His eyes reveal shame, and I understand why. However, the man who caused his suffering and mine acts like an innocent man and is sitting right in front of us.
“All’s fair in war, boys,” Olan says with a smirk. “You have too many weaknesses, especially that ballerina, Florian. If I can exploit them, so can others. You might want to remember that.”
“Asva, take Didrick to the penthouse,” I order, never taking my eyes off our father.
“But I thought…”
I raise my hand, stopping Didrick’s protest. I’m not letting him see what comes next, especially not with what Olan has done to him. I won’t be the reason he spirals back into addiction.
“Not this time.”
He stares at me for a moment before nodding. I can see the disappointment on his face, but I hope he knows this is the best thing for him. Whether he’s here or not, he’ll no longer have to worry about our father.
He looks at my father, and the smirk that crosses my father’s face will only last for a few moments. Didrick walks closer to Olan and spits in his face.
“Rot in hell, asshole,” Didrick says.
Our father chuckles as Didrick’s spit slowly slides down his cheek. “You’re an addict. A loser. I should have had that doctor give you a fatal dose and been done with you.”
Didrick pulls back and punches him in the face. When Olan screams, it’s like music to my ears. I’ve dreamed of the day I would hear his screams.
“Fuck you!” Didrick yells. “Fuck you! You piece of shit!”
While I believe Didrick needs to get all this shit off his chest, I don’t believe he’d be able to live with himself if he killed Olan or even watched him take his last breath. So, I signal to Alrick to grab Didrick before he gets carried away. It can be very cathartic to beat someone’s ass.
Alrick snatches Didrick, pulling him out of the room with Asva following. Then Asva closes the door, leaving only Olan and me.
I take off my suit jacket and casually throw it onto the table near the wall. I can feel Olan’s eyes on me, watching every move I make, anticipating what I’ll do next. But he has no idea what’s coming to him.
I carefully roll up the sleeves of my dress shirt to my elbows. Tattooed on my right forearm is the goddess Freja in a chariotpulled by cats, which represents my mother. Tattooed on my left forearm is a colossal beast, his teeth displayed and blood dripping from its long canines holding a sickle. Its arm is tightly wrapped around a ballerina, symbolizing my wife and me. The two most important people in my life. One I couldn’t protect from him, and the other one, I’ll die trying to.
I position the chair in front of me and take a seat facing him. “Oh my, my, my, how times have changed, dear old dad. Look at who is the prey and who is the predator now.”
“Let me out of these restraints so we can see how much times have changed, boy. I’m always the predator, son.”
I laugh. “How does it feel to know this is your final day on Earth?”
“My sons will come for me.”
The confident tone of his voice only adds to my amusement. Even if they know where he is, they won’t be able to save him because they’ll die as soon as they step inside my building.
I have the feeling my brothers would rather our old man die. They want to be free of him as much as I do.
“Will they?” I ask with my brow arched.
“They will, and they will make you pay for this.”
I couldn’t stop the laugh from leaving my lips. “Well, if they do come, which I think is highly unlikely, but if they do, they’ll die right along with you, Olan.”
His eyes narrow. “You’d kill your own flesh and blood for power?” He scoffs. “You’ve become exactly the man I thought you would become. That’s why I wanted that bitch of a mother of yours to abort you. You’re nothing. I can’t even believe you’re a result of my seed. You’re no son of mine.”
I throw my head back and burst into laughter again. “I might be nothing to you, but I’m more of a man than you’ll ever be. I’ve got both your empires, and you have nothing.”
I rise and remove the knife from the holster attached to the waistband of my slacks. Holding the blade in front of me, I flip it back and forth so my father can see his fate.
“What are you planning to do to me?”
There’s no trace of his previous bluster and confidence in his voice. Now, it trembles with fear.
