Page 98 of Resurrection

The room is pitch-black and soundproof. Whoever is out there must have cut the power to the house and disabled the backup generator. None of us know the target of this massacre. It could be me, Eric, my father, even Finn.

Finn as the mark makes my stomach flip. Where’d he go and what’s he doing? Jay claims he doesn’t have any details either. His phone died about an hour ago, but we weren’t able to get a signal anyway. The panic room is built under the basement.

With my gaze pinned to the ceiling, I hope no one with a gun discovers the trapdoor and concealed staircase in Lucas’s room. It’s a steep, winding decent meant only for one person at a time. Jay was almost too broad to make it. Even now, having navigated it, I can’t believe the passage exists. Who is up there? What do they want?

How will we know when they’re gone?

Lucas makes a snuffling noise and snuggles into my chest, trying to find food. Soon we’ll have to take a chance and leave. We can’t let him starve, and I’m not sure when he last fed. He’s been content to be cradled and rocked. Not for much longer.

“Do you think it’s safe yet?” My father’s voice echoes in the darkness.

“No.” Jay’s tone is bored. “We’re waiting it out.”

“For what?” My anxiety over Lucas eases as his breathing evens out again.

“Finn.”

My father chuckles. “He left. We’ll die of thirst or starvation.”

“He’ll be back. I’m locked in this panic room with the one person he actually gives a shit about. Come hell or high water, he’ll find her.”

“Do you think Eric’s okay?” My father’s voice is subdued, resigned.

“No.” Exasperation enters Jay’s voice. “He was the guy fucking screaming, Charles. Whoever came to the house, they came for him.”

Demid.

I don’t say his name out loud. Jay likely knows, and my father would never understand Demid was avenging his daughter’s death.

“He only wanted to make you happy, Carys,” my dad says.

I laugh. “He wanted to make himself happy.”

Part of me wishes I could see my father’s face, gauge his reaction. The other part is glad we’re doing this in the dark. Maybe he’ll be honest for once. “Lucas wasn’t created to make me happy. This baby was a method of control, to get me under his thumb. Before the baby, I had the upper hand. I was his boss, and I had more money, prestige, connections.” I bring Lucas to my chest, my voice hard in the darkness. “He might have given me a baby, but he wanted to take a lot more.”

There’s a heavy silence before my father speaks. “I wanted you to be happy. This was supposed to make you happy.”

“Eric would never have made me happy.”

“The plan wasn’t about him—not for me. You wanted a baby so badly. Ever since you were little and you played with dolls, you wanted to be a mother. Watching you come so close and having the dream slip through your fingers…”

“You had no right.” I wish I could see his face, his eyes, to determine whether he’s sincere or trying to make the best of a shitty situation. We’re his greatest chance out of this mess. At this point, Finn will be his savior. Must sting after how he’s treated him.

“We haven’t had an easy relationship, Carys. But I’ve always loved you more than I could express. Seeing you grieve over and over hurt me too.”

“You had no right.” This time, my words don’t have the same bite. “If we get out of this alive, I’m taking time with Finn and Lucas to sort through this mess. Then I’m quitting you and the company. I’m done. I’m out.”

My father sighs. Jay’s big hand lands on my shoulder, and he gives me a reassuring squeeze.

“You’ll turn over the family company to someone else?” my father says.

“No,” I say. “I’m giving it to you. What you do with it, that’ll be up to you. But I want nothing to do with it… or with you.”

“I haven’t been a part of the company for years,” Charles says. “I won’t understand everything to step right back in.”

“I’ll come to the Chicago office for one week. One week. That’s it. But not until we’ve got Lucas out of Russia and we’re settled. You can hobble along until then. There are enough people there who know what they’re doing. You’ll be fine.”

“All these years leading the company, all these years as your father, and I get one week?”

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