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“So you regret sending me to the docks, leaving me for dead?”
“Regret is a strong word for it,” Xavier chuckles. “But you were dear to me once, Heath. Of course, that doesn’t mean I can forgive what you did to my wife. You stole, lied, and corrupted the woman I wanted to bear my child. And soon, you’ll have to pay for that.”
My lips thin into a line as we stare at one another. “I’m not letting you have Rain back.”
“Relax,” he smirks. “I have a solution that will benefit us all. I’ll reveal it tomorrow when she comes here.”
“I don’t want her anywhere near you.”
“Unfortunately for you, that’s not something you have a say in.”
“Why bring me here alone?”
“I told you already.”
“You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe your wholesome story of wanting to spend time with your nephew,” I spit out. “You’ve done nothing but hurt me my entire life. Don’t tell me you’re changing your tune now.”
Xavier smirks, shaking his head. “I see so much of your father in you, Heath.”
I stiffen. Because of the accident, I didn’t get to grow up with my parents and I never knew them well. Their memory has already faded and I barely remember a thing about my father. And so I found myself eager for Xavier to go on. He’s one of the few people who can shed some light on who my parents were and what happened to them.
“Did you kill my parents?”
The question falls from my lips before I can stop it. I know Xavier will deny it, but I still want to hear him say it.
“No,” he shakes his head. “I had nothing to do with the accident that took their lives.”
“But you know more than you’re letting on.”
He doesn’t answer, turning to face the estate below him. “Do you remember your grandfather, Heath?”
“Vaguely,” I mutter. “He never took much interest in me.”
My grandpa, my father’s father, died only a year after the tragic accident that took my parents’ lives. He’d been diagnosed with cancer a while before it, and it took his life eventually, reminding us all it doesn’t matter what status you have and how wealthy you are. Once you’re dead... you’re fucking gone for good.
“I was close with him,” Xavier says. “Closer than your father, probably.”
“Where are you going with this?”
“I remember the day of the accident,” he goes on. “It was early morning, and I wanted to take the Chrysler out for a ride. It was one of the rare times your grandfather forbade me from doing something. He said I wasn’t allowed to take the car out, that your father would. I suppose he didn’t know your mother and you would be in the car too.”
My mind races at what he’s saying. “Are you trying to tell me my grandfather caused the accident?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I always had my doubts because he wouldn’t let me get in the car,” Xavier mutters. “When I heard of the accident, this sick feeling took over. I knew the car had been tempered with. I don’t think your grandfather knew you and your mother would be in the car, too.”
“But why would grandfather kill his own soon?”
“Your father... he wasn’t cut out for this world,” Xavier mutters. “He would never make it in the cartel. I believe your grandfather saw it as a mercy, to get rid of him before someone else did.”
“He killed my parents,” I kiss. “There’s no mercy in that.”
“Your grandfather regretted that,” Xavier nods thoughtfully. “At the end, when he was very ill, he told me you needed that to happen, so you wouldn’t end up as soft and timid as your father. He told me to toughen you up. Made me swear I would on his deathbed.”
I remain silent, pondering everything Xavier told me. I remember the day of the accident again. Xavier ripping through metal, getting severely scared in the process just so he could save me before the car ignited and went up in flames. My parents were already dead when we hit that tree. I remember the brakes didn’t work. I remember my mother’s screams. They were gone on impact. But I wasn’t. And Xavier saved me.
“Now you know I have a brother,” he goes on. “Perhaps that’s why I wanted a special connection with you, but I was also worried about getting attached to somebody. And I needed to keep my promise to your grandfather.”
“So you left me for fucking dead.”
“Heath... I did what I had to do.”
“Bullshit,” I snarl, picking myself up from the chair. “You wanted me gone. You wanted to steal what was never yours.”
The temptation to slam my fist in Xavier’s face is strong, but I resist it, knowing his guards will instantly overpower me. There’s three right outside the door.
