Page 90 of A Little More Forgiveness

It took a while to seep in, but I gradually worked out that, for the first time in my life, his anger didn’t cower me in the slightest, and the revelation nearly blew me away. The knowledge also allowed me to really study my stepfather as he continued to rant, my presence detached and unencumbered by my previous fears. With thinning hair combed over his shiny bald head, pinched face, and bloodshot eyes, he’d always given the impression of being so much bigger than me, drowning me out with his commanding voice and constant anger. Perhaps I’d tried to make myself look smaller. I decided to test my theory and, standing tall, forced him to look up to continue directing his wrath to my face.

It felt good.

Why had I feared him for so long? Why had I let him break me? Correction, almost break me. Watching him as he vented his ire fascinated me. The way his eyes bulged, along with the vein in his neck, the angrier he got no longer had me quaking or fearful or needing to appease him. In fact, I felt absolutely nothing at all.

It was entirely possible my lack of any emotion regarding Malcom could be attributed to Gabe and Mitch boosting my confidence during our time together. They’d frequently shown how much they respected me and valued my opinion. Plus, they actually appeared to enjoy my company, something very few people ever had. Add in their continued belief in my self-worth, and maybe I’d become immune to Malcolm’s psychological attacks without realizing.

Honestly, I think losing the two men I loved so fast and so brutally had numbed my mind and body to the point I didn’t give a crap about my stepfather anymore, or losing my shitty job as his stooge. As long as Gabe kept his promise to take care of Caitlin, I didn’t give a fuck about anything else, especially a man who’d never shown one shred of decency toward me or my sister.

His voice seeped into my awareness again when he began discussing the potential layoffs at his construction company.

“No,” I rebuked him firmly, cutting him off midtirade. He sputtered at my interruption, but I was past the point of caring. I jabbed a finger at his chest. “You are the reason the staff are being laid off, not me.”

“Did you get the deal done?” he retorted. “No, of course you didn’t.”

“It’s one deal,” I ground out, my voice dropping low. “What about all the rest?”

“I don’t know—”

“Oh, I think you do.” And his reason for being in my office suddenly fell into place. He must have found out I’d been gathering data on his backstabbing deals, and he’d tried to find the evidence. I almost laughed at his naivety. Did he actually think I’d keep the damning facts laying around in my office for him to get his filthy hands on them? How naïve did he think I was?

Seeing his worried expression at my response gave me a small ray of hope, and I had to slip on my best poker face and bluff him out or he’d win. “What about the dodgy casino you tried to push through the council to be built? Or the other hotel investment scam you tried to pull off? Or all the money those people lost on the non-existent housing development you sold them?” I got up in his face. “Didn’t think I’d find out about your dirty deals, did you?” His face got redder and redder the more I revealed. “Here’s how it’s gonna go,” I stated calmly. “There’ll be no layoffs for any staff. If there’s a shortfall in wages, they can come out of your private offshore account.” His eyes bugged wide, and his jaw dropped. “Didn’t think I knew about that either, huh?” I moved in close, knowing how much it would gall him to have to look up to me, so I made sure to take full advantage. “You try and weasel your way out of this and I will go straight to the authorities. I have documented proof of every single one of your scams and won’t think twice about using it.” Well, I didn’t have all the information yet. I’d been bluffing about the offshore account, but now he’d given himself away, I’d find a way to get access to the details, illegally if necessary, and drag his name through the mud from the East to West Coast and back again.

“How…how?”

One advantage, probably the only advantage, of working for Malcolm as his lawyer, meant I got access to a lot of sensitive information. Every time he negotiated a deal, he inevitably screwed someone over. I talked to as many of those people as I dared without alerting Malcolm to what I was up to. It took a while, and I hit a ton of brick walls where people refused to speak to me, likely assuming because I worked for my stepfather, I was acting on his behalf. But with dogged determination and in-depth research, over time I’d built quite the dossier on Malcom Taylor.

Up until now, I’d never had the nerve to use the information I’d accumulated, too scared of him cutting off Caitlin’s care when he retaliated. Provided Gabe kept his promise, and please God, let him, his threat no longer concerned me.

“I’m a lawyer, Dad, able to sniff out the truth. To sort through the shit until I find what I’m looking for. You’ve pissed off way too many people in this town who are now only too willing to help me take you down.” I spread my hands wide. “I may be worthless to you, a big disappointment, but your lame excuse for a stepson has you by the balls, and I’ll happily rip them off in a heartbeat.”

His gaze flicked around the room as his brain tried to figure a way out. When they rested on my face once more, the smug smile tugging at his lips had me fighting down the sliver of fear crawling beneath my skin.

“Your little speech is all well and good,” he reasoned, “but you’ll never follow through on your threats, because if you do—” He spread his hands in an uncharacteristically apologetic gesture. “—I’ll regrettably be forced to stop all payments for Caitlin’s hugely expensive medical treatment.” He shrugged, as if he had no other option. “You report me to the authorities when all I’ve tried to do is provide for my dead wife’s family and give my stepdaughter the much-needed care she requires, and it’s on your head if Caitlin’s condition worsens, and well—” He shook his head. “—I wouldn’t really like to say what might happen.”

Rage, fierce and savage, blasted through my soul at how heartless, how casual he was being about my sister’s life. I had him by the throat in an instant and shoved him against the office wall, the cheap paneling rattling from the force.

“You lowlife piece of scum,” I screamed at him. “You’d let your daughter die to save your own ass.”

He struggled to breathe, but his gaze remained defiant and superior. “Stepdaughter. Never my daughter. And you’ll be the one killing her, not me,” he gasped. I tightened my fingers around his neck, abstractly watching as his face turned an unhealthy shade of purple.

I smiled darkly. “Caitlin no longer needs your help,” I stated with total calm, relishing when he frowned and a confused expression appeared on his face. “I’ve got new funding for her treatment, so she no longer needs you anymore.” I released him, his hands immediately going to his throat to rub where I’d held him.

“What are you talking about,” he whispered hoarsely. “What new funding? You’re lying, trying to force me into doing what you want. Well, it won’t work. I’m her legal guardian, and I’ll cut your sister off without a second thought if you don’t back off.”

“The court order is already in process to challenge the guardianship.” It wasn't but would be first thing tomorrow morning.

He scoffed, “That will take months, and what will happen to poor Caitlin in the meantime?”

“I may not be a hotshot Boston lawyer anymore, but I still have friends where it counts.” I kept my voice even, not wanting to betray my fear. “I’ll have a restraining order against you within the hour, ensuring you’re kept well out of her way.

“Or you can make things easy on yourself and sign everything regarding Caitlin over to me. You’ll also ensure there are no staff layoffs at your company. Unless, of course, you want the authorities involved in an investigation into your life, your business?” I shrugged. “It’s your choice.”

Malcolm’s eyes narrowed in response, and I fought to remain calm, even as my heart pounded like crazy behind my breastbone. He swallowed a couple of times but didn’t react, and I knew I had him. More to the point, so did he.

Now I’d played my hand, I worried about having to contact Gabe. He’d made his offer to fund Caitlin’s healthcare prior to this morning’s fiasco. I was counting on him to follow through, but what if he didn’t? What if he decided he wanted absolutely nothing at all to do with either me or my sister? No connections, no ties? I had to believe he wouldn’t renege on his promise, prayed he wouldn’t, as it offered me the only chance to be free of my chains, the only way Caitlin would get the help she needed because, without a shadow of a doubt, my stepfather would stop paying her bills in a second to keep me in the filth at his feet, exactly where he wanted me, and I wouldn’t allow that any longer.

Releasing Malcolm from my grip, I headed for the door. The tight noose hanging around my neck since I was a child loosened its grip.

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