He grabs my forearm, pulling my hand away from the coffee table and keeping it in a vice-like grip. His gaze is cold and vicious as he stares at me.
“You will not speak to me like that.”
I stare back. “I’ll speak to you however the fuck I want.”
Tension builds in the air between us, and all I can see is everything I want to do to unmake the evil thing that’s sitting in front of me. He looks ready to kill me, too.
Then his grip loosens slightly, and he lets out a sigh.
“Why do the girls always have to test me? Your sister became unruly. I had to end her life. It hurt me, but she no longer understood what she was put on this earth to do.”
I blink at him. I’d assumed he was lying about having another daughter.
I guess he still could be lying. Trying to make me obey by spinning another story.
“And what was she put here to do, exactly?”
He takes in a deep breath and stands up, yanking me to my feet at the same time.
“You’ll find out soon enough. That’s why you’re here, now, Robin. You’re going to replace her.”
I fight to get my arm out of his grasp, but he holds on tight and hauls me back out into the hallway.
“There’s no escape,” he tells me. “I don’t need a gun to make you do what I want you to do. I have people who will shoot to kill if you attempt to get out of the house. This neighborhood is very well protected.”
He drags me to the bottom of the staircase, and then he yanks on my arm, swinging me around and throwing me onto the stairs.
I crash down hard, hitting my side and my leg.
Wincing, I get up quickly, racing up a few stairs to move away from him.
He laughs. “That’s it, get up those stairs.”
He closes the gap between us quickly, making it clear he’s ready to hurt me again.
When he reaches out with his hand, I move back, going up the rest of the stairs.
“Good girl,” he sneers. “Now go to your room.”
His laughter makes bile rise in my throat.
I move backward slowly until he nods to a door on the right.
“Open it.”
I reach for the knob and turn it, letting go after I push it open.
The door creaks as it moves inward, revealing a pink carpet and not much else.
Barrister shoves me forward, hitting me in the middle of my back with one hand.
I stumble into the dark room, turning as I fall, and knocking against what feels like the edge of the bed before I hit the ground.
As I look up at my father, pushing myself up on my elbows, I can tell there’s nothing behind his eyes.
He has his hand on the doorknob as he looks back at me.
“Welcome home, Robin.”
