Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
I try to keep my composure—not to let him see me scared. It’s a rule he drilled into my head for years and years. Don’t let them see you squirm.
The barrel of the handgun is sharp against my ribs. He guides me into the living room and forces me to sit in the chair he just occupied.
“Daddy,” I say, trying to appeal to the side of him that I think I once knew. “What are you doing?”
He takes an unfamiliar phone out of his pocket, then hits a few buttons. It begins to ring. Finally, a voice speaks.
“Yes?” the person on the other end says. Who is he talking to? Why does he have another phone?
So he can’t be found?
I struggle to breathe.
“Rory, I’m here with our daughter. Say hi, sweetheart.”
“Mom?” I ask, my voice cracking.
“Bianca, are you okay?”
“Mom? What’s happening?”
Dad glowers my way. “I’ll tell you what’s fucking happening. You spoiled brat kids and your worthless mother—”
“Hey!” I say, starting to stand.
He points the gun at me again. So I sit.
“You’ve taken everything away from me,” he says. “You took my life, my home, my money, my job. My dignity.”
“No, you took your own dignity. You can’t blame that on anyone but yourself.”
He laughs angrily. “You think you’re so damn cute, don’t you? Well, how cute will you be if your mom’s head gets blown off today?”
“What?”
Mom whimpers.
My stomach drops, panic shooting through me. Who has my mother?
“Yeah. You had to stick your nose where it didn’t belong and fuck up my deal with the Downings.” His voice rises. “Then you had to run your ass down here and marry that son of a bitch Carmichael just to twist the knife a little more.”
My teeth chatter from the adrenaline coursing through me at sonic-level speed.
“I didn’t want it to be this way, Bianca. I really didn’t.”
He moseys my way with a swagger that doesn’t compute.
“I tried to warn you, but you didn’t listen,” he says, standing over me. “You should’ve listened to the email.”
“I didn’t get an email from you.”
“Yes, you did.”
What’s he talking about?
“Here’s what you’re going to do. You are going to transfer a large sum of money to the Downings, and then you’re going to transfer another amount to an offshore account so I can start a new life away from you all,” he says, regripping the gun. “And if you don’t, your mom will go night-night.”
Tears cloud my vision. “Why are you doing this, Dad?”
His chest puffs up. “Because I worked my whole fucking life for you and your fucking brothers and that whore.”
“Don’t talk about her like that.”
He grins angrily. “I have the gun. Remember?” He shows it to me in case I’ve forgotten. “Once upon a time, I had to borrow money to purchase our first franchise. Do you remember?”
“Yes. We bought the hockey team.”
“Right. Back then, I didn’t have the kind of money that we have now. So I borrowed some from the Downings.”
Okay … I scramble to keep up.
“Either I’m going to pay them back, Bianca or they’re going to fucking kill me,” he says, his face turning beet red. “And I figured it out. I figured out a way to pay them back and save my life in one fell swoop. And no one had to know any better.”
“But why pin it on me? Why not just transfer the money yourself and be done with it? Why involve me?”
“Because I don’t have access to that kind of cash!” His voice rises. “Your mom didn’t want me borrowing it in the first place. I figured I could pay it back with no one knowing. No one getting hurt. But then the team took longer to build, and we got delayed … and I was fucked.”
Ah … “So Bobby helped you secure the Arrows, and you were giving him the stock to pay him off?”
“Exactly. And I tied it to you in case something did go wrong, you’d be the only person involved.” He steps toward me. “I thought you of all people would have my back. But you didn’t. You turned on me just like everyone else.” He snarls, coming closer. “My little girl. The one I poured every bit of knowledge and experience I have into. She turned on me, too.”
Foxx, where are you? Help me!
“You’re going to initiate the bank transfers. Or I’m going to have Dougie pull the trigger and paint your mom’s living room with her brains.”
“Don’t do it, Bianca,” Mom says. “Fuck him.”
“You don’t want to do this, Daddy,” I say, my voice trembling. “Think about it. Think about what you’re doing. There’s another way. You’re not being rational.”
He smiles. “Oh yes, I am.”
I close my eyes and hear my mother crying softly through the phone.
Please come, Foxx. Hurry.
CHAPTER 25
Foxx
“It’s fine, Mom.” I flip the light off. “You’re just not giving it enough time to heat.”