Page 4 of Cruel Heir

I did not know, so I chose to do what a smart person would do: change the subject and mentally curse myself for not thinking straight. "Do you want me to believe the snitch?” I demanded instead, pushing Luca aside as I got in the car.

"A dying man never lies,” Luca reasoned. “He knows he's fucked either way – he just wanted to fuck over the person who brought him in this situation in the first place."

Those were some wise fucking words, but my mind was too scrambled to even acknowledge anything.Was Eloisa lying to me all this time? Was she trying to fuck me over to win her father's approval or something?I highly doubted that, but yet again, I barely knew her. One thing I did know about Eloisa was that she was close to Alesso. The fact that he had been upset with her because of our closeness seemed to bother her genuinely. It did not help that Eloisa hid her father's visit from me.

Maybe something was going on after all, and I had lost track of everything. My entire world suddenly revolved around Eloisa, and that needed to change. She could help me get my power, and it might be nice to have her by my side, but the most important thing to me was my father’s throne. Maybe I should start making decisions with that in mind.

"Take me back to Bilbao," I ordered Luca.

He nodded without sparing me a glance. "Your father may be delighted by this surprise visit," Luca commented.

"Does it look like I care?" I shot at him.

I laid my head back against the seat. That was the only time we ever spoke until the moment we reached Bilbao. All I could think about was how I had been so distracted, so far from reality.

Sure, when I held Eloisa and kissed her, I couldn't deny my feelings for her. It’s something that I hadn't felt in a long time. But then again, I was happy with only nice dates with her until Luca decided to show up. This entire night turned into more of a reality check than me getting the girl I wanted.

Bilbao was what I truly wanted, I assured myself.Eloisa could wait. And maybe she wasn't thinking about me or any of this at all. Maybe Luca was right – she was taking advantage of this situation. If that’s the case, she was smart. I started to see things more clearly than I previously did.

Bilbao was mine to rule. No matter what I felt for her, Eloisa would always be the enemy's daughter.I want to rule the world, but if I get too hung up over her, I may only end up getting fucked over.

By the time I stepped into the Carson manor, everyone was napping. I was way too fucking exhausted to deal with anything, so I simply decided to call it a night. As my head hit the pillow, though, my mind trailed back to all the possible scenarios that could happen tomorrow. There was just something different in the air in this town. Bilbao felt like a world within a small town with nothing but anger, frustration, violence, power, and status washed into everyone's mind. Once your business mixed with pleasure, once you'd tasted blood, that's all one could think about.

I fell into a restless sleep. I couldn't think of anything other than taking control. But I would not talk to my father about it yet. Instead, I would wait until I was closer to getting his throne. My mind flitted back to Eloisa once or twice, but I told myself that that’s where everything would stop.

When I thought I could finally get proper sleep, a helper knocked on my door. Apparently, it was time for dinner, and my father had been informed about my arrival.Great fucking torture. Groaning, I took a quick shower to bring myself to my senses and placed my gun in the bedside drawer. On my way out, I instructed Luca to send someone over to my apartment to clean everything up, lock the place, and bring in my stuff, thinking I might be here for a few days.

*****

"Good morning."

I grabbed an apple from the table as I took a seat next to my father. His lovely wife sat on his other side.

Isabel.

She looked good, just as usual. I looked at my father and saw that he sported a scowl.As he usually did, too.

"What is with you arriving unannounced?" Father asked right away.

Before I could open my mouth, Isabel spoke. "Nate, please.” Turning to me, she said, “We're glad you're here."

I smirked at her. Maybe she was just the distraction I needed.

"It's amazing how you're here at the right time. Right, honey?" Isabel continued, holding onto my father's hand.

He only shrugged in response. "As happy as I am, your arrival is not too bad, Keith. Isabel's pregnant."

I almost choked on my apple. "What?" I asked. I cleared my throat, trying to act as one normally would. Deep inside, I was freaking out.Not another fucking mind-boggling news.

"I'm pregnant," she confirmed. Although Isabel was smiling, it did not reach her eyes.

Was it fucking mine?I wanted to yell out loud, considering that it had been a few weeks – or a month – since the two of us slept together. It was way fucking more possible than my father being the actual father of this child.

What great fucking timing for me to be all about business. Now, I might even have an illegitimate son on the way with a woman who also happened to my father's wife.

"Looks like you have competition now,” my father said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

It began to seem like I got a brand-new problem every hour I spent in Bilbao. I wasn't so sure what to stress about more – the fact that I might be the father of this child or that my father and Isabel would do anything and everything in their power to make this unborn child the next Don Carson until he came of age instead of relinquishing their power to me.

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