“Is it?” I tilt my head to look at him, still standing behind his desk. I used to think my father was all-knowing. All powerful. But as I take him in, I see him for what he is. He looks… like a rat. I sniff and, very ladylike, sit on the arm of the chair. I clasp my hands together, setting them atop my lap. “You look a little frightened, David. Why is that?”
“Seeing as you’ve brought men that have beaten me and held me at gunpoint to my place of business, of course I’m a little rattled on account of who your husband is and what these men do for him.”
I nod, accepting his answer. “Right. I can see how that would cause your pulse to fluctuate. Anyway, it seems I'm here on personal matters and not business. So, you’ve nothing to fear.”
“And what personal matters would those be?”
I unclasp my hands, lean a bit forward, and maintain eye contact, which seems to unnerve him. “I need you to transfer the deed to the manor to me.” I was only going to ask him to let me borrow it, but after Aleksi showed me a few things last night, I changed my mind. Psychological warfare or what have you.
His jaw drops. “Sabrina, I…” He shakes his head. “I can’t do that.”
I blink at him. “And why not?”
“It’s for family. You’re no longer a Winters.”
“I see.” I get up from the armchair and go to the window, looking down at all the tiny people walking across the street like little worker ants. While my father’s words sting, I was expecting them.Tradition, and all that. But I believetraditionis what got me into this predicament in the first place. I put my hands behind my back, interlocking my fingers, tip forward on my toes, then back on the heel. How many times did I come here with Charlie to have lunch with my father, thinking David was so… incredible? The epitome of a great man. How very wrong I was.
Not wrong. Naive.
But my eyes are wide open now, aren't they? I know what they're capable of, and yet…Theyhave no idea whatI'mcapable of. I capture his reflection's gaze in the floor-to-ceiling window and hum. “You know how reluctant I was to marry Maksim, not that I regret it now or ever will. But I did you that favor. Time and time again I pulled you out of your miserable circumstances like a good daughter would. You had me marry a very powerful crime boss, probably the most influential one this city has ever seen. His grandfather, Alessio, made radical changes so there would be no more bloodshed. Although I will admit, marrying Maksim did come with perks… such as a human information scanner.”
“It seems, David, yourpersonalnet worth is down. You’ve brought a billion-dollar family down to mere thousands. The manor itself costs nothing more than five hundred thousand pounds, which equates to six hundred seventy-seven thousand five hundred and fifteen dollars. That plus the half million you have in your bank and whatever other assets you have… that is all you are worth, David. Untouched antiques and a silent graveyard.” I pause. “Sell me the manor. I’ll even be gracious and purchase it for two-point-seventy-five-million pounds. Maybe the brothers in the Syndicate will take you seriously again.”
Strike One.
“Sabrina.”
I turn to face my father, and nothing but disgust rolls through me, making my stomach recoil. “On Halloween night, two men entered my home and shot Parker.”
His gaze flicks to Parker.
“I am speaking. Look at me,” I state. “Very good. Camera footage from a street corner and an abandoned warehouse showed when they also hunted down my husband, pulled his body from the wreckage, bound him, tossed him into an unmarked vehicle, and then took him from me.” I bring my index finger to my temple andtap-tap-tap.“See, I need you to look at me because I keep going over and over and over in my head as towhowould take my husband? Andwhy.Whywould they shoot Parker?Whywould they want me to be alone?Whywould they wantmeto be a widow? A defenseless widow at that.”
A blush creeps along the apples of his cheeks, but he stays silent, still staring at me. How the mighty fall.
“Then, I remembered something.Kanewas here. Do you remember him? Yes, of course you remember him. You see, Kane came to visit me the day you all had a meeting at PresCorp Tower. Isn’t that…peculiar?” I giggle haughtily, but it isn't very funny.
Fatherclears his throat, causing his flabby throat to flap like a turkey’s wattle. “Yes. Very odd.”
I bring my hands forth and steeple them together in front of my stomach. See, I was a lawyer. I’ve done this before in a court of law. I played this part very well. “Very odd indeed. See, he came, and by he I mean Kane, obviously. And he brought me a…trinketof sorts. Do you know what that was?”
Dear old Daddy shakes his head, the light above glinting off his bald head.
“He brought me Charlie’s old necklace. Not just any necklace. No. The very necklaceIgave him. The one he would always wear when going to do anything related to the ocean, and you want to know what else?”
He stays silent.
“It. Hadn’t. Tarnished.” I glare at my father. “Like someone had polished atrophyof sorts.”
My father gasps an unexpected sob.
Strike Two.
“If you gave information as to my husband’s whereabouts to have him captured forSyndicatereasons to the man who may have murdered youronlybegotten son, your legacy, mybrother, then not only will I take you for everything you have,Father, but I will kill you myself.” I take a step forward and lower my voice, leaning forward and placing a hand on hisdesk. “And I won't take the gun that’s currently in my purse and do it quickly. I will personally gut you while you are wide awake so you can feelevery precise slashof my scalpel and feed you to sharks while you’re a bloody mess like fucking chum.” I retreat from the whimpering embarrassment before me, lift my chin, and square my shoulders back. This is the tallest I have felt in the past few days. “Now, either transfer the deed to my name or take the goddamn paycheck. Either way, I do not leave this building until it is done.”
Strike Three.
He unceremoniously takes the money.
