Page 125 of Science Project

“Back already, Akio?” she murmured, the edges of her words like ice. She stood up and stalked toward me, her heels clicking against the ground. “Has the real world been too cruel to you? Decide you needed to crawl back to me and beg for forgiveness?”

I held her gaze just long enough to hold my facade of the son she had always known, but then dropped it in defeat and slowly slumped my shoulders together. “I hate you,” I ground out. “But I need your help, and we need your protection.”

“We?” she repeated. “Who? You and that whore?”

“She’s not a whore,” I said through gritted teeth. “I love her.”

“She’s slept with the entire town.”

Because her father—and you—forced her!

I wanted to scream that back at her so fucking badly, but I bit my tongue. It wasn’t Nicole’s fault that she had been through hell and back every single day, but I needed to get Mom alone so I could kill her.

If I made a wrong move now, she’d kill me. She’d made that clear.

“I know,” I whispered. “But I don’t care.”

“I do,” Mom said, stopping a few feet from me and staring me right in the eyes with the most heartless expression. “She’ll make us more money as a whore than my future daughter-in-law.”

My hands instinctively balled into fists, and I held myself back from hurling one into her face. I wouldn’t make it halfway before they filled my chest with holes, and I couldn’t leave Nicole without protection like this.

“I know that it’s a lot to ask, but I wouldn’t have come back here if it wasn’t necessary.”

She stayed quiet for a long time, a smirk twitching her lips. “Very well, Akio. I’ll consider it. But you know the rules, don’t you? To gain my trust, you’ll have to prove yourself. And this time, it’ll be harder than all the other times because you’ve betrayed me.”

The rage bubbling inside me slowly subsided as I realized for the first time that she truly didn’t want to kill me. She had no other children to continue her legacy, so she was willing to give me chance after chance after chance.

Even when I’d fucked up. Even when I’d betrayed her or told her off.

But she wouldn’t be so giving to Nicole.

Which meant that I really had one chance to get her alone, to get close to her. It was a treacherous path that I was willing to take, all to protect Nicole and eventually dismantle the empire my mom had built.

“Okay,” I said quietly. “I’m prepared to do whatever it takes.”

“Good, because we start tonight.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Her lips curled into a deeper smirk. “We’re going to pay Imani and her family a visit.”

My throat dried. “Why Imani?”

Sure, Dad had wanted me to get together with Imani for as long as I could remember, but Mom never really liked Imani. Imani always got too much in her business, always back-talked my mother despite her family’s wishes.

She stepped closer, her gaze unyielding. “Imani is your friend, isn’t she? If you’re truly serious about gaining my trust and protecting those you care about, this is the first step. It’s a test of your loyalty and willingness to do what it takes.”

What was she planning? Should I warn Imani? Did I have time?

Reluctantly, I nodded. “Okay, I’ll come with you to visit Imani’s parents.”

“Good.” She nodded, satisfaction evident. “We’ll leave soon. And remember, Akio, this is just the beginning. Prove yourself, and you might earn your place within the family. One wrong move, and you’ll lose everything that you care about. Even Nicole.”

CHAPTER

EIGHTY-ONE

AKIO

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