Chapter 35 Everett #2
“…You were a valid candidate.” Winston tsks, shaking his head as if he’s sorry for what he’s about to say. “Unfortunately, even if I had considered you, I see this isn’t working. This wedge that she’s driving between us is bad for business.”
My jaw almost drops to the floor at his audacity. The things he’d done to Aurora, to my family…
Twenty-three years of bottled-up rage rises dangerously close to the surface.
I’m combustible. A landmine that’s been waiting to detonate.
But I’m not ready.
Tomorrow, I’ll have the DNA results.
If Aurora is my step-niece, if she is the product of rape, the case I’ll build against him will be airtight.
The evidence will speak for itself.
Nothing and no one will be able to bury this secret.
While the statute of limitations on rape in Massachusetts is fifteen years, there are exceptions.
I am one of them.
There’s no question that I’ll take him down for the false imprisonment of Aurora, for raping Lotus and possibly killing her.
Deep breath.
“Hmm.” I pretend to be considering what he said.
Winston’s lips twitch as he waits. His fingers tap restlessly on his knee.
His composure is tearing at the seams.
He doesn’t like waiting. Or…I unnerve him.
Curious.
“I won’t hesitate to take matters into my own hands.” He flattens a hand over my desk. Both his feet are on the floor now, his body leaning toward me. “The Hales, the Bernards, they’ll take my side.”
What he’s saying makes sense. Other than Stafford, I trust no one.
Still, I question him. “Will they?”
“Naturally.” The hitch in his voice betrays his doubts. So he hasn’t approached them yet. “I run their finances. I’ve made them millions. Their allegiance is all but guaranteed.”
“Interesting.”
His face reddens, as if I’ve called him a liar, which I have.
“Thing is, I have a problem of my own,” I say. “See, I’ve grown attached to…my possession.”
He’s turning purple, revealing the hand he’s been trying so hard to hide.
His smile from just a minute ago was a lie.
The longer I look at him, the more I realize I’ve been getting under his skin for a while now.
Winston isn’t stupid. He’s had plenty of time to question my motives. In fact, I can guarantee that he put two and two together and figured out that I suspected him. That marrying his daughter is a form of retaliation.
He isn’t wrong. It was. In the past tense.
Falling in love with Aurora wasn’t supposed to happen. My attraction to her was never meant to evolve into this deep connection. This unbreakable bond.
I’ll die before I tell him how she owns a piece of my soul.
“Is this about the past? About—” He sucks in a breath, catching himself before blurting the incriminating words.
About Lotus. Not Aurora.
He has no idea I know about both. Better this way.
“It’s about you trying to fuck with my shiny new toy.” My stomach roils. Of course Aurora is so much more than that. Of fucking course. “You want her out of the way? Fine. You’re going to compensate me for my loss.”
“Are you…You’re asking for money?” His brow creases. Confusion settles in. “You?”
“Not quite.” I could’ve said yes. It would’ve been the easy answer. But then, he’d know for sure I’m manipulating him. I’m just as wealthy as the Clarkes, if not more. He might dig deeper into my motives before I have a chance to strike. “A majority stake in your company. That’s what I’m after.”
Power.
That’s one thing people like us can never have enough of.
That’s the language this narcissist bastard understands.
It’s believable, yet it throws him off.
A thousand emotions dance across his features. He doesn’t know whether he’s indignant, mad, relieved, or self-righteous.
“That’s a steep price, Everett.”
“Well.” I look him dead in the eye. “Isn’t it worth it? The price of making our problem go away?”
As soon as the words come out, realization slams into me. I’m infuriated by how I’ve missed that before this very minute.
He’s covering his tracks.
With Aurora out of the way, the only remaining evidence of what he did to Lotus will be cremated. Gone.
That’s why he’s been hiding her. Locking her up. So that my parents and I, the only people who could see the similarities, would never have the chance to dig into it.
To prove it.
My fucking God.
“Everett, be serious.” He blinks, still unbelieving. “A majority stake?”
“Yes. That’s my price.” Like hell. There’s nothing anyone could do to take Aurora from me. “She’ll disappear, and so will your problems. And hey, you’re not too old to adopt another stray, are you?”
The last part physically hurt to say out loud. Calling Aurora a stray. Acting as if adopting a child is an act of pity instead of love.
Even my cold heart rebels at that.
“All right.” He gets up to shake on it. I rise to my feet as well, accepting his hand this time while stifling the need to throw up.
I have never been more repulsed in my life.
“You’ve been closed off all these years.” Winston’s shit-eating grin almost makes me put my fist through his face. “Yet here you are, talking to me. Being smart about our future.”
“You’ll hear from my people tomorrow.” My lips curve up, matching his grin. It’s nothing but a mask that hides layers of pain. Of guilt. Of hurt.
I’ve won this round.
I’ll soon win the war.
But there’s no joy to be held in this victory. This isn’t a victory at all.
My loved ones are gone.
Aurora had been left to fend for herself for years.
I. Failed. Them.
It’s a miserable kind of vengeance.
Winston leaves the room. My dark soul turns pitch-black.
My heart barricades itself behind the high walls I’ve erected throughout the years.
It shuts out the onslaught of pain. Of love. Of remorse so strong my ribs are about to crack.
Wall after wall, I force myself to forget any emotion that’s gone through me over the past month.
Moments pass, and then…there it is. The darkness. The void.
I feel nothing.
I am nothing.
Better this way, I lie to myself as I bury my face in my hands and shut myself off completely.