Page 30 of Ruthless Redemption

“Actually, he’s not. She’s mine now,” Houston interjected.

Frank’s eyes narrowed further, but he did not take his beady gaze off of mine. “I’m talking to my daughter. I’ll deal with you soon enough. You can go away now.”

I saw the tic of muscle in Houston’s jaw from the corner of my eye and felt the clench of his hand next to my thigh. It was then I worried that we might have made a mistake bringing Houston into this. Much like my father, he had a temper and a violent side to him that didn’t always coincide with the law.

“Actually, you’re talking tomywife. I’m not going anywhere. And as you well know, she did not marry that bitch Marco after all. So I’m not going anywhere, old man.”

The cold mask of indifference slipped on Frank’s face. Only for a moment, but for that split second I got an unbridled look at the violent evil that my father was made of. Something I thought I’d seen before, but truly hadn’t. Not at this level anyway.

It shocked me enough I took an automatic step back.

Houston grabbed my hand and squeezed, reminding me that we were in this together.

“I don’t believe you. My daughter would not lower herself to the likes of you.”

Houston tipped his head back and laughed. “A few weeks ago, you were promising me the moon if I did as you asked.”

Frank’s upper lip curled. “And now you’re not worth the dirt on my shoe. Traitors in my organization are dealt with swiftly and permanently.”

“Stop!” This time my voice grew several octaves. “Don’t you dare threaten us. Houston is my husband. That’s a little fact you’re going to have to get used to—Father.” I didn’t care that the last came out about as pleasantly as poison. “And that’s not all. You should probably know that we didn’t bother with a prenup. We’re far too in love for that.”

My father sniffed. “That doesn’t matter. You have nothing. Any money you might have come into as my daughter, is in an ironclad trust for you AND Marco. If you married this man, then you can enjoy absolutely nothing. Which means I can finally wash my hands of you.”

My father started to turn away and I’m not going to lie, the pain of his words stung hard and stung deep. He didn’t deserve that kind of power, but there was only so much I could turn off in the moment.

I could however, strike back. As it turns out, pain is a great equalizer for lashing out.

“Are you sure about that?” I asked, measuring each of my words for optimum effectiveness. “Last I checkedmymoney was provided to me andmyhusband jointly. While Marco was named later in the paperwork, from what my attorney says and how I understand the way the documents were written, the word husband supersedes the actual name of said husband. Soanyhusband will suffice in order to take possession.”

Frank froze and I could tell from the rigidity of his posture that he was having a moment of doubt. This gave me the courage to continue my strike.

“You can call and check if you’d like. I’ve already submitted the appropriate paperwork along with our marriage certificate. While it hasn’t been long, the ink has in fact had time to dry.”

The satisfaction I got from rubbing the finances in his face didn’t exactly last as long as I would have liked. And while I knew that having that money meant I could control my own future, the dark look in Frank’s eyes when he turned back to me still scared the living hell out of me.

I counted to six, my nerves stretching taut until he finally spoke.

“You think you can steal from me and get away with it? Or that you, my weak and useless daughter, could outsmart me in anything?”

The pure venom of his voice froze my blood. Or maybe it just all drained to the bottom of my feet. Either way, I couldn’t move or take a breath. There was something specific in the rigid posture of my father and the nasty sneer on his face that told me I was about to get clobbered.

“According to the paperwork you filed with the account, that money was a wedding gift. That hardly constitutes stealing.”

A short bark of laughter erupted from Frank, although there was nothing funny about it. “You are such a vapid girl. Just like your mother. You were born useless and it took my grooming and creativity to make you something worthwhile. It took me years to craft this deal with Marco and if you think for a split second that you get to ruin that, then you are worse than I even thought.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “If you’ve somehow gotten your hands on it without my permission, then you will put it back by the end of the day. Don’t test me on this, Isabella.”

I could feel my heart starting to harden with every additional word out of his mouth. How I had ever looked at him and saw anything more than a monster astounded me.

“No,” I said.

“Excuse me?” he seethed, his face turning red with more anger. He looked like he was about to explode and this was exactly what I came for. To push his buttons past the breaking point. Only then could we exploit his weaknesses.

“I said no,” my voice growing stronger. “That money may not have been a gift for me, but it was a gift nonetheless and I’ve taken it. I’ll consider it payment for the pain and suffering of your daughter at the hands of two monsters. Although that’s not going to be enough to save you from paying for the kidnapping of the other women.”

“What women?” he asked. “Marco’s girls? You fool. I have no part in that area of his organization. I’ll be just as happy as you to see that bullshit shut down. That’s if you haven’t ruined that opportunity with this overreaching display of naivete. That money you claim as yours was no more of a gift than you are any longer my daughter.”

The words hit my ears at the same time the shock registered across Frank’s face when he finally realized I wasn’t backing down.

Only before I could fully appreciate what that meant he’d schooled his expression and continued. “You’re only lucky Marco didn’t do worse, but he had such a hard-on for you that he wouldn’t follow my recommendation. I tried to tell him you were only good for one thing. The daughter of a whore will never be more than a whore.”

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