Page 150 of Enzo

I quickly introduce Molly to my assistant, Lesley.

“So you're the one who ordered the funny disguises!” Molly cries. A bit of light relief lightens the mood. I can see these two are going to get along just fine.

“I won’t be long,” I tell Molly.

“I'll be outside. Good luck.”

She kisses me on the lips. I can feel my assistant looking at me. I head for Father’s office, then take a moment just outside his door. He’s expecting me because I emailed him first thing this morning and told him I’d be in the office at nine. I knock, but I don’t wait for him to tell me to enter.

I walk in, and almost stumble back at what I see.

Father looks worse than the last time I saw him. Smaller somehow. The exhaustion sits heavily on his face, and for a moment the sight of him knocks some of the anger out of me.

He looks ill.

“The boy wanderer returns.”

No good morning, no hello. Just the type of typical snarky comment I expect from him.

“Good morning.” I drop in the empty chair opposite him, watching him carefully. “You should rest up. Take some more time off work.”

Should he even be here?

“And watch the legacy I built burn?” he replies.

He wants a fight, and I won’t give it to him. He knows we’re more than capable of running Knight Enterprises, and he’s afraid of that.

“You’ve been causing mayhem wherever you go, Venice, Chicago, and now here.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“Your friend did.”

I despise the way he says it. But then, hearing something nice come out of Father’s mouth is rare. I adjust my cufflink. “She’s more than a friend.”

He scoffs. “Her father’s a convicted criminal, and she’s been placed on leave.” He twiddles his thumbs. “Meanwhile, these snakes have set up a base outside my home and my office. Look at what you’ve done to this family.”

“Me?” I shake my head, vehemently disagreeing. “I didn’t do that. Neither did Molly.”

“No?” Father tilts his head, but my glance falls behind him, to the tall skyscrapers standing sky-high.

I force my attention back to Father. “This was all your doing. You can deny it all you want, twist it any which way you want, but you know the truth and so do I.”

His jaw clenches and his eyes narrow. Anger pulls his features tight, but for once, the sight of it doesn't make me reconsider my words.

“My doing?”

“Even now you deny the obvious truth.” I sit back and loosen my tie. “You created this. You chose to deceive Mama, you cheated on your wife. You thought you could father children and have two families. You were arrogant enough to think you could get away with it.”

Father’s lips press together. He wants to snap, wants to unleash his wrath, but he’s somehow managing to control himself.

Or maybe he knows the truth, but can’t bring himself to admit it.

“You created this situation. You created the lies, and the betrayal. Both families suffered because of your actions. The past that the press want to dig up is the past you created. Not me. You’ve given them ghosts to dig up. You did all of this, not me. I was just a child.”

Father’s face creases. He doesn’t like what I’m implying. That’s typical of him. I run my hand along the desk. “Did you ever wonder how Mama knew?”

His attention snaps into place. He leans forward, and I notice that his hands are closed tight.