And then he had explained.
Grayson had stated it matter-of-factly, emotionlessly. As if he had rehearsed the conversation for years and was finally telling Darius.
Where Axel, Tripp, and Grayson shared the same father, Dariusdidn’t.
“But youaremine. A DNA test proved it, and it’s clear as day, you can’t hide your lineage.” In the here and now, the man before Darius continues. The man drops his hold on Darius’s chin, but Darius doesn’t dare move.
In every lifetime, he hadnevercome face to face with the man before him.
With his father.
He hadn’t wanted to, done everything he could to avoid it, but perhaps that is why the mindless loops ended the same.
Darius shifts his attention to the man before him, boring into their eyes, they are an exact replica of his own. Dark green, flecked in brown and gold.
“What do you want from me?” Darius asks, clenching his jaw.
His father sneers, “You need to replace what was taken from me.”
Internally, Darius’s heart pounds aggressively against his chest, but externally, he doesn’t flinch.
What does that mean?
“I let your mother raise you, allowed her to influence you with her softness, but it is time you return to your family. To your purpose,” his father continues, his lips lifting cruelly. “How is your mother doing?”
This time Darius can’t prevent his reaction, he recoils as if slapped. “You know how she’s doing. You don’t let her out of your sight.”
His father heaves a sigh. “Such a beautiful woman. If only she were from a better family, I would have kept her by my side, but alas, I could not.” He drags a hand across his face. “This conversation is tedious. Here are the facts–you will join me, you will replace what you have stolen from me, and you will do as I command.”
“And if I refuse?” Darius snarls.
His father snaps his fingers and one of his goons steps into Darius's line of sight. Another clear indicator of his father having his fingers in every organization. Presenting a tablet, the goon presses a button and the previously black screen transforms.
Ice drops heavily into Darius’s gut, he wants nothing more than to launch himself at the man before him.
At the man that had raped his mother.
At his father.
Darius watches the tablet. In the corner, the wordLIVEflashes. It shows a hospital room, and it takes less than a second for Darius to realizewhoseit is. On the screen, Grayson climbs into Sunday’s hospital bed, followed shortly by Axel.
He understands the threat that this is.
His hearthurts. Not in jealousy, but at the realization he willnever have that again.
He knows with certainty that he will essentially be a prisoner for the remainder of his life.
His father will make sure of it.
“What did you expect, son? You killed your own brother.”
But it was worth it. Sunday is alive. The video is proof of it.
“Listen when I speak to you!”
The fist collides with Darius’s cheek with a bruising force. He hadn’t expected it, and it sends him to his side.
“Weak! Just like your mother.”
