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I was Alana fucking Montoya!
‘You couldn’t be more wrong. Alejandro loves me because of who I really am, not because of who he tries to make me be, or who you tried to convince him I was. You sold me to him, Dad. You sold your only daughter to a man you knew to be a ruthless killer. You call him an animal, but you are a monster.’
He raised his arm and brought the back of his hand crashing down against my cheek so hard that my head snapped backwards. ‘You ungrateful little whore,’ he raged at me.
I backed away from him as he advanced towards me with his fist in the air.
Paulo came through the kitchen door so fast that I hardly had time to process the fact that he was in the room until he had my father in a choke hold.
My father struggled. ‘Get off me,’ he sputtered as he flailed against Paulo’s superior strength.
‘If I let you go, are you going to sit your ass down?’ Paulo snarled.
‘Yes,’ my father choked.
Paulo released him and my father stumbled to a chair, rubbing his throat. ‘What the hell are you doing? You work for me,’ he rasped.
I looked at Paulo and he nodded at me. ‘Actually, I work for Mr. and Mrs. Montoya,’ he said as he glared at my father.
‘What?’ my father snarled. ‘But you’re my security.’
‘I am. But I am employed by The Montoya Corporation. I was selected by Mr. Montoya himself to protect you, and also to keep an eye on his investments.’
‘You’ve been spying on me?’
‘Keeping an eye on Mr. Montoya’s interests,’ he replied.
‘Does that mean me too?’ I asked Paulo.
‘Not until today, ma’am, when Mr. Montoya told me that you were coming into town. He asked me to make sure no harm came to you. I’m sorry I didn’t respond sooner,’ he looked down at his feet and I wondered if he was worried about Alejandro’s reaction when he saw my cheek, which was sure to be bruised after the smack my father had given me.
‘There’s no need to apologize. I appreciate you intervening when you did,’ I said and then I glared at my father. ‘You sold your own daughter and you tried to convince me that Alejandro was the monster. You made me marry a man because I believed he was blackmailing you, all for a campaign donation. You make me sick,’ I spat. ‘And I never want to see you again.’
He glared at me and I could tell he wanted to respond but he was still sitting under the heat of Paulo’s intense gaze.
‘Does Michael work for my husband too?’ I asked Paulo, recalling the driver who had picked me up from the airport and brought me here.
‘He does now, ma’am,’ he said with a nod. ‘Would you like me to call him for you?’
‘Yes, please,’ I said. ‘I’ll wait outside for him.’
I sat on the steps of the Brownstone while I waited for the driver to return for me. I felt the hot tears streaming down my face but I didn’t bother wiping them away. My whole world had been turned upside down.
I had never really known my father at all. Everything I believed about my life and all that I’d done had been a lie. He wasn’t a good man. He wasn’t a good father.
He was the monster.
I looked up at the blue New York sky and watched a bird swooping overhead. Suddenly, I realized that I was free. For so long, I had lived my life out of a sense of duty and responsibility, and now I was completely free to do whatever I chose and not what anyone else wanted or manipulated me into doing.
I wiped the tears from my eyes and smiled to myself, because for the first time in my life, I knew exactly what I wanted.
ALANA
I stepped out of the taxi cab and pressed the intercom at the main gate. I’d lied and told Alejandro that I was on the later flight. I didn’t want Jacob waiting for me at the airport. I just wanted to get into a cab like a normal twenty-five year old woman. Because that’s what I was now — that’s what I would be.
Jacob’s voice crackled over the intercom. I knew he could see me on the camera, but I felt the need to announce myself anyway.
‘Hi, Jacob, it’s me,’ I said.
