Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 108517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Victoria glared at me. I wondered if her head would explode.
“And now you’re mocking me.”
“I’m not. That is a true statement.”
“You took Trevor.”
There was no point in lying. “Yes.”
“What else have you done? Out with it.”
“The Empyrean Holdings. Also, House Belfair and the Finch, LTD.”
Victoria’s eyes narrowed. “How did you get to Albion Finch?”
“He has a daughter he’s hiding.”
Her eyebrows crept up. “Alesia? His niece?”
“That’s the one.”
“I should have replaced him five years ago.”
“But you didn’t, and now I have access to a third of your investments. Also, Bern loaded a fun little virus into your House network. You can’t issue payroll to your people unless I authorize it.”
“I’m so angry with you,” she snarled.
“Of course. But you’re also proud.” I held my fingers close together. “Just a little bit.”
She paced inside the circle. It flashed with white like a strobe show. Wow, she was mad.
I would’ve loved another three years or so to complete and adjust my elaborate trap. I had her temporarily contained but it wasn’t enough. The plan had been to shift all of the moving parts into place, so if she ever crossed the line, I could neutralize her with a single blow. Instead, I’d had to resort to this half-baked arrangement, and now she was aware that I posed a serious threat.
“How long do you intend to imprison me here?”
“That depends entirely on you, Grandmother. Arkan is coming, and we could use your help.”
Her gaze bored into me. “You never answered my question.”
Here we go. “No, I didn’t.”
“Why is Arkan fixated on you?”
“You know why. He killed Alessandro’s father. Alessandro has been annoying him for the last decade. He wants to remove him once and for all.”
“You’re lying.”
“Your magic doesn’t work past the circle boundary.”
“I don’t need my magic, you stupid girl. You’re my granddaughter. I can see it in your eyes. Also, I have a brain. I know what that Russian butcher is capable of and how he thinks. He is risk averse. Your pretty boyfriend isn’t enough to draw him out.”
You know what, screw it. “You got me. I’m lying to you. But your lies are bigger, Grandmother. They’re worse.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What lies?”
“Linus Duncan is my grandfather.”
She took a step back as if I’d punched her.
“You knew and didn’t tell me. You allowed me to continue thinking he was just an inexplicably altruistic family friend. You, who always talked about how important family is and how vital the family ties are, how could you?”
She inhaled. “He told you, the sonovabitch.”
“It doesn’t matter who told me. I know.”
She struggled with it for a few moments and raised her chin, her face defiant. “He doesn’t deserve it!”
“What?”
“He left me and James. He abandoned us when we needed him and when James ran away, he helped him hide from me.”
“Maybe it had something to do with the way my father was born.”
She clenched her teeth.
“Grandmother, you implanted an embryo into a woman who couldn’t consent to it and forced her to carry it to term. She was catatonic! I don’t even know what that is. Is it rape, is it a kidnapping, is it human trafficking . . . ? You did something so horrible, there isn’t a name for it.”
“You are alive because of what I did!”
“Well, I can’t exactly help that, can I?”
She clenched her fists. “Do you know what my family was like?”
“You never told me.” I knew. I had done my homework.
“I was the youngest of seven children. I was beloved, Catalina. I was the baby with parents who adored me, five older brothers and an older sister, and in the span of three years, all of them were ripped away from me.”
My great-grandmother had had difficulty carrying a child to term. It ran in that side of the family. She’d had one failed pregnancy after another, until her first husband demanded a divorce. She ended up marrying for a second time. Her new husband was a widower with six children, whom she’d loved like they were her own. When she gave birth to baby Victoria, it was a huge and joyous surprise. Victoria was the baby of the family. She was wrapped in love and affection until her family was destroyed.
My grandmother’s voice was raw. “I was twelve years old when I had to kill for the first time. My sister sacrificed herself so I could live. I saw her die in front of me. House warfare took everything away from me. My parents. My siblings. My health. My happiness, my security, everything!”
The circle flashed with rapid pulses of white, reacting to her magic. I took a step back.
“All I ever wanted was to resurrect a little bit of that warmth. I wanted a baby, Catalina! A child I could love and raise. A family! Is that such a horrible thing? Yes, I wanted him to carry on our House name, because it would mean we won, but most of all I wanted him to be happy and safe. I had to sacrifice so much to bring your father into this world, and yes, I committed an atrocity, but I have been punished for it in the worst way possible. My son ran away from me. I loved him so much. I tried to make him strong because he had no magic. He was defenseless and I couldn’t bear to lose him like I lost everyone else. But he hated me for it, and he ran away, just like Linus. I was all alone, always looking for him, always hoping for a tiny crumb of a hint that he was alive somewhere. I never saw him marry. I never got to hold you or your sisters when you were babies. That was the only thing I wanted, and I didn’t get it. I will never get to hug my son again. He died without me by his side, and his daughters hate me. I know what you call me behind my back. You call me Evil Grandmother.”