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“Then tell me because I want you to admit to me what a terrible man you are,” I say, losing my smile. “I just need to hear you say it.”
“You’re just like your mother,” he argues. “It never mattered what I did. I just had to own up to it, as if owning up to it takes away the horror.”
“Well, maybe to me it does,” I say. “I know what you did, that much is true. But it will bring me joy to hear you say it and confirm to me that you’re the scum of the Earth, father. Because that’s what you are. Scum.”
“That’s enough!” he shouts. “You want to hear it? Fine! I’ll tell you, and I’ll enjoy telling you too!”
I lean back in my chair and wait patiently for him to start talking.
“You think you could ever be like me?” he says. “You’re wrong. You have no idea how much money it takes to pull this kind of shit off.”
“You’re right, I don’t.”
“The first time I had him convicted, it nearly bankrupted me!” he shouts. “The amount of people I had to pay to say that they had seen him at the site of the robbery was outrageous. And don’t even get me started on that judge at his trial. With every passing day that bastard wanted more money!”
“Oh please, I bet you loved it!” I argue.
“Of course I did!” he shouts. “But do you have any idea how many crimes I had to commit to get that money back? And I’d do it all again.”
“Why?” I say. “Why not just let it go this time? You kicked me out. You didn’t want me. Why not let him have me?”
“And ruin my reputation?” he snaps. “How would that look if my daughter goes running into the arms of the enemy? There’s no way I could let that happen.”
“And how much did it cost you this time, father?” I press. “To pay all those judges and police officers? How much?”
“More than you could even fathom,” he answers. “But it’s worth every penny. I did it to him once, and I’ll do it to him again. I already have the media and the judges on my side. It won’t be long until he rots in jail for your kidnapping.”
“But he didn’t kidnap me,” I argue.
“I know that,” he says. “But the people out there don’t. And I have a reputation to uphold.”
My hatred for my father threatens to bubble over. I want to reach for the nearest item to me and throw it at his head. I want to beat him to death with his own ashtray. I know it isn’t necessary. He’s just sealed his own downfall and he doesn’t even know it.
“I bet you’re really proud of yourself, aren’t you?” I ask.
“I am, as a matter of fact,” he says. “My plan is working. And for a moment there, I thought you might go to the press after your little escape. But here you are, like the real idiot that you are.”
“You’re right,” I say. “I must be an idiot to come back here.”
As it turns out, it’s been way easier to coax his confession than I thought it would. In the end, it has worked to my benefit that he thinks I’m an idiot. He clearly thinks I’m too stupid to have set him up and recorded the entire conversation.
And for as long as he feels that way, I consider the mission a success. I can only hope that Dalton’s tech man has followed through and saved all the audio. Otherwise this has been a waste.
I sit quietly, because I know what will happen next. There is no way my father will simply let me walk out of here. He still wants that statement from me.
“I’m not going to give you the statement,” I say. “So don’t bother asking.”
“I know that,” he snaps.
He nods in the direction of his guards, and I raise my arms in anticipation of them. I make it easier for them to carry me away to the room where he had me locked up before. He’s beefed up the security. Every window on it now has bars, and there’s double the security I had before.
“If you want to see your little lover boy’s face again, then I suggest you turn on the news,” one of the guards says before spitting at my feet.
The door slams and suddenly, I’m completely alone again. I realize now that I haven’t thought about what might happen beyond this point. I haven’t asked nearly enough questions, it seems. I will have to get ready for it eventually. In the meantime, I do as the guard suggested. I watch the news. But not for news on Edoardo’s arrest. I am waiting for news of his release.
When it’s almost morning again, I finally pull the device from my stomach. I am certain they’ve had enough time to do whatever they needed to with the audio. I throw it to the floor and crush it before flushing it down the toilet.
Then, I get into bed and sleep. Unlike last time, sleep comes easily to me now, knowing that my father will soon be punished for being the tyrant that he is.
