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“What are you talking’ about?” I don’t understand how this could have anything to do with me.
“I wasn’t the only guy in town that had his eyes on Breanna Carson, she was a suggestive girl, she sure knew how to flaunt her assets. That husband of yours had an unhealthy obsession with her. Mr Do-fuckin’-Good was following her around like a little creeper. He gave her options, offered to take responsibility for her and the child, he even drove her to a different clinic because she never told him about my offer. Breanna just couldn’t go through with it. She wanted to keep the baby and I guess she must have told him she’d be meeting the father that night because he followed her all the way to me.”
‘Caleb knew about this?” I stare back at my father, suddenly seeing him in a different light.
“I’d arranged to meet her at Blackdrop Point to check everything had gone okay. The clinic called me and said she hadn’t shown up for her appointment and when she came to me she didn’t exactly give me the news I wanted to hear.”
The way he’s telling me this story, so casually, is making me want to scream. “Bree was immature and naive, she had some crazy idea about me leaving your mother.” The little chuckle he makes reignites all my rage. “She wanted us to leave town and raise the baby together. That wasn’t an option, the Order pick their men wisely, they don't tolerate scandals like knocked-up teenagers.”
“What did you do?” I whisper, fearing I already know the answer to my own question.
“I got mad, she didn’t understand what she was risking for me, we got into a fight, and it turned physical. Breanna ended up falling over the edge.” There’s no remorse in his expression or his tone as he admits that he killed her. “It wasn’t how I wanted it to be, but it was a solution to the problem.”
“You bastard.” My words come out weak as the coldness of his attitude seeps through my shock and it actually sinks in what he did.
“I did it all for you, for this family! She would have taken everything away from us. I had no idea there was a witness. A few weeks later, the blackmail started. Caleb had a photo on his phone, one of us arguing, he threatened to tell your mother and the whole town. I don’t know how he knew about the Organization, but he figured he had a way in with them through me. It wasn’t them that ordered you and Caleb to be married. It was him. He thinks being married to you will automatically make him my replacement when the time comes, and I’ve been letting him believe that's true because I really needed to keep that secret buried, sweetheart. Not just for me, but for all of us.” He looks like he might cry a little himself, but not because of what he did, but because of how it could affect him.
“Don't you dare make out that any of this has been for our benefit, you let me believe that you were indanger!I thought the Organization would kill you.” I back up toward the door to put some space between us.
“Iamin danger, the Organization wouldn’t be happy if they found out what I did. I'd be punished and stripped of everything, but that's not just who I have to fear. I know what those Carson men are capable of. That’s why I had to kill Aubrey too. She knew everything. The Carson girl had confided in her before she died, I knew from the way she looked at me whenever I saw her that she was a risk, then when Cora died—”
“You killed Aubrey?” I cut him off, no longer seeing the man I’ve loved and adored my whole life standing in front of me. All I see now is a monster. “Did you kill Cora, too?” I feel so weak my legs could buckle.
“No! I swear, I have no idea what happened to her. I lov— I would never have hurt her.” Dad gets defensive and also confirms the suspicions I had that there was something between them. “I saw Aubrey coming out of the police station not long after Cora was murdered, I figured she saw it as her time to come clean. I couldn’t sit back and wait to be arrested, I had to speak to her. I swear I only went there to talk to her. I caught her trying to skip town, and she was so angry at me. She pushed all my fucking buttons, and I lost my temper.”
I bury my head in my hands and sob, and when Dad moves toward me to comfort me again I force him away.
“Don’t touch me!” I yell, trying to get everything straight in my head. “You took a life, two young girls’ lives, and your own child’s, just so you could keep all this.” I look around his office. “You want me to stay married to a man who beats me, just so you can save your reputation.”
“Leia, I’ll speak to Caleb about how he treats you. You're right, it’s not acceptable, and I need to do better as your father.” He sounds panicked and desperate.
“Not acceptable?Dad, none of this is acceptable. You have to come clean, the Carsons deserve to know what happened to Breanna .”
“They will kill me.” He grabs my face in his hands, squeezing my cheeks together and forcing me to listen to him. “Is that what you want, me dead? Leia, I'm the only person who's ever loved you. I’ve taken care of you your whole life. I will lose everything, and all over some stupid fucking girl who couldn’t keep her pussy in her panties.” His rage takes over, and as his grip on me gets tighter I see the face of a man that’s capable of murder.
“Maybeyoudeserve to be dead.” My voice comes out broken through my tears.
Suddenly his eyes turn gray, and I scream in shock when he slams my body back so I’m lying on top of his desk.
“Listen to me, this is how it’s going to be.” He pins me down, and when I struggle beneath him, he releases one of his hands and uses it to slap me across my face. The shock of his action stuns me enough to stop and listen.
“You are going to go home and live your life as Caleb Mason’s wife. Get rid of Carson’s child, and move on. I’ve already spoken to the Organization about Caleb, they are prepared to consider him as my replacement. I will get him what he wants.”
“I don’t deserve any of this.” I shake my head at him, still feeling the sting of his palm as the tears slide down my face. This man is no better than my husband, in fact, he’s worse.
“You’re right, you don’t deserve it. But this is the life you have.” He seems to find a calm, and as his grip loosens I find it a little easier to breathe. “It could be worse. You could be Breanna Carson.” He laughs to himself as he releases me, and his lack of remorse triggers something inside me that I’ve never felt before. It’s a rage that hits like a freight train with no chance of it stopping and it has me reaching for the closest thing I can grab, so I can hurt him. My fingers grip the golden envelope opener Ronnie Mason gifted him, after he got elected mayor for the second term, and with nothing but hate and hurt in my head I stab it hard into his neck. I’m surprised at how easily it pierces through his skin and when I release it from my hands and watch the blood pump from the wound I’ve made, I slide from under him before he falls to the ground. I scream as his eyes stare into mine in shock. There’s so much blood that he chokes on it as it starts spilling from his mouth too.
I say nothing, just watch in shock, with my body shaking and my tears all cried out until the room falls silent and his body lies still. I don’t know how long I look at him for, but when my shock turns into panic I take out my cell phone and call the one number that I’ve memorized in my head.
“Hello?” I take comfort in hearing Wade’s voice when he answers.
“Wade it’s me… I need you.”
“Leia… Leia? Is that you?”
“Please come.”
“Darlin’, I’m comin’. I just need to know where ya are?”
