Her face was pinched and red, clearly angry. “You cannot be the face of a company looking like that, Olivia Marie. A shredded face with a collar around your neck? You look like a street dog.”
“Rather a dog than your daughter,” I bit. “You should be happy though, it’s your stupid plan that caused this.”
A sick light filled her eyes. She straightened, a smirk touching her lips as she lifted her head. “Good for Steven. At least he got one thing right.”
My hands fisted at my sides, and it took every ounce of strength I had to force them to relax, to swallow the anger, tofocus. “Once these boxes are dropped off, I don’t ever want to see you again, mom. I’ll give you a monthly stipendifI can get this company back to where it once was, but until then, you’ll have to get an actual job. Work for once in your life.”
Her eyes widened, that smug little look disappearing from view. “What? This was my company too. I deserve to get my share!”
“You spent your share,” I stated icily. “I owe you nothing.”
And it was like something in her finally snapped. “I gave you everything!” she shouted, half-hysterical. “Anything you ever wanted. Dresses, shoes, makeup, food, schooling. I paid for all of it.”
I had so many things I wanted to say to her. How she ruined my life, how I never wantedthings, I wanted her. I wanted love and affection and normal Christmases. How I hadn’t cared about the house or the horses or the designer bullshit, all I wanted washer.
But why waste my breath? Why waste another ounce of energy on trying to make her see what she was forever blind to?
So, I straightened. “Tell dad I love him, and I miss him, but you are no longer welcome in my life.”
She worked her jaw, her painted red lips thinned, her blue eyes flaming. She leaned in, visibly angry. “Your father is dead,” she told me bitterly, my blood running cold. “I killed him like the dog he was, I guess I just didn’t realize the bitch he gave me was a dog too.”
And it was as if a switch had been flicked in my brain. Everything shut off. Every emotion, every thought. Nothing existed but the ice that was now slowly crawling through my mind.
She straightened, lifting her chin as if she had done something spectacular. As if she had won.
My father and I had actually had a somewhat decent relationship, but he hadn’t replied to any of my texts in over a month. My guess was that he’d been dead for quite some time. He had had his faults, horrible faults, but at least he acted like he gave a fuck about me outside of the cameras.
“What are you doing?” she asked, looking me over. “Are you so uncaring of your parents now that you don’t have the ability to feel?”
And, despite everything, I felt a smile touch my lips. “No,”I said, my voice chilling, “I just remembered something that someone like you would never think twice about.”
Her brows furrowed, her anger faltering. “What? Did you not hear me? I killed your father. I killed him. He wouldn’t give me what I wanted, he was so selfish, so I put rat poison in his food. Untraceable. You should know that, being the kind of writer you are.”
But it wasn’t untraceable.
And now her bankrupting the company made far more sense. Of course, dad wasn’t in the picture. He was the businessman. He never would have ruined the company, even on accident, he was too smart, but mom?
“I did hear you, mom, and so did the security cameras. So, if I were you, I’d listen to your daughter for once in your life andstop talking.”
Her eyes widened, her body stilling. “Security cameras,” she breathed out, glancing along the edge of the house. “I don’t see any security cameras.”
“You wouldn’t, they aren’t like the ones you have.”
The panic was almost laughable. She looked from the house back to me, her entire demeanor shifting. “Baby—”
I held up a hand. “Get off my property.”
“But—”
“Lucy,” I spoke evenly.
My dog started snarling viciously, slowly prowling after her, forcing her to back up towards the stairs.
“Olivia,” she tried, trying to look at me and keep her distance from Lucy at the same time. “Olivia, listen to me, please.”
I turned away from her, Everett finally joining me, the leash slipping from my hand.
“Olivia.”
