Forty-Two
Regan
There were so many times in my life where I looked at my dad and forgave him. When he said or did something that hurt and I brushed it off.
I hadn’t realized until this second how resilient I had become.
The day at Sweet Haven, he had looked me in the eye, told me I was never going to run his business, that I was useless, and what had I done? Brushed it off and went to go to a party for his benefit. Nothing had been there for me that night, but I had gone so no one would think he didn’t care because he couldn’t attend.
I had been helping him get on good terms with people so his campaign would run smoothly next year, and he had said nothing but cruel things in return.
Maybe I had gone numb to my feelings or my wants, maybe I was weak and cowardly, or maybe I was just strong enough to handle it. Each time, I pushed it aside and moved on.
But was I strong enough to watch my father put a gun to my head and pull the trigger?
My chest heaved as I pushed Rook aside, facing my dad.
“We don’t want any deal you have,” I said. “You would kill me? For what? Your business? So Elliot can run it one day and I don’t get in the way? Why?”
He fought off Aiden and Hero, who were holding him down. While they let him go, they didn’t let him stand up. “Elliot will never have my business. All of you young kids are so stupid, I couldn’t trust any of you to run it. Elliot will die the minute the lords find out what we did, and I need somewhere to place blame.”
I glanced at Elliot, who was fighting against the ties and gag now, hatred and fear coating his face as he glanced from my dad to me.
“But why? Why not pass your business down to your own child?”
My dad sneered, looking up at me with pure malice in his eyes. “Because, Regan, you were never meant to be more than a puppet. You were supposed to make me look good, nothing more. But you, you had to bring all of this on us. You are trying to ruin everything.”
I could barely move, shaking my head as I turned to Rook.
“There is nothing to ruin now,” Rook said with a smile. “The house belongs to Regan. Asher knows about your theft and is already working to undo the damage and calm the lords back down. He’s also helping to assure you have no business left.”
My dad’s eyes went wide. “What have you done?”
“Took every single one of your clients and business partners and told them the truth. You are stealing from every single one of them. They no longer want to do business together. Everything else left was donated. Money, assets, buildings. All of it was given away this morning to people whose lives you helped ruin.” Rook leaned back in the chair, grinning now. “And best of all, your daughter, your own flesh and blood, is now loyal to me. The only person in this world who might have been able tosave you is now sitting on this side of the table with me, ready to determine your fate, and I will carry out any fate she decides for you. I honestly thought killing you would be the only thing in this world to make me feel better about what you did, but this, Cameron—your own daughter telling me how she wants your life ruined and me getting to carry out her wishes—is the best revenge I could ever ask for.”
His eyes jumped to me again. “Regan, I’m sorry. Please, I shouldn’t have done the things I did, but you know how important a legacy is to me. You know how important this business is to me.”
“I think we are way past a simple ‘I’m sorry,’” I said. “I don’t want you to have any of it back. I’m glad he took it all away from you.”
Rook stood up, moving next to my side, but I turned to face him.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, not taking my eyes off my dad, “I didn’t believe you.”
“You shouldn’t have. I’m glad you waited for proof, Rebel. I wouldn’t want anything less, and I have no issue proving the truth to you.”
Before I could respond, a loud crack echoed through the room. Elliot had managed to free one hand and had grabbed the knife Evie had shoved into the my dad’s chair. His face twisted with rage as he lunged at my dad.
“You think I’m just going to sit here and let you throw me under the bus?” Elliot snarled. “You think I’m going to die after you make a mess of things? You told me I would get it all, but I was just one more puppet for you.”
My dad’s eyes went wide with shock, but before he could react, Elliot plunged the knife hard into his chest. He yelled before he collapsed to the floor, blood pooling under him.
A stunned silence filled the room. My heart pounded in my chest as I stared at him on the floor now. I felt like I should do something. Like I should run over and help him, but I couldn’t move.
Rook turned to wrap his arms around me, hiding the view of it from me. I didn’t want to see it, but part of me felt like I needed to see proof of what had just happened.
Evie yelled out, and Aiden’s voice boomed for Hero to grab Elliot. I fought at Rook, forcing him to let me glance around his arm to see what was happening.
Elliot stood in the middle of the room, a bloodied knife held up, swinging wildly if anyone came closer.
