AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"He won't notice our product on his streets? He's threatened me before, you know?" Elias doesn't sound the least bit concerned that Gabriel Viotto has threatened him. In fact, when I peek through the crack in the door, I'm greeted by a smirk on his face. He's confident this deal will go his way.
"I'll cover your tracks," Mr. Thomas says.
"And Jenni?" Elias's voice tightens when he asks the question.
"She's yours. That was our deal. I'll help with your expansion, have my men help distribute your drugs into our city, and you also get my daughter's hand in marriage. In return, I'm asking for a fifty/fifty split of the profits."
My brows furrow. It doesn't even sound like a fair deal. Mr. Thomas is losing a lot by funding this adventure and handing Jenni off to Elias. Maybe I'm overthinking this, and it is something for the future, but I can't imagine.
Elias is quiet for some time, leaning against Mr. Thomas' desk with a straight face. "It's a deal," he says, holding out his hand, which Mr. Thomas gleefully takes.
"Then it's settled," Mr. Thomas says with a laugh.
I blow out a breath, leaning back against the wall, and stop the recording. They don't say anything else when I walk away and find myself in Jenni's bedroom, heading straight for her connected bathroom. Once the door is shut and locked behind me, I slump to the floor and squeeze my eyes shut. This is it. This is the moment I feel like the scum on the bottom of Jenni's fancy shoes.
Me
1-2-4
I hit send with shaky fingers, attaching the video with the message. I swear bile rises in my throat when it's received, and he opens the message right away.
Landlord
What a good little snake you are. Tonight. Don’t be late.
I don't feel like a good little snake. I feel like a piece of shit on the lawn, left there to rot and decay. As I should. I'm the worst of the worst. She invited me as a buffer for her family meal, and I only came to spy on her and her father's conversations. Whatever tonight brings will live within me for years to come. I can't rectify the damage I've done to them.
I've sealed their fates.
And death is on the horizon.
When I walk down the stairs and sit across from Jenni, she smiles at me.
“Thanks for coming tonight. You seriously are the best.”
“You’re welcome,” I say with a sinking feeling in my gut.
“So, hey. Sunday night after graduation, do you want to come over for this massive party I’m having? I swear everyone is going to be here.”
“Your dad won’t?” I ask, raising a brow.
“Nah. Business again,” she says, waving me off.
Of course. Business. That’s what he’s always off doing. Although, he seems to really care about Jenni and seems to love her as his daughter. But he literally just handed her off like a chess piece, moving her for his own gain. Despite the fact that she likes Elias. I can’t imagine what it would have been like if she hadn’t liked him in the first place. Would this still have been a thing?
Fuck.
I need to prepare myself for the ultimate fallout and distance myself from everything.
Once we’ve had our dessert and coffee, I excuse myself and ask her to take me home, feigning a stomach ache.
When I’m finally alone in my room, removing the dress and shoes she told me to keep, I fall into my bed with a sigh, counting down the minutes until I have to walk the mile down to the docks and discuss my evening.
What fun.
It’s odd standing in the middle of a crowded party with knots in your stomach and a fake smile on your lips. A few hours before, we walked across the stage and stuck our middle fingers in the air, saluting our principal and teachers with smiles.
We’re done.
