44. Forty-Four
Forty-Four
Franklin Barrett
My phone beeped its special little beep reserved for Rothberg.
Daniel
Why, thank you.
I read his message before firing back.
Franklin
A sign of things to come.
It was the second time my phone had dinged with good news today. Blue’s text from earlier this afternoon had confirmed that Daniel got his cut and that the rest of my money was headed back to the Barrett Holding’s bank accounts, scrubbed clean.
Blue, the idiot, didn’t know, nor did I think for a single second he cared, about where the money went as long as he had enough to maintain his lifestyle and suck powder up his nose. Both of which made him by far the easiest cog in the system to deal with.
Daniel, on the other hand, required more finesse.
Particularly if I was ever going to get my hands on his West Coast operation.
It might cost me my princess, temporarily, but it would be worth it in the long run.
He didn’t need to know that my son had betrayed me or that my daughter was little better than some filthy whore.
Although, knowing him, he might enjoy that.
I laughed, kicking my feet up on my desk.
I reached for the crystal rocks glass opposite my Italian leather dress shoes, swilling the scotch over my tongue as my mind milled over the plan.
It still needed to be refined, of course.
It wasn’t really even a plan yet, but a loose set of strings just waiting to be pulled together into just the right noose to get my son, Daniel, Jack, and the rest out of the way. We were overdue a clean house anyway.
Dropping my feet back to floor, I reached for the desk phone and pressed the speed dial. There was only one person who answered this line, and he was handsomely paid for it, in more ways than one.
“Mikhael, bring the car around.”
“Where are we off to, sir,” he answered in his still-thick Russian accent.
“I think I’d like to check on our guests.”
Nearly an hour later, we were coming up to our destination. The four-story apartment building where, so many moons ago, I’d found my ex-wife hiding out. From the street, it looks abandoned. Practically condemned. As it was meant to.
When I’d first tracked my ex-wife and children to this building, there were always hookers out front smoking or junkies hiding near the garbage bins in the parking lot.
Now, it was dark, quiet, and vacant. All except for the guest “suites”, shall we call them, I had installed in the basement.
When I’m through with them, it will be easy enough to get rid of the evidence.
This building will be the first one demolished as part of Barrett Holdings new regeneration campaign to clean-up East Barrett.
After all, with access to the Rothberg networks, I’ll no longer need to shop so close to home.
Mikhael dropped me off in front at the rear entrance.
I’d had an encrypted keypad installed the day I bought the building, then kicked every sad waste of space out on the streets, locking the doors behind them.
The keypad flashed green after I punched in the code and the door lock disengaged.
Inside, immediately to my left, was a set of stairs leading down to the basement.
I flicked the awful fluorescent lights on as I went.
At the base of the stairs were several doors, but only two that really mattered.
Both have keypads to match the one outside.
I punched the code into the first one and opened it as soon as it clicked.
Inside, I’m surrounded by the familiar colour.
The one that will forever remind me of my favourite memories.
It’s called Ballet Slipper Pink and on the bed, the same colour, my princess sat in waiting.
The second she saw me, she reached for the lamp I’d given her and threw it at me.
Thankfully, she missed, and the ceramic base shattered when it collided with the door frame. I closed the door.
I would visit her again soon, once she had calmed down.
My other guest wasn’t quite so violent. Nor was his room quite as nice as Antoinette’s.
I suppose Mr. Michaels should be grateful I did indeed decide to keep him.
I’d had Rafael bring him here. Nearly dead, but not quite.
Credit to Carl, he’d turned the boy into a survivor.
When Mikhael asked why I kept him alive, I couldn't even explain. Then again, I’ve never been one to let a resource go to waste. I wouldn’t be here now if I did.