AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Trustee? When I turned eighteen, your access was revoked,” I shoot back. I remember that day clearly—it was the day after my birthday. We signed papers with our lawyer, and I got an accountant, personal banker, and investment advisor.
My father hasn’t been involved in my financial situation since then.
He’s still fucking laughing, which infuriates me. He roots in a drawer and pulls out a stack of papers. I reach out to pick it up, but my hand can’t seem to stretch far enough and the words on the paper are so tiny.
He clicks his tongue disdainfully. “I’ll spare you the trouble.” The derision in his voice makes my skin crawl. “What you signed on your eighteenth birthday was actually an amendment to the original terms of your trust, making me anirrevocabletrustee.”
In my swimming vision, I see him smile.
No.
“You’re fucking lying,” I hiss.
He smiles wide, like something from a horror movie. “You were stupid enough to sign those papers while you still had a hangover. You didn’t even read what you were signing.” He chuckles. “All you got on your eighteenth birthday was more access, but I’m still the one in control.”
I’m stunned.
“So it can all disappear tomorrow. If you disobey me, I will ensure that it does.”
I’m slipping below my consciousness. The pain coupled with this revelation is pulling me under. There’s no way…
“You wouldn’t. Without me, the Empire will crumble. You have no other heir.”
Another laugh. “I’m still virile, aren’t I? I can have another child and leave it to them.” He narrows his eyes. “I would rather leave this all to an infant and appointBen as interim leader than let you marry a Moreau.”
All his contempt makes no sense to me.
My father’s a control freak, sure, but all this contempt for the woman I love, his inability to see reason–I can’t understand it. He hasn’t even met Alize, hasn’t even given her a chance.
Fuck. This.
“I’m not going to marry Ottilie, and I’m not staying in this house,” I say, gesturing to the walls. “You want me to spend the holiday in this house where Mum died, to marry some brainless bimbo you picked out for me? I won’t stand for it.”
“You don’t have a choice, Alexander.”
I rise to my feet then, intending to cross the room and beat some sense into him. But the world starts spinning even faster. I can’t feel my head or my hands or my toes. The last thing I see before the world goes black is Alize’s concerned face. I’m glad she’s not here to see me like this. She’s going to be so upset at me.
She wanted me to be safe.
TEN
ALIZE
Wesley ispleasant company during the ride.
Instead of one of the SUVs we drove over in, he takes a sports car from the garage. On our way to the doctor, he tells me stories from his childhood—he and Alexander basically grew up together. It takes my mind off things a bit.
“When we were in prep school we kind of hated each other,” Wesley says.
I look at him with a raised eyebrow. I wasn’t expecting that, since they seem so close now.
“Why was that?” I ask, propping my hand up on the center console.
“We liked the same girl.” A bark of laughter leaves him. “And for the first time, she preferred me to him. It drove him crazy.”
I laugh too, picturing the image. If Alexander’s temper back then was anything like it is now, he would have certainly blown a fuse. There’s a twinge of jealousy at the thought of Alexander liking someone else before me—even though it makes no sense since we literally didn’t know each other at the time.
“Did he try to beat you up?” I ask.
