Page 26 of To Catch A Rook

I was no different, but this decision crossed a line I wanted no part in. My stomach soured and the acid burned through my chest, but I maintained my neutral mask, refusing to give them an ounce of leverage.

“This is not up for discussion,” he snapped, body taut with tension as he leveled his lethal stare at me. “This family is moving in a different direction, and youwillsee it through.”

Mother left Father’s side with the slippery grace of a python; her light brown eyes calculating as she walked toward me. I often compared her to the snake in the children’s storyThe Jungle Book; in the years since she had first read me the tale, she had honed her charm and beauty into fortified weapons, capturing the meek and the innocent with soft words and snaring smiles.

She stopped in front of me; manicured, soft hands took my own. Brushing my knuckles, she stared up at me with a manipulative pout. “Aaron. This is not up for debate. Your father and I have decided, and the deal is done. It is now your place to carry out the terms.”

“The clubs aremine.” I savagely bit out the word, the fury of their mutiny creeping outward to sit atop my skin. “You have no authority to change the terms without my consent.”

“Ahhhh, but we do,” Mother purred and her eyes darkened with malicious intent. “Who pays the tithe, Aaron? Who brokers the agreements? Are we not the real power players in this arrangement? You manage what we’ve built.”

Her thumbs stroked the underside of my palms, the gesture a small reminder of a simpler childhood, before the mantle of this empire had become my destiny. I pulled my hands from her attempted influence and stepped backwards.

In my early twenties, I’d had no interest in the drug trade and chose to manage the brothel network instead. Eventually, I took over the fighting rings and the general gambling. I had taken a puny enterprise and grew it into a flourishing domain of sexual deviancy. Yet, the labyrinth of false legal paperwork was not in my name or my company’s. They owned my empire, and now they were attempting to yank my chains to prove they were my master.

They were not.

“And you believe destroying a partnership with a known ally for a new player is the best move? Antonio will retaliate. You’re puttingourmost profitable businesses at risk for the hope of something more.”

“We don’t do business onhope.” Father spat the word as if such a thing was the biggest form of blasphemy. “This move will open up additional revenue streams and guarantee our family legacy for generations. Far more than your frivolous decision to merge with thatwoman.”

Spittle flew out of his mouth in a rare display of his true feelings. His hate for Hillary Lane and all she stood for broke through his controlled façade.

An uneasy twinge wrenched my gut at the thought of these new revenue streams—the Rodriguez underground businesses thrived in sexual deviancy and counterfeit goods, but had drawn the line at weapons and unwilling whores—which could only mean that Alejandro Alvarez had promised them a share in the profits of one—or both.

My merger with Lane Enterprises had been a calculated move of my own. The seeds had been planted for my family defection years before when I first became the majority shareholder for our largest company.

To the public eye, it was a mutual decision by all parties to increase our stock value and secure our business interests, but my parents had vehemently been in disagreement. They forced Charles to call the meeting behind Hillary’s back, anticipating she would pull out of the arrangement all together.

They didn’t knowMi Reinaas I did. Her loyalty didn’t break or bend from just any shift of the breeze, but I knew I would have to tread carefully to maintain it from now on.

My father wanted me to back down, to agree with his sentiments. I had no intentions of doing such a thing. I had promised loyalty, and I would give it.

I leveled the heat of his stare with the icy disinterest in my own.

“That woman is a business associate whom I respect. The merger is done andmycompany will move forward with she and I as the leaders of the next generation. Do not insult my intelligence again.”

His fists tightened and the vein in his jaw ticked as he ground his teeth shut, but he said nothing in return. I moved on, unwilling to linger on this father-son dance for dominance; not with the unsettling topic of discussion.

“And who will broker this departure? Who has the pleasure of telling Antonio you will pass the sizable tithe to his rival? Have you secured their coffin?”

Mother’s eyes darkened as she placed a placating hand on my arm; her sinister smirk revealed the truetontoin the room: me.

“It is the duty of the true Rodriguez leader, no?” Her voice was quiet, the sultry pitch strategically hypnotic, but her words were as sharp as her fangs. “Yourcompany is moving forward with a new partner. Who better to share the news?”

Their intentions immediately revealed, I cursed myself for not seeing their plan sooner. The King and Queen of the Rodriguez line were making their moves. Because I would not willingly bend the knee, they would force me to the ground. A pawn to carry out their agenda. My life was of no consequence.

The decision further enforced what I had known all along. I was an heir, not a son. A subject, not a leader. Their displeasure at my actions required punishment. Their confidence in the decision to defect from a long-standing relationship meant they were willing to pay the price.

Even if that price was me.

A somber detachment flowed through me as if it had always been there; my realization set me free from the wanting wisps of a genuine family.

“Consider it done. When I return from the dead, know that you will be the first I kill.”

Mother cocked her head and her lips turned down at my outburst, a show of disappointment. Father had the audacity to snort, his hubris on full display now that there were no lies between us.

I allowed a small morsel of my darkness through to the surface of my departing smile. Then I turned on my heel and stalked out of the room, my strides strong and even despite the numbness seeping through my heart to my skin.

---