Page 94 of Point of No Return

I’m tempted to do away with this mess entirely: Kill Eva, end this, and be done with it. Charlie is the only thing holding me back:“There is more to life than work and duty, Skar.”

“You would never be able to prove it, but go ahead. Ask your question,” Eva whispers. She’s goading me, baiting me to do something I know I’ll end up regretting. She wants me to do it. But I didn’t come here empty-handed.

“Tyson’s been dead for more than a month. What are you waiting for, Eva?”

She considers me for a long moment. “I love my daughter. I would do anything for her.”

“Is that why you hit her?” Eva blanches. “I still don’t understand the relentless loyalty she has toward you, but I’m not here to question loyalties. Forget the money, forget the company. I want to know what Tyson really promised you.”

Because there’s more here than she’s been letting on. If Tyson is dead, and I all but spat at the deal he made with them, then there’s something else she’s getting. Her eyes widen in sudden understanding, and her hand balls into a fist. “You found the contract.”

I smile as she puts the pieces together. “Which means that now that Tyson is gone, the only thing guaranteeing his end of the bargain is a piece of paper. Tread carefully, Eva.”

Her eyes are dark, blank, as she forces a smile. “You really think there’s only one copy?”

Her rueful attempt at saving herself is fruitless. If there’s one thing I know, it’s my father. If anyone saw these documents, we’d all be done for.

“My father was smart enough not to leave the fate of his legacy in the hands of someone he despised.” One copy is all he’d risk. Her act fades as she realizes the predicament she’s in… as she realizes her power is gone. “Whatexactlydid he promise you?”

“Safety,” she concedes quickly.

“What kind?”

“If your mother was dead, we wouldn’t be blamed for it.”

“Why do it in the first place?”

She scoffs, tipping her chin up at me. “I will not grovel to you. And I won’t let you ruin my family’s name by telling you. Everything I’ve done has been for her- for us- for my family.”

I realize what she’s saying. Divulging the truth requires giving up the very safety she’s trying to protect. She won’t budge. She won’t tell me. But I will find out one way or another.

So I promise her one thing, standing and buttoning my suit again: “There is no place safer for her than away from you.”

Eva stands, her glass toppling over and splattering a pool of red wine at our feet as she juts a finger at my chest. “She-”

I step forward, silencing her when she sees the look in my eye. “I am not my father. Whatever you have on my wife isdonethe moment I walk out that door. You will never touch her again. And if you so much as think otherwise, you will burn.”

She stares at me like I’ve hit her, like she realizes what my being here actually means. Her hands drop. Defeated, she stills, backing away and sitting down as the wine rushes to her head all too quickly.

“You’re a fool if you think she’s safe here. A goddamn fool.”

But I don’t look back. I refuse to believe that.

Chapter Forty-Two

Charlotte

Aleks, for once, isn’t drunk off his ass when he comes down for breakfast. He’s well-dressed in a suit similar to his brother’s, and his blonde hair is combed back. Proudly slamming a briefcase down in front of me, he puts his hands on his hips and scans for my reaction.

To a brown leather briefcase. “It’s… nice?” I tell him sheepishly, and he laughs as he flips it open, pointing to the custom engraving inside, reading:

Aleksander William Tomaso Benenati.

He’s proud that he has something of his own, I realize. It’s something he worked for.

“I think it would be cooler if your middle name wasn’t everyone’s first-husband’s-father’s name.”

He tips his head back in a laugh as he pours a mug of coffee. “It’s not like I had a say.”

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