Page 46 of Cruel Titan

“No,” he responds quickly.

“How do I know you’re telling me the truth? The man I thought was my father lied to me my entire life.” And now the man I’m staring at is apparently my “real” father and he may be responsible for all of this. I’m too confused and exhausted to care if he wants to hurt me, I just want to know who is responsible for taking my dad away from me. “Why was he lying to me? Was his name even Stanley? Was he really a real estate agent? Was he even a fucking human being? At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if I found out he was an alien sent to earth on a secret fucking mission.”

“I don’t have all the answers, but I will give you the honest ones I have. He was indeed a real estate agent named Stanley, completely human, and a good one from everything I’ve discovered so far.”

“I can’t believe anything … or anyone … because everything has been a lie. And I don’t believe you.”

“I can understand that, but I hope you know everything I’ve done has been in your best interest.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

“Stanley raised you. I’m honored to be your dad, but Stanley is as much your dad as I am, if not more.”

“Did you ever talk to Stanley about it?”

“Yes. I received an anonymous birthday card in the mail celebrating your birthday on April fourteenth. I contacted everyone from that time in my life to try and figure out who sent it or if they knew anything about it. I’d only been with your mom around the time the child would’ve been conceived, but she kept saying she didn’t know what the birthday card was about. I was still trying to figure out some the details when the accident happened and afterwards was when she finally told me the truth about you.”

“Who sent the card?”

“I’m still not sure, but I have a good guess. Candace insisted that we should drop it so you wouldn’t be put in danger. I let her think I quit digging into everything, but I had to know. If they are any threat to you, then I have to know who they are to ensure your safety.”

I’m not sure I’m buying all this. He has an answer for everything. His body language seems as relaxed as it can be given the topic of conversation, so he doesn’t appear to be lying but it’s so convenient that he’s the innocent party when everything points to him as the guilty party.

A loud rap sounds on the door at the same time it flings open, slamming into the bookshelf as Victor Hastings appears in the doorway. Nathan stands, walking behind his desk as he hauls me by the shirt with him. “What the hell is this about?”

“You know exactly what it’s about.” Victor oozes his usual arrogance, but this time there’s something different. He almost seems nervous.

“It was you.” Nathan steps in front of me as I look to see Victor hastily walk in, followed shortly by Francis who swiftly shuts the door. Victor makes his way over to a chair, plopping down insolently as Francis walks closer.

Victor tosses his head back, sadistically laughing, “Nope. Dead wrong.”

Francis steps forward, holding a pistol pointed straight at Nathan.

“Francis.” Nathan’s shock is obvious.

“How does it feel?” Francis asks, sounding like a stranger. There is no affection in her voice, just pure hatred.

Nathan shifts, pushing back against me. “How does what feel?”

“Missing out on your child’s life. I only had eighteen years with my baby before you killed her,” Francis waves the gun as Nathan flinches.

“It was an accident.”

“No, it wasn’t. You were behind the wheel. It was your responsibility to bring her home safely, but you didn’t. And as usual, you didn’t have any consequences for your reckless actions because your daddy bailed you out.”

“Do you want to tell her or should I?” Victor says, like Francis is an annoying fly buzzing around him and not a crazy lady holding a gun on us.

Francis looks to Victor, who is still seated casually in front of Nathan’s desk, “Tell me what?”

“Victor,” Nathan says sternly, a clear warning that Victor doesn’t obey.

“Nathan wasn’t driving. Candace was.”

Francis gasps, “Candace?”

“Yeah,” Victor says, leaning back in the chair as he places one leg over the other. “So, all this was really targeted at the wrong person. Nathan, that hero complex of yours seems to bring a lot of trouble your way.”

“Where’s Candace?” I whisper, remembering that Candace said she and Francis had an appointment in Nashville.