“What do you need,” he asked. “Right now. On this call. Tell Daddy. I will rearrange my entire life if you stay on the line and tell me how.”
“There isn’t a sentence that fixes this.”
“Then not a sentence. A list. A house. You want your own place in Villain? I’ll build it. You want a floor in one of my towers? It’s yours.” his voice was frantic now, “Jewellery—tell me what metal, what stones, I’ll put it on your throat. Limited edition heels? Baby, I’ll buy every pair in your size on the planet and burn the ones you don’t like. You want your name coded into every port contract so they know you’re above them? I will do it. Baby, tell Daddy what you want. Anything. Just don’t hang up.”
My heart twisted.
“I am sorry. I don’t know how to do this kindly,” I whispered. “There isn’t a gentle way to leave someone you still love.”
“You hang up on me. I am coming to that penthouse.”
“You won’t,” I whispered.
He saidwatch me,very clearly in Crow tongue.
“You won’t,” I repeated. “Because that would mean letting the world see how much you care. You’ll pace in your war room. You’ll scare your staff. But you’ll stay where it’s safe. For you. For me. For the dynasty.”
He cursed in Crow again, messier this time. I caught my name tangled in the syllables. Then he went quiet for a moment.
“What do I say to keep you. Tell me. Tell Daddy exactly what to say so you don’t go.”
“There isn’t anything left to say.”
“There has to be. You are my girl. You are my baby. You are the only good thing I’ve ever had that wasn’t bought with blood. Don’t make this the day I lose you.”
I pressed my hand to my eyes.
“If you hang up,” he said again, “I am coming.”
“I know,” I lied.
“Baby—”
“I love you,” I said quietly. “That’s the problem. If I loved you less, I could keep doing this.”
Silence. The faint sound of something else falling in the background, then nothing.
“Goodnight, Vince.”
“Madeline—baby, please—don’t you?—”
My thumb moved.
The call ended.
Silence filled into the room. The kind that made my own heartbeat sound too loud.
36
Madeline
Vince: Daddy’s coming. Don’t scream or be difficult, baby.
I stared at the message for a bit longer before locking my phone. Through the glass wall, Malice glowed.
This city didn’t have Villain’s teeth. Malice had glass and white stone, palm-lined boulevards, beaches so perfect they looked filtered. A dynasty playground with better weather.
Atticus penthouse felt different here. Less like a fortress, more like a holiday rental. Open plan, pale wood, the marble island already had a tray with coffee pods and protein bars, because he couldn’t help himself.
