Wreck Me (Corrupt Legacy #2)

Chapter 1

Two years ago

Destiny.

The concept enrages me. Someone already wrote the book of your life, and it’s done. You can’t tweak or revise it. You can’t change a thing but accept that some higher power decided how it’s going to be—from the start until the end.

Well, destiny, let me tell you something. If I can’t choose my own path, I will refuse to call you anything but a big word used to keep humans in check, to remind us how small we are in the big scheme of things. We’re born, we live if we get lucky enough, and then we die.

One in billions. One of many. No one important.

“This is what I have worked towards. With Celine out of the picture and my son pledging his allegiance to the Family, it’s on you. Do not disappoint me, Abigail. This is your destiny. Call yourself lucky that I chose you for my son,” Uncle Felix says.

I am a choice. I have no choice.

He’s not actually my uncle, but those titles are used to preserve the image of a tight-knit family—such crap.

I glance from my hands tucked in my lap to him sitting in the armchair in front of me. Felix’s presence towers over me—a king on a throne.

My father leans against the wall in the corner of the living room, his eyes gleaming. My mother sips from her glass of champagne, not bothering to hide her smile.

On the outside, I don’t let my feelings show. I breathe in and out slowly to keep my control intact while a torrent of anger rips my insides apart.

I won’t allow them the satisfaction of reminding me of my role and duty.

It has never brought me anything.

“I won’t,” I say on command.

All my life, I have been constantly told how my future has been predetermined—not by a force above, a God, but by the unofficial leader of the Family: Grandmother with her right hand man, Felix, doing her bidding.

I have grown up with a fundamental knowledge, the credo of the Family: You have to be worthy of being a part of it, and that means you have a duty to fulfill and a role to play. If not, there are consequences to be paid.

Trapped in this quagmire called my life numbs me.

While my parents and Felix are in celebratory mode, even though it’s not even noon—clinking glasses and chatting—my gaze shifts to the large window with square panes.

A vast patch of land stretches wide, serving as the Family’s compound in Greenville.

On top of the hill, Grandmother’s impressive mansion looks down, showing who has the ultimate power. Surrounding the hill are six houses, but one has been left to the whims of time and weather. A ghostly warning: if you don’t comply, you will be eliminated—in the best-case scenario.

From the original six families, only five still rule. The Astors, the Vosses, the Sinclairs, the Langleys, and the Fairchilds. The Prescotts are long gone, having been cut off years ago. It’s all hushed as to why. The official statement was that they didn’t comply with the last patriarch, but who knows the truth? I sure don’t. We, the youngest, are not meant to know things only accept them.

Together, the families represent the Family which has amassed so much influence and fortune that they basically rule Delaware. What started two hundred years ago with buying land and smart marriage alliances evolved into an empire in key sectors like finance, healthcare, telecommunications, real estate, retail, and education.

The Family is untouchable, beyond rich and powerful. And I have had the misfortune of being born as the heir to the Vosses.

My father leads the real estate company, which should pass down to me. But my parents have other plans for me. To be a trophy wife for Kaden, the heir of the Astors and the firstborn in our generation. That makes him the future leader of the Family. Yet, this marks a first in the Family’s history: a marriage within—not the usual outside unions—to gain even more status, power, and money. There are power moves at play that my friends and I don’t have intel for. Why the Family does certain things and why things have to be this way remains a mystery.

To ask would mean we question the status quo, and that could be dangerous and possibly lethal.

Returning from my mental wanderings, I ask Felix, “How is Kaden?”

My heart breaks for my best friend. He was initiated, and I don’t know what Felix did to him for Kaden to renounce his love for Celine. But the initiation had to happen. Another rite of passage in the Family. When the ruler decides it’s time to pledge our loyalty, we have to go through the so-called initiation. At the thought, an icy shiver runs down my spine, chilling my insides.

We have been nothing but pawns in the Family’s chess game of power.

Felix’s face remains impassive. “He no longer has a weakness. That’s what matters.”

I hope I never have a weakness. I flinch, and he notices my slip.

His lips press together in a tight line. “Don’t disappoint me.”

His second favorite phrase. I shake my head while everything in me rebels.

Felix leans into me, lifting my chin with his index finger. I force my body not to tremble with sheer disgust and raw disdain. I swallow the rising bile.

I knew this day would come. There have been too many meetings between our fathers, and my name and Kaden’s mentioned together, to act surprised.

Yet, I hoped. That was quite foolish of me.

I nod, and he grips my chin tighter for another second before releasing me. I can finally exhale the breath I hold trapped. Then he stands, buttoning his jacket. After he shakes hands with my father and kisses my mother on her cheek, he departs.

The deal is done. The merger complete.

Standing up, I plaster on my mask. I am Abigail Voss. And no one will ever peer behind it and see there’s nothing inside of me but empty wishes, shattered dreams, and unrealistic desires.

I am a possession. I have to behave like one. There’s no other choice for me than to embrace my role.

But one day, I will be free. Until then, I can’t slip.

***

Kaden sits on the edge of the couch, face in his hands. His hair looks disheveled, as if he has raked his hand through it too many times.

“How are you?”

He casts a glance my way. Bags hang under his eyes. “I hoped it would be a nightmare. I kept running to the door, only to remind myself she’s no longer there.”

“You can’t show your emotions like that.”

“I just lost my soulmate. Fuck it if I care.”

Whether he’s in denial or a trance, he has to wake up, and fast.

I lost Celine too, and I can’t lose anyone else. I need him, my best friend. Shooting up from the couch, I shake him. A hiss parts his lips. I doubt I have the physical strength to injure him. My eyes slide over his body. “What did they do, Kaden?”

“Quite literally tortured the weakness out of me.”

My knees wobble under me.

“Don’t get yourself in the position of having a weakness. That’s what’s behind the initiation. If you have one, renounce it, or they will make you do it. At least I got her out.”

“She’s gone. But we’re here. Trapped. Be happy, Kaden, she wouldn’t have made it in this fucked up family anyway with her soft heart.”

“Never say that again.”

I throw my hands in the air, huffing. “We’re prisoners. Every weakness is a leash around our throats. They will strangle us with it, so we’ll emerge as soulless soldiers doing their bidding.”

“You kept this info from me. You can’t tell me you haven’t known for a while what they were planning for us.”

Accusation marks his tense posture, a bite evident in his tone. It was my way of showing them I love them, to give him and Celine more time.

“What would any of us have gained if you knew your father would have never accepted Celine for you, that Grandmother prefers me at your side?”

He paces around while I continue. “I have your friendship, but I need your loyalty as well, because this is war, and at the end, I will win my freedom.”

“Tell me everything.”

Maybe it’s for the best. Anger in this family is a better tool than sadness. Sadness means you miss, you covet, and you have a weakness. Anger by comparison, if you channel it right, it makes you a fighter. And in order to survive the Family, we have to have a clear mind and purpose.

I tell him what I should have told him years ago, but I had hoped the worst-case scenario wouldn’t actually become reality. I’d do anything to squash those last remnants of hope.

“I was no older than six when my parents started with the insinuations. I was so na?ve, thinking I finally did something right to get their attention. My mother would let me play with her jewelry while telling me all about the Family, the responsibilities, and about you and me.”

He freezes, and I offer him a sad smile. “There were moments, Kaden, when I would have done anything to earn their love. And as the years passed, they said my beauty was a waste because you only have eyes for Celine. They said I should become whatever you want.” I shudder at the thought, and so does he.

Kaden is handsome with his classically elegant yet sharp features. His blue eyes carry a depth despite being so young, but I harbor no romantic feelings for him. He has always been like a brother to me. “But I hoped their desire to set us together would disappear with time, because everyone could see what you and Celine have. So, I tried to prove my worth by being the first in my class, behaving, but it would always end up to you and me.”

I stare outside the window at the monstrosity of Grandmother’s mansion. Its architectural design and grandeur reflect the ruler’s almost royal status. Snapping out, I continue, “It’s frustrating not being enough on your own. With every year, I would show my parents one award after another while they looked at me and said, ‘Kaden still only has eyes for her. What does she have that you don’t? You’re a failure.’”

A few tears slip down my cheek, and his eyes soften with sympathy.

“Abi, why haven’t you said anything?”

I shrug, wiping the tears away. “Why would I? To poison you as well?”

“We swore not to lie to each other.”

“You never asked, and no one laughs as beautifully as the broken.”

He approaches me and places his hands on my shoulders. “They haven’t broken you.”

Tell that to the me who can barely eat. Tell that to the me who looks in the mirror and sees I am not enough.

His jaw clenches so hard it might snap with the sheer pressure he applies.

“Tell me I did the right thing, Abi.”

I get in his face. “Yes. He would have killed her, Kaden. Trust me. So you did the best thing. There was no other choice. He’s obsessed with you being with me and not with Celine.”

Why? I have no idea. Why hate a child? But rumors have been circulating that he was in love with Cassandra, Celine’s mother. Apparently, they dated when they were younger until she broke up with him and fell in love with someone else. Grandmother approved of Sebastian even though he didn’t have the necessary pedigree.

Kaden paces around and halts while I stay rooted in place with bated breath. He needs to push his pain aside. We need to outsmart them.

“We have to buy ourselves time, and that means we’ll act like they want us to.”

I breathe a sigh of relief and collapse on the couch. After years of being trapped in a glass cage, it cracked. And hope once again flits through the deserted area of my chest. You can’t stop life from blossoming if you water it a bit.

“What do we do with the other two?”

Just then, Blake storms inside, followed by Bailey, our other two best friends. We’re just four months apart. The only exception is Bailey—she came half a year later than Celine. Bailey is the other person besides Celine, whom Grandmother seems to resent. Why? Another unanswered question.

“What the fuck happened? Celine is gone?” Blake asks, dragging a hand through his black hair.

Kaden looks at each of us. “Are you with me? I don’t care about this corrupt legacy. I care about you.”

“They can’t decide for us. We can’t continue to allow that,” I say.

Blake nods. “No, we won’t.”

“Whatever it takes,” Bailey says in her melodic voice. When I look at her, she could pass for a Disney princess with her long strawberry hair and aquamarine eyes.

We all nod. And as we hug, I promise to myself.

Until I am free, I will not let anyone in.