7. Her Savior, Her Jailer #3
Nash merely smirked, his expression one of grim satisfaction as he regarded Iris's parents.
"Indeed," he drawled, the word laced with scorn.
"It seems your parents didn't even bother to check if they were even capable of saving the family before agreeing to sell your sister off.
Their own greed blinded them. Not to mention, an apparent lack of concern for their youngest's daughters well-being.
Let us not forget that." He shot a predatory smile at her parents.
"But you made some astonishingly catastrophic mistakes when you auctioned off your daughter to the worst possible option.
You made a lot of enemies, especially the families you spurned.
" His gaze pierced them, fierce and unrelenting.
"You do not deserve your daughter. If I hadn't seen something in her that I wanted, I would never have forced you to break your word to the Ackery's.
You would have all fallen with them a year ago.
I wouldn't have been there to save you. Even now, I would love nothing more than to let your pathetic legacy disintegrate before your very eyes. "
Her family all shared a look, surprised by the guttural words being ripped from his chest. True, visceral hatred is blazing out of his eyes as he looked at her parents. His voice was a low growl, each word etched with something unnamed.
"But no, I chose to play the knight for Iris.
" He had a pained grimace on his face. "She is kind enough to care about you still, and for her alone, I saved all of you.
Even after you tried to throw Holly at me.
Telling me she would suit me better. It wasn't until I let you know I knew all about your deal with the Ackery cretin that you began to see reason.
I threatened to air your dirty laundry to everyone in your acquaintance if you didn't give me what I wanted. "
Ash looked at Nash, and he nodded his head slowly. As if thanking him for the role he played all those years ago.
"I made it clear that I would have Iris, or no one.
Consider yourselves lucky that you decided to relent.
Your incompetence would have been none of my concern then.
" His eyes burned with something Iris couldn't place, and she had little time to be concerned with it either.
Her mind was reeling from hearing that Nash was the only reason she wasn't given to a rapist years ago.
Bile began to churn in her stomach, and her face whitened.
Her hand subconsciously reached over and gripped his thigh.
Squeezing tightly. His much larger one came down to engulf her own.
What else had he protected her from? Sitting at the table and facing Nash's actions brought to light how many strings he'd truly pulled over the years. What else doesn't she know?
She had little time to contemplate that thought as Nash's ice-cold words pulled from her own thoughts.
"Imagine, if you had actually married her into that family, they would have taken you down with them.
As soon as their mafia ties came to light, you would have been guilty by association.
You should be kissing the very ground she walks on, you ungrateful bastards.
If not for her, I, along with all the countless enemies you made, would be enjoying seeing you destitute and out on the streets.
Or behind bars." He paused there, shooting a wolfish grin at them.
"But alas, here I am. Saving you still, all for her.
And you still treat her like garbage. I'd start thinking real hard about that, if I were you. " The threat was clear in his words.
Ash and Holly exchanged nervous glances of disbelief, their shock palpable in the thickening silence that followed Nash's declaration.
It was Ash who found his voice first, his words tumbling out in confusion.
"What are you talking about? You're saving the company?
I am in control now, not dad. I would know if you were needed to save us.
Things are tight, but we are going to make it. I'm turning it around."
Nash's laughter was bitter. Cold. Devoid of any real humor as he turned his attention to Ash.
"Your desperation is far from the thing keeping this ship from sinking.
Who do you think is behind the investors pouring money into repairing the decrepit factories and warehouses your father neglected?
Where are the 'advisors' who tell you what investments are sound and which ones are too risky?
" Nash's words caused Ash's already white face to somehow grow even more pale.
"Did you think that's how businesses worked?
Investors you've never met just appear to fully fund necessary maintenance and repairs?
" He leaned back in his chair, the smirk never leaving his lips.
"Those investments won't see a return for decades.
If they ever do. Why would someone waste their resources unless...
" His insinuation hung heavily, a guillotine poised to fall.
Ash's complexion drained of all his remaining color as realization dawned on him. He had been oblivious to the hand guiding their fate; Nash was the master pulling the strings in the dark and he never knew. None of them did. But without him, they would have lost everything.
Iris's heart ached for the devastation on her brother's face.
Ash cared about the business, he always had.
He did his best and wanted to turn it around, but he never expected to be handed a failing company.
He was too young and inexperienced to salvage it.
Iris knew it, and for the first time, Ash knew it too.
Iris sat frozen, her breath coming in shallow gasps as she absorbed the magnitude of Nash's influence.
The man she accepted all those years ago had inserted himself so intricately into the fabric of her life that he was pulling strings she hadn't even known about.
Saving her from a fate worse than death.
He may have forced her here with those very strings, but she never knew what he saved her from...
She ran from him, because she was sure he cared nothing for her.
He said those very words before... she heard him. But then... Why?
Why would he save her family? Why do any of what he had done if that was true?
Gratitude nearly sent her to the floor. She knew James; he was on a charity board with her years ago.
James was not a man she missed in her years away.
He always made her uncomfortable. He was odd, emotions all over the place, erratic mood swings.
She never disliked him, but she never sought out his presence.
She would never have wanted to marry him. Ever.
She recalled Nash's words from the plane. How asking her to step down from her charity work was not about controlling her. He said he needed to get her away from James Ackery. Her eyes cut over to him, realizing there was more to his every move than she ever suspected.
If that was true, what else could this marriage be about? She was beginning to realize that Nash never did anything for just one reason. No, he was methodical and always held all the cards.
The room seemed to close in around her, every detail closing in.
Her breaths came faster, her vision fading on the edges.
No matter how fast she inhaled, she couldn't catch her breath.
The room and its rich furnishings all faded away.
Then, a warm weight on her knee brought the world flowing back in.
The air in the dining room seemed to thicken with tension as Nash's voice, smooth and lethal, cut through the silence.
"You should be celebrating the fact that Iris is your daughter," he began, his tone deceptively calm as he turned the knife of his words.
"She's a gem, a rarity that attracted someone like me—someone capable of salvaging the wreckage you call a legacy.
Someone who is able, and willing, to take what I want.
Forcing you to make the decision you did not want to make, but needed to nonetheless. "
"And what choice was so hard for us to make?
" Her mother bit out, her voice arctic. "We knew you were a more advantageous match for the family than the Ackery's.
Sure, we were friends with them, but your family name and fortune far exceeded theirs.
You never made us do anything." Iris couldn't believe her mother had the nerve to challenge Nash so openly.
It's a sentiment the table all shared apparently, as they all turned to stare at her with wide eyes.
"I forced you to make the choice that would allow Iris the best chance of happiness.
And, for reasons I have yet to uncover, that was something you desperately fought against." Nash lashed back at her with sharp words.
"When I approached you about marrying Iris, you insisted Holly would be a better match.
I refused, and you once again offered Holly.
By your own words, you admitted you felt it was Holly's right to be engaged and married first, as the eldest daughter.
I didn't buy that reason then, and I still don't. I suspect you knew exactly what James Ackery would do to Iris.
In fact, I think you were counting on it. "
Iris felt her heart hammering against her ribs, every muscle in her body tensed as she watched the scene unfold. Nash's gaze slid toward her parents, holding them in a vice grip of unspoken accusations.