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“Don’t hurt Lydia. Let this go. She came home safe.”
My father takes a step back. My mother’s shoulders drop as she exhales.
“You could make another choice.” Dad’s musing now, no trace of violence in his voice. “You regret your decision. Understandable, given that we raised you. Given that we would have given you the world. You never should have left this family or your sisters. Look at Lydia.” He gestures in her direction. “Wouldn’t she have been so much better off if you’d been here to help?”
Maybe she would have. That’s what hurts. I might have been able to protect her. I could have kept Dad’s attention on me, at the very least. If I hadn’t left her here with Catherine, who’s mostly concerned with finding a husband and ascending to the very top of society, Lydia wouldn’t need to rebel so much.
“I don’t deal in hypotheticals.”
He laughs. “Really? You used to love them as a girl.”
“Youused to love them.”
“How about this? It’s not a hypothetical, Elise. You can take your place in our business group right alongside Gabriel. Not as a couple, of course.” His smile gets wider. Sharply satisfied. “As individuals. You as a member of my family, and him…well, I suppose he doesn’t have any family left. But now he’ll have us.”
Taking my placemeans going through with whatever initiation my father has come up with for new members. Joiningthe consortium is several steps further than coming to work for him at Bettencourt International.
“You said you were going to come back.” Lydia’s voice is so soft that the plush carpet swallows it up. “You said you were thinking about it.”
I did say that.
I’m thinking about coming back. Don’t worry, okay? I’ll be here with you. I’ll help you.
From the hope in her eyes, I can tell she’s trying to smooth this over. Defuse the situation.
And I’m powerfully tempted by the offer. It means being with Gabriel. Not as a couple, just like my father says, but I can keep an eye on him. Even if I can’t stop him from destroying the consortium, I can make sure he doesn’t destroy himself in the process.
I can bear witness, at least.
But if I agree now, while he’s actively threatening me, what will that teach her? I don’t want my sister to get the idea that she can never leave this behind. Or that I’ve given up hope on a life that’s not controlled by our father.
I’m not thinking clearly. I’ve got too much adrenaline and emotion to approach this like a business proposal, and signing my life over to the consortium is more than that.
“No,” I tell him.
Lydia blinks. My mother’s face falls. My father nods. I could be anyone sitting across the desk at his office. Any stranger. Any nobody.
“Fine. Then get out of my house. You can come back if and when you change your mind. Take her away.”
I turn to find three agents coming through the door. My stomach drops. I haven’t seen so many inside the house in years. They’re at my side in a blink. One of them takes me by the arm. Another steps between me and Lydia.
“You’re not serious.” I keep my eyes on my father’s as they pull me to the door.
I made it a point not to come to the house for almost two years. This is only my fourth visit. And IpromisedLydia I would be there for her. I told her I’d help. If I can’t get in…
“Test me.” My father means it. “Come back without your apology in hand, and I’ll authorize them to use force.”
Then I’m out of the room. I try to shake the agent’s hand off. “I don’t need help finding the exit.”
“We’ve been ordered to escort you out, ma’am.”
Lydia’s voice, rising, follows us out into the hall. It’s cut off by my father’s. The agent deposits me on the front porch, and they file back inside.
The heavy door closes with a deep, finalthud.
The lockclicks.
A droplet lands on the top of my head. Another one.
