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“Son.” My father’s voice carries through the wind, and I turn to the right to see him in his open-air living area with a long, twenty-foot bar. Off to the left of me are wicker chairs with white cushions that he and his friends are usually lounging on, and behind that is the open-concept dining room.
I head closer to where he’s sitting on a cream-colored chair with what appears to be an iced tea in his hand. “My trip to London went exceptionally well,” I state, prepared to tell him everything I told Eset I would.
“Oh? Do tell.” He takes a sip of his tea and looks back to the bartender. “Lucas, please fix my son something to drink.”
Lucas looks over to me, waiting for me to say something. “I’ll take a Coke.”
“Just a Coke?”
I nod. “Yes, I made plans with Eset to meet in St. Moritz, Switzerland, so we can go skiing,” I add with a mischievous smile. “Father, I’d heard things about her… but I had no idea what type of woman she was. Her beauty is indescribable, and she has so much wit. Her intelligence completely blew me away, if I’m being honest. In this day and age, do you know how hard it is to find a woman who you can engage in deep conversation with? Eset isn’t some surface-level bitch like I’m used to dealing with.”
“No, son, she is not. She’s the crème de la crème, and I knew you’d be pleased with her caliber… of everything. She could’ve been a supermodel, I’m sure. You didn’t mind how frail she is?”
I shake my head. “No. You know I typically don’t go for women that thin, but Eset makes up for it in different areas.”
My father raises both of his brows. “Oh? Did things progress nicely over the past few days?” He thinks I fucked her, and I’ll let him think that.
Lucas comes up with my Coke, and I take a sip of the soda. “Thank you, Lucas.”
“You’re very welcome, sir,” Lucas states as he walks away and goes to stand back behind the bar.
“Eset has agreed to move forward with the wedding. I think she had reservations because she didn’t want to end up in a marriage with someone who didn’t appreciate her opinions. She has a strong will, and you know some men would beat that out of her.”
“Most men would want to put her in her place, so am I right in assuming you don’t?”
“I don’t see a reason to strip her will from her. She’s more valuable to me as my wife if she has her spirit intact. When men do that to women, it hardly ever helps them. I want her to be my partner and an ally, not someone who fears me.”
“Good answer, very good answer. So, has she said when the wedding will take place?”
“No, we’re supposed to be discussing it in a few days, but she did say she wanted to have it as soon as possible.”
My father cocks a brow and smiles. “Good, this is very good. After you’re married to an Umarova, half of my enemies will disappear back into the woodwork. They wouldn’t dare go against me because it would be going against you, and thus Eset. The Umarovas have been developing an even more notorious reputation over these last few months, son. This union between the two of you is going to be better than I ever thought.”
I can see the wheels spinning in his mind. He’s already thinking about how he can use my marriage to his advantage, and I would pay millions to see his face the moment he realizes my marriage won’t benefit him in the slightest.
The fact of the matter is I’ve always been loyal to my father, but my loyalty isn’t automatically given anymore. It’s something that must be earned, and I know my place when it comes to him. I’m only a means to an end, and I know he hates my opinions when I speak up. He’s going to replace me as soon as he can, and I won’t be shocked if he eventually tries to kill me. Like Eset said, it’s kill or be killed, and I won’t be experiencing the latter.
I only found out about his child-trafficking enterprise last year, and my father told me he had never said anything before because he believed I was too “soft”. I haven’t ever been soft in my life, but I do have a conscience, which is something he doesn’t have. How could you when you sell and trade children like they’re fucking Pokémon cards? It’s despicable, and he deserves every horrible thing that will happen to him.
Now, I know my father’s child-trafficking business doesn’t simply start and end with him. He has higher-ups he deals with, as well as clients and suppliers… though I don’t have all their names since he just brought me on this last year. It’ll be hard for me to damage his business as much as I want to, but it won’t be impossible. I want to make sure those children get into safe families, ones where they never have to experience the pain that my father has made them endure.
“I hate to cut this short, but I really need to get going. First, I need to head back to my condo and pack for snowy weather. Then I’ll be handling some business matters and flying out,” I explain and then take a couple more sips of my Coke.
“I understand. What business are you handling?” My father cocks a brow.
“Remember Juan Carlos?”
“Pérez?”
“Yes. I’m heading to Mexico City to have a chat with him since he’s been talking shit about our family.”
My father smirks. “Good. It’s about time we put more people in their place.”
“I’m done with the disrespect our family has dealt with. I really do need to get going, so I’ll call you later once I’m in Switzerland. Okay?”
“Perfect. I’m glad things are going so well with the two of you. Keep on the track you’re on, son. It’ll work out for all of us. I’m certain of it.”
Yeah. It’ll end up working out for Eset and me in the long run.
