Chapter 52
Ryker
I t’s four in the morning now as Pat, Mason, Holland, and I sit in the living room of the Elite mansion staring at the pictures of the files on our phones.
We’ve been trying to come up with a plan to expose our fathers and their corrupt businesses. Doing some more digging, we’ve found out that Holland and Mason’s dads are involved in one of the most dangerous crime circles in New York. I knew they worked for the mafia.
Pat’s father is into some questionable shit with a few strip clubs in the city, and my father, well, we already know his shit.
He’s been embezzling money from The Steele Corporation since he became CEO to fund his yacht, private jet, and who knows what else. He’s also been giving money to the guy’s dads for their businesses as well.
I should probably loop Logan in before I blow up our father’s empire, but even though Logan’s mad at our father right now, I think he’d still try to stop me from exposing him. I can’t let him do that.
Robert Steele deserves to rot behind bars for the rest of his pathetic, miserable life, and I want to be the one to put him there.
“I say we just confront them,” Mason suggests. Holland looks at his cousin, dumbfounded.
“I swear, did Aunt Mary drop you on your fucking head when you were a baby? Did all the Molly finally catch up to you and kill every single one of your brain cells?” Holland questions, rolling his eyes.
Mason slouches back down in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting like a child.
“That might not be the worst idea,” Pat states, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his thighs.
Holland’s head snaps over to Pat, followed by Mason who looks overjoyed with the fact that someone has finally agreed with one of his ideas.
“I’m sorry, what? Are you insane? That’s a terrible idea,” Holland chides.
“Confronting them all together might be the best way to do it. They’re not going to do anything to us if we’re all there. We could call a meeting at the Elite office in New York and do it in a meeting room. We bring all the evidence, and we each wear a mic to record what they say. Then we bring it to the cops for them to take care of,” Pat explains. I don’t hate the idea. But there is one big flaw with that plan.
“Have you forgotten that our fathers have connections with law enforcement? They probably have them all in their pockets. There’s no way to tell who’s on our side and who’s working for them,” I tell him. Pat nods, thinking. A thought hits me, and I grin.
“What the hell are you smiling at?” Holland asks, clearly agitated. He’s really not good on no sleep. Turns into a real asshole really.
“What’s something all four of the old men care about more than anything?” I inquire, hoping they’ll understand what I’m asking.
“Money,” Pat says.
“Power,” Holland shrugs.
“Pussy,” Mason chimes in. Pat, Holland, I turn to look at Mason who just shrugs. “What? It’s true.”
I shake my head. “Their status and image in society.”
Pat and Holland nod in understanding.
“So we threaten to take it public,” Pat grins.
“Exactly. We just have to wait for the right time,” I state, and the guy’s nod. “Who’s ready to fuck some shit up?” I ask and I receive three mischievous grins that match mine.
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I feel kind of guilty that I haven’t said a word to my mother or Logan about our plan to expose our fathers shittiness, but I know they’ll only try to talk me out of it. I’m not backing down now, not when I’ve gotten so close to ending this.
My father won’t see it coming, and I can’t wait to see his face when we walk in and burn everything to the ground.
It’s been three and a half weeks since the meeting at the Elite mansion. We decided to wait until after Christmas to do anything so our families could have at least one more normal holiday. Now that it’s over, we’re more than ready to get this over with.
“We’ve already called the meeting. They think it’s a standard Elite meeting,” Holland tells us as he paces back and forth in our hotel room in the city. “We go in, show them the evidence, and demand they step down. If they refuse, we go public.”
I stand from my spot on the bed and look at my friends. I really am lucky to have three brothers who would drop everything to be there for me.
“Thank you, guys. It means a lot that you’re here,” I say, not trying to get too sappy. They all look at me as if I’m crazy. Pat walks over to me, setting his hand on my shoulder.
“Dude, we’re brothers for life. We’ll always be there for you. Elite’s take care of their own,” he states, tapping my shoulder and giving me an honest grin.
I place my hand on his shoulder the same way he did mine. “Brothers for life,” I confirm, and Pat nods .
“Brothers for life,” Mason and Holland say in unison.
I shake my head. “Alright, enough of this sappy shit. Let’s get this over with,” I grunt.
When we enter the conference room at the Elite office building, the tension is palpable. Each of our fathers are already seated around the large table, their expressions a mix of curiosity and impatience. I should probably feel nervous, but I don’t. I only feel anger and hatred toward the man that was supposed to be my dad.
Robert is the first to speak. “What's this all about, boys? We have to get back to work.”
I step forward, not wanting to waste any time, and place the folder we’ve compiled of all the evidence on the table in front of them. They stare at it in curiosity and suspicion.
Holland’s father’s eyes narrow on the folder.
“What is this?” he asks. Daniel Monroe is cold and negligent. Much like my father, Holland and Ellie’s father was never there. Except, they had it a bit worse because when he was there, he’d get drunk and abuse their mother right in front of them. But it was an arranged marriage by the Elite, and the Elite don’t get divorces.
Holland steps up beside me, glaring at his father.
“We know what you've been doing. All of you.”
There’s a moment of stunned silence, and then my father’s face twists into anger. “You have no idea what you're talking about.”
Pat joins Holland and I closer to the table.
“So the embezzlement, the fraud, the bribery. You’re really going to sit there and tell us we’re wrong? The fucking files are all there,” he seethes.
Our fathers don’t look worried that we’ve figured out their secrets, except for my father who looks like he wants to strangle me.
“We're done being your little puppets. You’re not going to ruin our lives and the lives of everyone we care about,” Mason says.
Mason's father sneers. “Did you boys really think you could storm in here and threaten us? ”
Holland, ever the calm one, looks at his uncle with disdain.
“We’re not threatening you. We’re giving you a choice. Step down quietly, let us take over, and we'll handle this internally. Refuse, and we'll take everything we have to the press,” he shrugs.
The large conference room is thick with tension and animosity as the old men exchange glances. It’s clear they hadn't expected us to find any of this information.
My father, still seething, finally breaks the silence. “And if we refuse?” he asks through gritted teeth.
I keep my voice calm and steady as I lean over the table to get in my father’s face.
“Then we’ll destroy everything you’ve built. We’ve already contacted our lawyers. You’ll be finished. Your reputations that you’ve worked so hard for, the money, the power, it’ll all disappear. You’ll be nothing, no one,” I grind out, shaking my head. “Grandfather would hate what you’ve done to this company and the family name.”
My father lets out a bitter laugh. “Your grandfather was an idiot. He had no clue how to run an empire. The business was going under, and he was letting it. My father never did know how to do what it takes to survive,” he leans forward so that I can see the fire in his eyes.
I fist his shirt, pulling him out of his seat and into me. I can see my brothers take a step closer, ready to pull me back if I go to far.
“Grandfather was a better man than you ever will be. You’re pathetic,” I spit. “You had a family, a wife, and all you care about is how much power you hold, and if you don’t do as we say, you can kiss it all goodbye. That’s a fucking promise.”
I release his shirt, letting him fall back into his chair. He looks almost proud, but proud of what, I’m not sure.
The old men look at each other, the weight of the situation sinking in. They underestimated us, thinking we’re too naive and loyal to ever challenge them. But what they didn’t know is that we were biding our time until we could get rid of them .
After a tense pause, Pat’s father finally speaks, his voice a mix of defeat and resignation. “What do you want us to do?”
Pat takes another step forward.
“First, you’ll sign over your shares and step down from your positions. We take full control of the companies. Second, you cooperate fully with any internal investigations we conduct. We want to see exactly what’s been going on behind closed doors. If you do this, we’ll handle things quietly.”
“You’re still in college. How will you run a company while going to class and dealing with Elite matters?” Mason’s father leans back in his chair, crossing his arms.
“We’ll make it work,” Holland tells him, his voice laced with conviction.
There’s a long silence as our fathers seem to consider their options, which at this point, are very limited.
Pat’s father looks up to us, his brows furrowed with anger. “Fine. We’ll do it your way.”
Pat tosses the folder we’d put together with all of the necessary legal documents for the old men to sign. We weren’t completely sure this would work, and honestly, knowing some of the shit they’re involved in, I wasn’t sure we’d make it out alive.
But we had our lawyers draw up all the paperwork just in case everything went according to plan.
As our fathers sign the documents relinquishing control, I feel a sense of relief. I don’t know how the four of us are going to make this work, but I know we’ll figure it out.
Now, I just need to find a way to tell my mother and Logan. Logan has just as much pull in the company as I do, but I’m not sure he’ll want to get involved. He’s never really been interested in the business.
When they’re finished signing the papers, Holland grabs the folders, and we start to head out. But before I make it to the door, I think of one more stipulation, this one being for my father only.
Turning around I face my father whose face is red and has his hands fisted on the glass table. A satisfied feeling runs through me, and I want to smile, but I hold it back.
“One more thing,” I drawl, staring directly at my father.
“What?” he snaps.
“Leave mom. She keeps the house and gets her freedom.”
My father barks out a laugh, and my fists clench at my sides.
“Who do you think you are?” he asks rhetorically.
“The one with all the power,” I sneer, and my father stares at me with so much hatred, it’s almost laughable.
“Fine.”
With that, I head for the door again where Mason, Pat, and Holland stand waiting for me.
“Son,” my father’s rough voice calls. I stop but I don’t look back at him. “You always were weak, controlled by your emotions. You will always be my greatest failure.”
Rage fills my body, and I don’t even have time to think before I’m jumping over the glass table and tackling my father to the ground.
I feel hands on my back and arms, attempting to pull me off, but they’re useless. My fist pounds into my father’s face repeatedly. All the years of pent-up rage and hatred for this man bubbles to the surface and I can’t control myself.
Blood pours out of his nose and mouth as he lay unconscious under me. I should probably stop, but the anger is controlling me at this point.
“Fuck. You,” I snarl before I’m lifted off of him by Pat and Holland.
“That’s enough. It’s over, let’s go,” Pat tries to calm me down, but the adrenaline in my veins is too much. My entire body is shaking, and I can feel my heart threatening to leap out of my chest. My ribs are sore because they still haven’t healed fully from rugby, and my head is throbbing.
I yank out of Holland and Pat’s grasp, angrily marching out of the conference room and out onto the cold streets of New York City.
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We sit in silence on our way back to the mansion, and I’m still livid as I sit in the passenger seat while Pat drives.
I should be thrilled that the fathers agreed to our terms and have signed everything to us, but instead, I’m angry at the words my father spoke to me.
“You will always be my greatest failure.”
What kind of a father says that to their own son? One that literally could not care about anyone but himself.
“You good?” Pat asks without taking his eyes off the road. I’ve had a while to cool down, but every time those words replay in my head, I get pissed off all over again.
I nod. “I’m fine,” I lie.
“Bullshit,” Holland calls from the backseat. “You almost beat your dad to death, Steele. You’re not fine,” he says.
My jaw tenses and I grind my teeth. “Drop it, Monroe.”
“Why can’t you just be honest and tell us what’s going on in your head?”
“Fuck off,” I seethe. I’m not doing this right now.
“Does this have to do with Gwen at all?” Holland inquires, and my fucking heart starts to beat rapidly again.
“What’s going on with Gwen?” Pat asks, glancing over at me.
“She left him. Thinks he cheated on her the night before the end of semester party,” Mason says. I never got around to telling Pat about what happened that night. The only reason Holland found out was because he saw me drunk and bloody after I beat up Davis. And the only reason Mason knows is because I have him keeping an eye on her.
“That’s impossible. He was with me the night before the party. We went to Hillview for a meeting. We were there until after one,” Pat tells him. “You didn’t tell her?”
I glare at him. “I tried. She blocked my number and told me not to contact her again,” I explain. Don’t you think that would have been the first thing I tried to do?
Pat scoffs. “Since when do you take orders from a woman?”
Sighing, I stare out the window, watching the trees fly by and ignoring Pat’s question.
“Shit,” Holland murmurs.
“What?” Mason asks, looking up from his phone.
“He loves her,” Holland explains, chuckling to himself.
Mason lets out a laugh. “Yeah, right. Steele in love? No way.”
I can feel Pat’s eyes burn into me as we pull into the driveway at the Elite Mansion. My friends know I’ve been notorious for sleeping around and never having any serious relationships with women. But Gwen is different.
Turning to look at Pat, he searches my face before a small smirk plays on his lips.
“I don’t believe it,” he says. “Our boy, fuckboy extraordinaire, has fallen in love,” he teases. I punch him in the arm, and he grunts.
“No fucking way,” Mason sits back in his seat and laughs.
“Fuck. Okay, yes. I love her. I’m in love with her, and she wants nothing to do with me. But I have a plan, I just need classes to start back up.”
The guys look at me with curiosity, waiting for me to explain further.
This plan has to work. She’s going to be mine, but I need her to want to be mine. I won’t put her through what my mother’s gone through. My mother didn’t want to marry my father and look where that got her.
No, Gwen needs to want to be with me. And I’m going to do everything in my power to make that happen.