Page 86

Which might be a gift if I take this role that I never knew I was being groomed for.

Grandfather doesn’t answer, just reaches into his pocket and pulls out his watch. A watch I’ve seen him carry for years, but he’s never opened it to my knowledge. Rumor is that the timepiece is broken, but he keeps it anyhow as a reminder that time is precious.

“Your grandmother, Evelyn, was my everything. The reason my father got rid of her was that I was going to run away with her and leave all this behind. But the night we were meant to leave, she was not at the train station as we planned. I went to her home and found a note that said she did not love me anymore and that she wanted a life free of me. I threw this watch at the wall at that very moment. A watch my own grandfather gave me when I turned ten and became a man in his eyes. The clock stopped working the second my heart shattered. I should have thrown it away or fixed it, but I did not. I kept it.”

He opens the pocket watch, and true to his word, the faceplate is shattered, and the time is stopped at 11:47. But it’s what’s on the other side that pulls my attention far more than the timepiece. It’s a picture of him and a woman who looks so similar to what I remember of my mother. But they’re young and together. It’s a small picture, only taking up half of the area. The other half is a picture of my mom and me. Neither of us is looking at the camera, just each other. It’s a close-up of us, and I don’t recall it at all, but tears gather in my eyes at seeing mom again. I didn’t leave here with much, but I had a picture of her. Just one. And when my landlord tossed my things, the picture got torn and crumpled. I still have it, lines across Mom’s face and all.

Because I’m just like Grandfather.

The broken parts aren’t something you toss away but cherish and hold on to.

Something clicks into place. Maybe I’ve spent my whole life believing “broken” meant “worthless.” But Grandfather never did.

I look around the room before my gaze settles back on him. For the first time, I realize I don’t have to put myself back together alone.

“We should prepare to fight back, then.” I place my hand over his and close the pocket watch.

I never planned for this to be my life, but it is. And I’m not someone who runs. I meet each harsh reality head-on and look it directly in the eye. But instead of feeling pain, I will claim victory.

The Yakuza took many things from me: my mother, my grandmother, and my youth.

But they will not take my future.

No.

That’s something I’ll claim for myself.

Chapter 26 - Atom

I rub my eyes to hopefully stop the cross-eyed feeling. “Why is there so much paperwork?” I swear I’ve read over a hundred pages of legal jargon and understood none of it.

“All wars have paperwork,” Vinny says as he turns the page of what I swear is his five hundredth stack of paper. The guy goes through these things like a kid eats candy.

I raise an eyebrow at his words and huff. “War? Are we going into one?” Because no one told me.

“What did you think this was?” Vinny looks up at me with a dull stare across the conference table we’ve commandeered from Takahashi-san.

“I don’t know. A paper cut waiting to happen?”

He rolls his eyes and goes back to reading. “You Hounds are a riot,” he mutters before tossing the packet down and standing to get another cup of coffee. The guy goes through those just about as fast as he does the packets.

“Paperwork is essential in winning a war,” he continues. “Paperwork lives long past the death of another. Just ask Takahashi-san’s father. It was his will that said only those of his bloodline would get his assets, and if a bloodline relative should not be found, then all assets must be split and sold off.”

“And why is that bad?” I rock backward in my chair and sway as Vinny turns and stirs his drink. He takes it in a variety of ways, I’ve noticed. Sometimes black, other times with cream and sugar. All variations, and I kind of want to know why he doesn’t just stick to one kind, but I also don’t care enough to ask.

He’s not the one who holds my fascination. That would be the woman at the head of the table with a frown as she tries to go over the same legalese as the rest of us.

“It would bankrupt the Takahashi family and financially cripple several other Yakuza families,” Natalie mumbles but doesn’t look up.

I’m surprised by this and look at her grandfather, who nods. “For all the man’s faults, my father was a true businessman. He was also petty. If he could not have something, he made sure no one could.”

“By splitting and selling things off, that would cause more harm as well, as families would fight for control and they’d all lose faith in one another, double-crosses and the like?” I ask to make sure I understand this right.

The three of them nod.

“Damn.” I turn to Natalie, who’s finally looked up to see me. “Thought your background was of the honorable type,” I say with a smirk, as I know it will pull a smile from her.

She won’t admit it, but my smirks almost always earn me one of hers. And I’d rather see anything but a frown on her delicate face.