Page 40 of A Father's Insistence

Chapter Nineteen

Theodore

The car is silent for most of the journey. All of us are lost deep in our own thoughts. I’m struggling, and I’m not afraid to admit it. The man I grew up worshipping as my father is nothing but a fraud and a liar. I don’t know for certain if it was my father who hurt Joanna. I’ve not heard it directly from her lips, but my heart already tells me it was. I don’t know how I can ever make it up to her or rid her of the pain she must be feeling. Does she even really want me as a husband? A constant reminder of the man who abused her. I can’t think about that, now. As we draw nearer to the police station, Victoria nestles in closer to my side. Tamara rubs at her stomach.

“How are you feeling?” I nod at where her hand rests upon the baby growing inside her.

“Is it that obvious? I’d be fine it it wasn’t for William fussing over me all the time.” She rolls her eyes.

“William is a little over protective of her at the moment,” Victoria adds. “You’d think she’s made of glass and could break at any moment.”

“He’s a good man. He’s just looking after you.” We all become silent again at my words. “So’s Nicholas.” I kiss the top of my sister’s head. “I’m glad you both found the two of them.”

“We wish it were under other circumstances, but I wouldn’t be without Nicholas,” Victoria responds.

“Nor I without William,” Tamara adds.

I reach out for my other sister, how strange that sounds, and squeeze her hand.

“I’m just glad you’re both married, and I don’t have to worry about the two of you out partying together.”

“Protective big brother,” Victoria teases, but the smile on Tamara’s face is what I really notice. She’s gone from having no family to being in a loving relationship with her husband and the middle child in a sibling sandwich between me and Victoria.

“Don’t you know it, sisters,” I reply before turning to look out the window as the streets of London flash past. I look back at Tamara. “I’m really sorry about your mother. She was a special person in our household. I’ll miss her.”

Tears pool in Tamara’s eyes, mourning the loss of a woman who, I now know, had to deal with so much but came out the other side still fighting for her daughter.

“She’s at peace, and I’m going to continue her legacy. Victoria is as well.”

“Yes, we are.” Victoria smiles at her best friend and sister. “Nicholas is changing the society. We’re going to be looking to do more philanthropic work. Nicholas is in the process of setting up the Elsie Bennett fund to provide grants for children to study art.”

“That sounds a fantastic idea,” I reply with enthusiasm. It’s something I’ve always been interested in doing but have been hampered by my need to learn how to be a Viscount. A title, which I’ve found out today, I’ve been the holder of for a few months. It’s just another thing to take in. I wonder where it’s all going to end?

The car suddenly screeches to a halt, and we all jerk forward in our seatbelts. I manage to stop myself from banging my head on the seat in front of me, but Victoria isn’t so lucky and rubs her head in a daze. Leaning forward, Tamara begins to open the partition between our compartment and the driver’s. Suddenly, a blood curdling scream comes from her, telling me something is seriously wrong.

“Run!” she shouts as she frantically tries to undo her seat belt, but her hands are fumbling against the release button. I undo mine and set her and Victoria both free. We jump out of the car, but before we can run anywhere, guns are pointed directly at our heads.

“You had to allow your cock to do the thinking, didn’t you, son?” My father gets out of one of the vehicles surrounding our own. A bullet hole has broken the glass of our windshield, and behind the shattered mess is the bloodied face of our driver. Now I know what Tamara was screaming at.

“What is going on, Father?” I decide to try and play dumb until I can formulate a better plan. My father is obviously a dangerous and volatile man. To hold up a car in daylight with people around is a sign of desperation, and a last resort.

“Don’t play dumb. I know the little whore of yours has told you everything.”

“What?” I screw my face up trying to feign confusion. “I’ve just collected Victoria and Tamara from Nicholas. I’ve got them back. He’s taken Rose somewhere, but I’m working on that.”

Victoria must catch on to what I’m doing.

“Please, Father. He has my daughter. I don’t know where he took her. You have to find her. He’ll hurt her I know it.”

My father hesitates for a minute, his eyes narrowing as he tries to make sense of the scene unfolding before him. I can see the questions as to the validity of it running through his head.

He motions with a wave of his hand and his men step up to us and search us. My phone is removed from my pocket. Victoria’s and Tamara’s are taken as well. They are handed to my father who drops them onto the ground before smashing them with his feet. Victoria and Tamara both scream.

“What was that for?” I protest.

“First lesson, Theo. Nicholas doesn’t give up anything easily. He’ll have them tracked.”

I lower my head to show deference to his superiority and acknowledge my mistake.

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