Page 86 of Queen’s Gambit

He didn’t say anything.

“Answer me,” I screamed.

“I hear you.”

“Then understand this, you’re not my father. You can say what you want and boast all you want, but at the end of the day, only a spineless piece of shit would do what you’ve done to me. The loathing in my chest burns brighter than the bowels of hell. I will rejoice when you’re sent there to meet your maker and then I’ll laugh as you scream among the flames.”

My mother gasped.

“Don’t come to my room. Don’t summon me. Don’t talk to me. Don’t even look at me again. You’re nothing and no one to me, and if I never lay my eyes on you again it will be too soon. But if you think for one second that I’ll let you continue to dress me up and use me as a spectacle of your loin’s greatness, then you’re sorely mistaken.”

I tossed the poker onto the floor, and it bounced and rolled away on the marble.

“You’re dead to me. Dead,” I said, turning for the door.

“Yulianna.”

He was no longer worthy of any respect, but I stopped and glanced back.

“Edmundo was never going to be good enough for you.”

Narrowing my eyes, I spun around to face him.

“If I were you, Vadin, I’d watch what you say. You may wake up in the middle of the night, missing your tongue. Never mention his name again. You’re not fit to breathe the same air as Eddie.” I looked him over as he sat up, rubbing his neck. “You’re a pathetic excuse of a man who hides behind the word family when you don’t even understand the meaning.”

Wheeling around, I balled my fists and growled at the two guards.

“Get out of my way, or I’ll rip your balls right off your body.”

They hesitated a moment but stepped aside for me to pass.

My mother had a strange look on her face that I couldn’t decipher as I left both her and my father in his destroyed office. He’d broken something in me. I could feel the blank space where my empathy had been. The emotion had allowed me to forgive him in the past because he’d been born into this world, raised by strict parents, and, in his own way, felt that he was doing what was best. It was gone, along with my love and respect.

“Oh my god, Yuli, are you sure that was wise,” Frida asked as I breezed past her to the stairs.

“I don’t care, not anymore.”

A thought occurred to me, and as soon as we were in her bedroom, I locked the door.

“Tell me something, does my father have one of those secret entrances into his office?”

“I’m not sure I like what you’re thinking, but yes.”

“Good. When everyone is asleep, you’ll take me there.”

“Yuli, this isn’t a good idea,” Frida said, and she might be right, but I wasn’t in the mood to listen.

“You don’t even know what I’m planning yet.”

Using the other door, I walked into my room. If I was going to war with my father, then I needed to take action. I wanted an office of my own. Looking around, I picked a corner and started moving everything out of the way.

“I don’t need to ask. Whatever it is will be risky. He’s fired people and had them taken out and beaten for stepping foot in his office when he’s not there.”

Standing straight, I put my hands on my hips and stared my best friend in the eyes.

“He’s already ripped my heart from my chest, stolen my future, and signed my death certificate, all with a swipe of his pen. I don’t care if it’s risky, and honestly, I don’t give fuck if he has me killed at this point. It’s time I fought back. If it takes a week, a year, or even ten years, I will have my vengeance.”

“You’re talking treason,” she said, lowering her voice and looking around.