Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“Yeah, it is, but I’m okay. I choose to be okay. I have no choice, because I’m laser focused on what I want. Breakin’ down and falling apart won’t fix this shit. Me being smart about my next move will. I gotta plan all of this, all while he’s makin’ my life a living hell. I’m trying to save up the money to open my own gym and get approved for a low interest loan, as I already discussed with you. I just finished two certifications for personal training and I have a business degree that I haven’t used but need to put to work. This is my vision, Nadia, and he’s trying to ruin it, so I can make his dreams come true. He doesn’t care that his dreams are my nightmare.
“I’ve worked my ass off since I was sixteen years old, and I haven’t had handouts from my well-off grandfather. I haven’t always had the support system that I need, either. I’ve got a broken relationship with my father that is goin’ downhill fast, and the truth is it’s because I don’t respect him.”
“Why? Because he works for his father?”
“Because I find him cowardly and embarassin’, and he knows it. Because he is trying to get me to go along with this, knowing it’s not what I want, and it’s not what my mother wanted, either. Dad knows if she was still here she’d kill him before she let this go on. He’s gutless. But he’s still my dad…” He took a deep breath then continued. “Everything family wise is fucked. My sister still refuses to return my calls. Another result of my grandfather’s brainwashing. He’s a wrecking ball.”
“Why is she upset with you?”
“Silva thinks I’m making trouble for no reason. She thinks I should be honored that I was chosen by Grandpa Santa Claus to be in his little Christmas club. Only he isn’t Santa, despite the white beard, and the only thing in that sack over his shoulder are bullets and obituaries. She thinks our grandfather is like Mr. Rogers,” he scoffed. “He never let her see the real him, and she never believed what I’d tell her. Even my father kept her from the truth of his own dealings, and that’s because Grandpa told him to keep the girls out of occupational details. He has enough legit business ventures to lean on and claim that they are his keys to the ponderosa, but it’s all a farce.”
“What does she say when you try to talk frankly with her about y’all’s grandfather?”
“Every time I tried to explain to her that the man is a maniac, she either accused me of flat out lying, getting fake information to try and use to defame him, or insisting that whatever I presented to her wasn’t as bad as I made it seem. Hell, even to this day, she has no idea that the fucker is a career criminal, let alone serial killer as far as I am concerned.” He tossed up his hands. “He’s good at playing different roles for different people, Nadia.”
“Chameleons are smart… They know who to show their true colors, too.”
“Definitely. He’s good at protecting his fake image, too. Silva and I have a lot to catch up on, and I could use her support right now, but she’s dancin’ with the enemy and can’t see the forest for the trees. He will stop at nothing to get his way, unless I come up with somethin’ that’s better, or somethin’ so terrible that he decides to leave me the hell alone. I don’t want any more blood on my hands.” But he may not leave me any choice. “Now, back to you… do you have any loose strings, Nadia? Put it all on the table.”
“No.” She shrugged. “Like what? What are you accusin’ me of?” He could tell she wasn’t lying. She genuinely didn’t seem to know what the hell he was talking about. “I’m not hiding anything.”
“Oh, really? That’s not true according to this.” He slipped her phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Looks like you’ve got an ex-boyfriend who can’t take no for an answer.” Immediately, the vibe changed. Her shoulders slumped and her complexion deepened. “And before you accuse me of anything, no, I wasn’t goin’ through your shit. When you were in the shower, your phone kept going off. I saw some of his messages flash on the screen—well, part of them—and I got the gist of it. Now, do I need to handle somethin’?”
“…I thought you said all of that violent shit was behind you. In the past.”
“I’ve evolved. That doesn’t mean that I’m a fuckin’ doormat or pussy. I protect what’s mine.”
She pursed her lips while reading a few of the messages the fucker from her past had bombarded her phone with before putting it down abruptly on the table—next to the letter from Satan.