Total pages in book: 767
Estimated words: 732023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 3660(@200wpm)___ 2928(@250wpm)___ 2440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 732023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 3660(@200wpm)___ 2928(@250wpm)___ 2440(@300wpm)
For another hour, nothing happens. Eventually, my tiredness wins over my anxiety. I have a quick shower and get into bed.
* * *
Gabriel
In the solitude of my study, I sit down at my desk to contemplate my options. It’s a difficult decision. I watched a playback of the security feed from the cameras in the kitchen. Carly’s voice was clear when she asked for a cake with coconut. Valentina told the truth. With a sigh I feel all the way to my bones, I pour a shot of whisky and down it in one go.
I don’t understand my daughter. I failed her. There’s a gorge so wide between us I’m afraid
I’ll never bridge it. When the crack started, I can’t say. Was it during Carly’s toddler years, when
I was always absent from home, the family business taking up my days and nights? Is it because Sylvia and I couldn’t make things work? If I can pinpoint when it started, maybe I’ll find the reason. Carly and I both know there’s a problem. We don’t acknowledge it, because it’s easier to skip the drama. If I believed Carly has a better relationship with her mother, I’d encourage her to stay with Sylvia, but she’s old enough to choose, and the fact that she lives here tells me enough.
Despite being scum, I try to be fair. It’s the only shred of humanity that stands between the man and the monster, but in my business, fair only applies to family. Putting any staff member above family, right or wrong, won’t be tolerated. Such an act could get said staff member killed. Innocent or not, actions have consequences, and Valentina can’t escape taking responsibility for hers. Sylvia expects me to inflict suitable retribution. She’s not going to forget or let it go. If I don’t do it before Magda comes home, Valentina will die for what happened tonight. I don’t feel like punishing Valentina for something Carly should pay for, but I don’t have a choice.
I refill my glass and shoot back another shot before I pick up my phone and dial Rhett.
“Come to my study,” I say when he answers.
The fact that something ignites in me, making me hard, when I think about what I’m about to do is proof of how far gone I am. It could be that the alcohol is fuel on my rusty inhibitions.
Maybe it’s heredity, and it’s in my genes. I’m not a made monster. I was born one.
The door opens, and Rhett enters. “You called for me, boss?”
“Take Valentina to the gym.”
The twitch that wrings his lips into a smile makes me want to break his nose. I add it to the mistake he made of shooting the dog. Deep down, I know it’s not Rhett’s fault. He never expected me to let the Haynes’ live. He did what he believed was right, but he caused Valentina suffering, and he’ll have to pay. Lucky for him, he leaves without question. I could do with another drink, but I won’t risk it. I have to be sober. I’ll need utter control.
The house is dark and quiet as I make my way downstairs to the basement. It’s a windowless room where my guards and I work out, but it also serves as interrogation room when the need arises. For this reason, it’s soundproof. Carly can never know what happens in the depths of the house when she’s fast asleep upstairs.
Chapter Five
Gabriel
I flick on the lights and walk around the room, trying to still the upsurge of regret that’s not powerful enough to wash out my excitement. The exercise mat absorbs my steps, not giving sound to the unequal harshness of my soles.
Regret makes me weak. Excitement makes me cruel. Anger makes me dangerous. I assess my state carefully. Anger is not part of my repertoire tonight. That’s a good thing, or I wouldn’t be able to do this. It would be much too hazardous.
Rhett enters the room with Valentina, his hand folded around her upper arm. She’s wearing her nightgown, which exposes her toned legs. Rhett’s fingers leave white indents on her skin. It shakes up all kinds of sentiments in me, but they’re like shredded pieces of paper. I can’t make sense of anything, except that I want to chop off his hand and poke out his eyes.
With a flick of my head, I direct him to the back wall. He knows what to do. Her eyes hold mine as he drags her past. The quiet kind of anger I often recognize in myself makes the brown of her irises sizzle with sparks. Within seconds, Valentina is strung up by her arms on a rope knotted to her tied wrists, facing the wall.
“Go,” I say to Rhett.
He gives me a questioning look. The surprise and disappointment on his face threaten to unleash my rage. I’ve never dismissed him when punishment or interrogations are executed, but this isn’t a goddamn show for his entertainment. Rhett knows me well enough to read the signs. With a last, confused glance in Valentina’s direction, he walks from the room, shutting the door behind him.