Do you want me to tell father? He needs to know.”
I nod, “Yeah, and tell him I took the plane. I’ll be back in a few days. For what it is worth, Sebastian, I am sorry. I know you cared for her, but she is a fantastic fucken liar.”
He comes up and hugs me. “You are far too calm, and that is scary as hell. And I’m sorry too. I really thought she was the one for you. You looked so; I don’t know. Right, I guess when you’re together.”
He shakes his head and backs away, “Fuck, it right?”
I smile, “Fuck it!” I climb into the back of the car, and Sebastian closes the door.
Carlos doesn’t say a word; he just drives off.
I undo my suit jacket and settle back into the seat, pinching my lip between my thumb and forefinger and staring out the window.
If you were to ask me how I feel right now, I couldn’t answer.
Fucking numb is all I can come up with.
That’s what I feel, numb. Before I met her, I knew what was happening in my life; I knew what I wanted.
She came into it and fucked it all up with her soft, lily-scented skin, filling my nose.
I would look at her sitting beside me at the table.
Picturing what it would be like to be an actual couple and to have what my parents have.
She almost had me convinced that we could do it.
I just thought I had to work a little harder at being kind.
But I am who I am, and I’m not about to change, as I told my father.
I’m not sure how this weekend will turn out.
Carlos is right. I should have planned for the worst, but I didn’t.
I kept clinging to that stupid small sliver of hope that she was innocent, because I wanted her to be.
And I will not be a coward. I’ll admit it to myself. I wanted her to be mine.
Maybe Sebastian’s right. I should file this under the fuck it folder. I can’t do anything about it right now until I know more. Right now, she’s locked in her room and Sasha will take care of her. Danny’s there, and he can watch her when Sasha is off.
We arrive at the airport, and Carlos pulls up beside the plane. Stepping out of the car, I grab my duffle bag out of the trunk and head up the stairs, passing Janice as I walk by and tossing my bag in the overhead compartment. I sit down, buckle my seatbelt, and focus on the window.
Carlos comes in, speaks to Janice, and takes the seat opposite me.
He puts his finger across his mouth and looks out the window.
I love him like a brother, and he knows I don’t want to talk about shit.
I just want to get this job over with, come home, and drink myself into oblivion until I get the orders from my father.
My stomach turns and I feel queasy at the thought.
She’s going to die. There is no way my father will let her live.
There is no way the organization will let this go, either.
I feel like my chest is caving in and I rub that bloody spot that keeps getting tighter.
I can’t save her even if I wanted to, and as incensed as I am, a world without her in it seems..
. hollow. The pounding in my head starts all over again.
I have to get my act together because the flight to Redding takes six hours, and I can’t afford to take my anger out on this plane.
My father likes his leather seats just the way they are.
We’ve reached altitude, and they have turned the seatbelt sign off.
I take off my seat belt and tell Carlos that I’m going to sleep in my bedroom.
Just go to sleep, and you’ll be able to put these feelings somewhere else, anywhere else.
I don’t want her to die, but I’m going to have to face the fact that she will because there is nothing I can do to save her.