AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It won’t matter anyway,” My father said. “I’m dying.”
Tobias gave a huff.
“I have maybe a couple weeks left.”
Tobias froze.
That icy sensation grew along the back of my neck as I took a step forward, brushing past Caleb and Nick before I placed my hand on Tobias’ arm. His anger was a direct result of the love he felt for me. He’d destroy everyone and everything which hurt me. But this pain wasn’t something that could be destroyed…just completed, before I moved on.
I met my father’s familiar stare. “I hope you find the peace you’ve been looking for in your next life.”
“Ryth, baby.”
I shook my head as tears welled in my eyes. “Noooo. No, you don’t get to call me that. You don’t get to?—”
“Dad?”
The call was deep, wounded. I spun around, finally heeding the thud of footsteps, and found Helene standing in the doorway. Her gaze went from me…to our father.
“You?” Riven pushed past her, those killer eyes fixed on our father. “You fucking bastard!”
There was no stopping him as he lunged across the room faster than anyone expected, shoving Tobias and me aside to get his hands on our father.
“I’m going to FUCKING KILL YOU!”
Tobias grabbed me and steadied both of us before he turned, shoving Riven hard. “Hey! You fucking asshole!”
“Riven,” Helene called, making the vengeful male turn around and face her.
She strode closer, easing him aside. But she didn’t give our father her attention. No, not at first. Instead, she focused on me, moving closer to hug me and brush her fingers across Ali’s cheek. “You okay?”
I gave a nod, my heart swelling with her love. She might not’ve been the sister I’d wanted throughout my childhood. Hell, she wasn’t even a normal sister now as an adult. But there was a love between all three of us. One that had been etched by blood and pain. One stronger than I’d ever realized until that moment as she turned to our father.
“I’d ask you why you’re here, but I realized I really don’t care.” He opened his mouth to speak, until she cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Don’t bother. Your diagnosis means little to us now. All I want from you is closure. So, say what you need to say to us, then leave. We can’t wait to forget you ever existed.”
Agony roared across his eyes. He reached into his pocket, making Riven grab his wrist.
“Easy.” He warned.
But our father didn’t carry a weapon, not one we could see, at any rate. He pulled out a small black thumb drive. “This…this is worth everything.”
Helene stared at the drive in his hand.
“The files in the Vault were corrupted. We didn’t know that at the time, but I had my man try to crack the codes to release the information. He couldn’t and in the end, I realized there was no way for you to survive this without more. There are more Hales involved in this. More than you could ever know. They hide behind badges and plaques. They hide behind the greatest house we know. There’re no laws that can touch them, no amount of money that can force them from the dark where they hide. There is no winning this war without this.” He lifted the device, his voice cracking. “And there was no getting this unless you were on the inside. He had to think I was part of all this. I had to find some way to earn his trust.”
“So you just fed your daughters to those men to do it?” Riven spat. “You fucking disgust me.”
“Yes.” Our father answered as tears filled his eyes. “I did and if I had to do it again, even if it caused me this, I’d do it again.”
“You really are a bastard.” Tobias shook his head.
But our father just looked at us, desperately holding out that goddamn drive. Helene stared at it, then turned and gave him her back.
“Please.” He begged. “You wanted an ending, right? You wanted closure from me, this…this is your closure.”
She turned, her eyes shimmering. My throat thickened at the sight. I reached out and brushed her arm. She’d suffered so much for us. Too much. I dropped my hand and stepped forward, taking the drive from his hand.
“Thank you, Ryth. Thank you, I?—”
