“Snip my balls.” He sighs dramatically.
“Exactly.” Her glare disappears as she smiles at me and kisses my cheek, whispering, “I’m so sorry the world couldn’t handle someone as larger than life as Preston.”
My throat closes, but I stay still as she walks away, her frame disappearing in the growing fog.
Dad holds the umbrella over our heads as we both face where Mom just disappeared, the gravestones of the expensive-looking cemetery resembling ghosts.
Didn’t know cemeteries could be luxurious as well, but I’ve always been proved wrong in this world of Dad and his people.
“Are your sons buried in this cemetery?” I ask, my voice as dead as the people here.
“Yes,” he says without emotion. “A few rows down below, next to your grandfather and the rest of your ancestors.”
“Will I be buried there, too?”
“Not anytime soon, but yes, one day. You’re family.”
“How about X? Was he buried here?”
His grip tightens on the umbrella, but his tone doesn’t change. “I see Serena has been running her mouth.”
“Certainly, you knew she’d use anything in her arsenal to keep me away. It’s natural she’d try to placate me, threaten me, and make me scared of you.”
“Are you? Scared of me?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“If you wanted me dead, I would be by now. I know you threatened her somehow to get off my and Mom’s backs.” I tilt my head in his direction. “What did you do?”
“Everyone has a weakness, I just used hers. It’s not her time yet, and she needs to understand that. Rest assured, she will not hurt your mother. I promise you that.”
“Growing soft?”
A small smile tugs the corner of his lips. “I’ve always had a soft spot for your mother. It’s why I let her go.”
“Will you still let her go if I refuse to cooperate?”
“Yes, but it’s not in your best interest. Without what I’moffering, Serena will kill you. Just like she killed her other brothers.”
My hand flexes. “What?”
“She told you about X, no?”
“The one you used to keep your sons alive?”
“Yes. But did she tell you she blew him and the entire lab up, and with that, she indirectly killed her other brothers? To answer your question, no. X isn’t buried here because there was nothing left of him.”
“She would do that?”
“She would.” A small smile curls his lips. “She’s just like me, my daughter—she’d do anything for power. I killed my father; she killed her brothers.”
“Why don’t you give her that power?”
“No, she’ll have to fight me for it. This war will go on until my last breath or hers.”
I chuckle humorlessly. “So I’m just a chess piece in your father-daughter fight?”
