“Yes, ma’am. I trust my son,” he says proudly. I nod because I don’t know what it feels like to have a parent believe in me on that level.
I walk between Adrian and Brent. The others are behind us, but Adrian’s mother and father are in the back. We get to a door at the end, and Adrian only hesitates for a moment before opening the door. He motions for me to go in first, so I step into theroom. A dozen sets of eyes turn and look at me. Two of which belong to Charles and Edward.
“What is the meaning of this?” Edward demands. “Get your whore…”
Edward starts to shout at Adrian, but Adrian ignores him and pulls his pistol. The color drains from Charles’ face when Adrian points it at him. When his father steps into the room, everyone is on their feet.
“Paulo, you…”
“Shut up,” Adrian barks. “This is your one fucking chance to do the right thing. Your piece of shit son nearly got my wife killed. Did you know he was helping Fredrico?”
“Fuck yo…” he doesn’t get the words out before Adrian pulls the trigger. Charles’ head snaps back, and a laugh accidentally slips out when I notice the back of his head has exploded.
“Now then,” Adrian says as he walks over to the table. He pulls a chair and motions for me to sit. When I do, he rests his hands on my shoulders. “Everyone, sit. And someone, for the love of God, move his body.”
Edward lookspissed,but he is saying nothing. Fiona is sitting on one side of me, and Toula is on the other. Concern paints everyone’s face when they see mine.
“I’m sure some of you are very confused, but at least one of you knows exactly what is going on,” Paulo says. “I was nearly killed twenty years ago, and things were too volatile for me to be able to keep my son safe. So, now that I am back, and Charles is dead, I am taking back my position as head of this society. In doing so, I'm following tradition and handing my position down to my son, who is now married.”
“You can’t…” Edward starts to say. I’m annoyed by the way he is glaring at Brent, and it reminds me that he tried to kill him. When I hear his voice, I react instinctively.
“Shut the fuck up,” I snap at him.
“Control your whore,” Edward demands.
Adrian ignores him and looks at the others. “I will be calling an emergency society-wide meeting today,” Adrian says. “Attendance is required. Also, understand that I’ve spent 20 years preparing for this moment. If anyone tries anything, you will join Charles in hell.”
“Are you not over your dead boyfriend yet?” a man asks.
“What the fuck did you just say?” I say with a grave tone. I look at Adrian, and the hurt I see on his face is enough to make me boil over. Fiona nudges my leg, and when I look over at her, she puts a knife in my hand that is under the table. I position my hand on the blade so it is flush with my forearm. I stand up, and Brent follows behind as I walk around the table with the knife concealed from almost everyone.
“Coming to suck my cock, Alania?” the man laughs.
“Apologize,” I demand.
“Or what?” he asks, standing to get in my face.
“Get the fuck out of her face, Hugo,” Adrian growls.
“Oh, suck me, little boy! You already have once,” Hugo mocks.
I’ve never felt anger like this before. One minute, Hugo was running his fucking mouth, and the next, I was pulling the blade out of the side of his neck. His eyes are wide as his hands fly up to his throat to try and stop the blood gushing from his neck. He is panicking, and I step out of the way so he can walk past me, but put my foot out at the last second so he trips and hits the floor with a grunt. He tries to get up but doesn’t get far before going limp.
“I don’t give a fuck who you are. If I ever hear anyone make a comment like that again, I will fucking kill you myself. I’m not going to allow anyone to degrade my husband.”
“Yes, bitch! I love this!” Fiona says as she snaps her finger with a grin. She’s the best fucking hype, girl. I’m so glad I met her. I look at Adrian to make sure I’m not overstepping. He might regret giving me power because I’m fucking thriving on anger. He smiles and gives me a small nod.
“Understand that I might not have had the pleasure of meeting Edgar, but I will make it my mission to kill everyone involved in his murder,” I say simply.
“A homicidal slut. Interesting,” Edward huffs.
“Didn’t I tell you to shut the fuck up?” I ask. “Please, keep going so I can add that to the list of reasons why I’m going to fucking kill you.”
“Come here, Little Dove,” Adrian says. I go to him and he kisses me. “It’s your trauma. Do you want to say it?”
“Don’t you fucking dare,” Edward growls and stands up. Brent suddenly grabs hold of my arm and yanks me to him when Edward pulls a gun.
“How long after buying me did you rape me for the first time?” I ask him. “Wait, I’ll tell you. I was six.”
