Chapter 11 Raven #2
"Watch it, girl. " His warning was a deep, destructive growl, but I was past caring.
"Girl? Is that all I am to you? A little girl lost without her daddy's guidance?
" Anger bubbled inside me like a witch's brew, ready to spill over. "You're wrong about everything. You’re wrong about me just like you were wrong about Vin. Finally, a man who promised to love and protect me, but because he rode a bike and didn’t drive a Mercedes, he wasn’t good enough for you. "
"Am I?" There was an edge to his voice now, serrated and dangerous.
"Damn right." I found strength in my rage, standing up despite the tremble in my legs. "Because while you've been busy playing politics, I fell in love with someone who sees me for who I am. Not as a tool, not as a Stansfield, but as Raven."
"Love?" He scoffed, the sound slicing through the tense air. "With that thug?"
"Vin is more of a man than you'll ever be!" I declared, feeling the raw emotion pour from my soul like a torrent. "He respects me. Listens to me. With him, I'm free—not caged by some tyrant's whims."
"Love won't save you from reality." His disdain was a tangible thing, wrapping around us both. He was afraid of whoever this Hell’s Justice member was. Afraid that the man would come looking for him.
"Maybe not," I conceded, my heart thundering in my chest. "But at least with Vin, I know what real love feels like. And I'd rather die fighting for that freedom than live under your thumb."
"Is that a threat?"
"No," I said, my voice steady despite the chaos raging within. "It's a promise."
"Escape again, and the consequences won't just be a few days in a locked room.
" His voice slithered through the air, his words cold as the steel of a knife pressed against skin.
He stood there in that expensive suit, looking every bit the politician he was outside these walls while radiating an aura of menace that no amount of dry cleaning could ever wash out.
"I'm not afraid of you," I said simply, boring into him with my eyes.
"Brave words from someone who has no idea what she's dealing with." He leaned closer, invading my space as if he owned it. "You think this is some game? That you could flit around with your biker boyfriend without repercussions?"
Every muscle in my body tensed, ready to spring into action, flee or fight, whatever it took. But I stayed put, my fists clenching at my sides. "Go to hell, Dad."
"Raven," he said, my name a poisoned barb, "if you try to leave again, it won't just be you who pays the price. It’ll be every fucking biker in this country."
"Whatever you're planning, forget it," I spat back. "I won't let you control me."
He straightened, a smirk playing on his lips that didn't quite reach those soulless eyes. "We'll see about that."
“Who is it?” I asked. “The Hell’s Justice member coming for you?”
The veins in Dad’s neck bulged with anger. His left eye twitched. I was so far under his skin that I was part of him. “How the fuck did you know that?” He lost every sign of being a politician. “You went through my office when you escaped.”
I nodded. There was no sense in denying it. “Who is it?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “He’ll end up like all the rest. You should really mind your own business, Raven. Even as an ex-president, I can’t stop the Deep State from harming you.”
As he turned and walked away, his steps measured and assured, a cold shiver ran down my spine. Each word he'd uttered was etched into my mind, a grim reminder of the stakes at play. My resolve hardened, even as I acknowledged the quiver of dread that threatened to undo me.
"Vin, I'll find a way back to you even if in death," I whispered to the empty room. The promise was fragile, like a shard of glass ready to shatter. But it was all I had—the one flickering light in the darkness that was my life under my father’s roof.
The door clicked shut with an ominous finality, a soft snick that resonated like the gavel of my fate sealing shut.
I watched him go, the man who gave me life and then strangled it with silken cords of power and politics.
The bastard didn't look back, not once. He knew I'd be watching, counting the steps he took away from me, each one a tiny heartbeat pushing me closer to the edge.
In the thick silence that draped the room, I could practically hear the tension hum, a live wire of unspoken threats and fury.
My jaw clenched as I forced myself to breathe, to think past the fear that wanted to kneecap me.
I wasn't going to let the old man's words pin me down.
No, I was going to use them to fuel the fire, the blaze that would burn through these walls and lead me back to freedom.
I kicked off the boots and peeled off the day's armor. Tomorrow, I'd need every ounce of cunning and courage. But tonight, I'd allow myself this small retreat, the quiet before the storm. With Vin's name on my lips and rebellion sparking in my soul, I laid down, letting the dark swallow me whole.
Tomorrow, I'd rise. Tomorrow, the world would know that Raven Stansfield was no one's captive—not anymore.