Page 70 of Heartless Prince

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I have proof.” He clicked something on his phone and a video started playing, filmed from his point of view. The phone must’ve been sitting in his shirt pocket when it was recording.

The video showed my parents sitting in his office, asking how things were going with me and saying they wanted to renegotiate the contract as they felt they actually deserved more money. They’d already spent more than half the three hundred thousand they’d been given, and they wanted more.

“Turn it off,” I said softly, looking away. My guts were churning, and I felt like I’d be sick all over the place. Tobias wasn’t lying. My parents really had sold me. I guess I already knew that for the most part, but now even the miniscule shred of hope I’d held onto was shattered and I felt hollow. Dead inside.

Tobias did as I said, sliding the phone back into his pocket. “As you wish. But they also had some news from the outside world to report. Apparently you have some very pushy friends who don’t believe you’re where we said you are.”

“What?” My eyes snapped back up as hope flared brightly inside me. If my friends didn’t really believe I went to Europe, they could be searching for me, even when no one else was. Eventually, they might find me.

“If I remember correctly, the friends in question were Greer Ballinger, Willa Van der Veer, and Katie Gagne. Apparently they became suspicious when your parents refused to give them a contact number for you. Especially Katie. Seeing as she’s taking some sort of gap year in France, she asked for your contact details so she could meet up with you while you backpacked through Europe, and when your mother tried to claim you didn’t have a phone or email address, she contacted Greer and Willa.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat. “You didn’t hurt my friends, did you?”

“Not physically. I’m sure they’re very emotionally hurt, though. I had your parents try a different tack. I told them to tell the girls that you’d wanted to end the friendships with them for a while, as you felt you were drifting apart and they weren’t intellectual enough for you. While you do have a contact number, you specifically asked your parents not to give it to them, and they were trying to respect that. But they felt bad, so they made up the initial ‘lie’ about you not having a number.”

My stomach flipped. “And then?”

His eyes gleamed. “It worked. Your friends are all furious with you now. Especially Greer. Apparently she loved having you around because you come from similar backgrounds, and she thought you understood what it’s like for her. But to find out that you’re just as much of an elitist snob as half the other students at Roden… well, let’s just say you’re off her Christmas card list.”

There was a pounding in my ears as his words sank in. Not only had Crown and Dagger torn me from my life and tried their best to destroy me, they’d successfully destroyed all my old friendships as well, for no reason other than the need to cover their asses when those friends began to ask questions. No one on the outside world cared about me anymore. No one was looking for me, and no one even wanted to find me.

I wanted to tear at Tobias’s hair, gouge his eyes out, smash his smug face in.

“You’re an asshole,” I said in a low voice, thick with fury. “Get the hell out.”

“I’m not done yet. I said there were two reasons I came to see you.”

I threw my hands up. “What? Go on, just say it!”

It couldn’t possibly be any worse than what he’d just shown and told me, right?

“Well, I also wanted to see how things are going between you and Elias. I do hope you’re treating him properly, given that you may be one of the most expensive birthday gifts I’ve ever bought him, but he hasn’t been around much.”

I stiffened. “Birthday gift?”

“Oh, yes. After Ben died, Elias became very dark and grim. He didn’t say it, but I could tell he was deeply affected by Ben’s passing. It was my idea to buy you for him, and I arranged the sale. I knew it would cheer him up to know he had you coming to be his slave, given your… shall we say, proximity to Ben’s demise.”

“For god’s sake, I didn’t kill Ben,” I said through gritted teeth. “It was an accident.”

Tobias smiled. “Yes, that’s the story, isn’t it?”

I stood up, narrowing my eyes. “It’s not a fucking story. I know your family hates me and blames me for his death, but you’re all wrong!”

“I don’t hate you, Tatum. On the contrary. As soon as I became aware of your existence, I was actually very pleased.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Why?”

“Like I said, I knew I could make Elias very happy if I purchased you. But that wasn’t the only reason, or even the main reason.” He sat down on the end of my bed as he spoke. I didn’t reply. I knew he wanted me to ask what the main reason was, but I didn’t want to play into his hand.

“I’ve often wondered how much my son takes after his mother compared to how much he takes after me,” he went on. “I’ve always tried to mold him in my image so that he can carry on my legacy one day, but sometimes I’m not sure he has what it takes. So I decided to get you for him as a sort of… test. Not just a gift. If things with you proceed according to my plan, then I’ll know he’s a true King.”

“So what, you’re grooming him to be the next family patriarch or something?” I said.

“In a manner of speaking.” That nasty smile again.

“Well, I have a feeling you’re actually right about him not taking after you,” I said, boldly staring right back at him. “He’s not like you at all.”

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