Page 128 of Mine to Worship

This idiot really thought I’d let bygones be bygones. Ha! I twirl a pencil between my fingers.

“It never occurred to you when your warehouses got busted, and every one of your old friends either disappeared or went to prison, that I might have something to do with it?”

“Brandon would never abandon his mother,” he says, voice booming with resolution.

“Let’s see how long Jillian will stay with you after this. Decide already. I have better things to do.” It has been so anticlimactic that I suppress a yawn of boredom. I gave this fucker control over my thoughts. And it’s this realization that sets me free.

“What is there to choose?”

“It’s more than you ever offered me.”

He breaks into a humorless laugh. “So that’s what this is all about? Me not loving the bastard that helped make my mother ill?”

“It was not my fault,” I deadpan.

His hands shoot up in the air. “Of course it was. You should have never been born.”

I don’t even flinch at his harsh words. How often has he told me that? Even more so after I’d win when he’d wanted me to lose. He always wanted me to lose. He was punishing me for something I was never responsible for in the first place.

“Do you think getting rid of me will make you sleep better?”

“Of course, one scum with no power to pounce on innocent people. I call that a win.”

“This is about your whore isn’t it?”

I crack my neck, calling on patience, reminding myself he’s not worth it.

I curl and uncurl my fists, the gesture calming. I have the power; he’s not going to rattle me. He’s a trapped rat that’s trying to claw at my walls to get free. Richard can claw all he wants, the walls are made of titanium.

“It’s pathetic how weak she made you. Men are born to be superior.”

And then he goes there, ruining my calmness by insulting her. I slam his smug face on the table. If my daughter ever tells me a man said that to her, I will drain him of his blood and watch the so-called superiority coat my shoes.

Blood pours out of his nose and his eyes widen with a mix of incredulity and fear. I throw a handkerchief at him.

“No, we are born to be equals. I have built my empire with a woman. And it’s that same woman who has helped me put you down. It’s another woman who motivated me with her talent to push through the bleakest nights of my life. And it’s that woman whom I love and want to grow old with, and she is the woman who will make me a father. My daughter deserves to come into a world where she can be free to express herself how she wants to, become whatever she wants to, and not be afraid some scum will take advantage because he thinks it’s his right. Do you still think you’re better? Think of that when you’re sleeping next to rats and roaches in the streets.”

“This is not over.” He threatens in a meek voice.

I wave him off. “It is. You will never be capable of climbing back up from the dirt, I made sure of that. So, the next time I see you will be when the police tell me they found you dead in a ditch and they need me to identify your body.”

He shudders at the image, and I go in for the knockout punch.

“I will fucking smile in the face of your corpse. You will be forgotten and no one will ever miss you. Everything you ever loved, money, and power, has gone to the one person you hated the most.”

“Where is Brandon? I want to speak with my son.”

“He is with my wife. He didn’t want to be here. Now, get the fuck out of my company, Richard.”

I spit out his name with all the disdain I feel for him. He throws a glass at my head, but fails to hit his mark and it crashes in the middle of the room. I tsk and jerk my chin towards the door.

He stomps out of the room, cursing a storm. I turn on my chair and grin once he’s out of sight.

“It’s done,” I say into my phone.

“How does it feel? Are you free now?” Walter asks. He might have left me in charge but we both know Richard used his influence and status to undermine me until today.

“The only power your son had was the one I gave him.”

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