Page 11 of The Devil's Torment

I sit up straight, my stomach knotting. Oh, God. Has he done something to Dad because of what I did? I wouldn’t put anything past that family. Regret pinches at my insides. I wanted to do right by Beth, but in doing so, had I done wrong by my parents?

“We’ve reached an agreement that suits both our families.”

Mum fidgets next to me, and when I look at her, she refuses to meet my eyes. I turn back to Dad.

“What does that mean?”

He clears his throat, but when he looks at me, his expression is one of fiery determination. “You are to marry Nicholas.”

My eyes widen, and for a second, shock renders me speechless. Then I laugh. This is some kind of sick joke, surely.

“Okay, Dad, what’s the punchline?”

He stares at me, unsmiling. “We’ve decided on a date. You will marry at Oakleigh Chapel two weeks from today.”

When I realize he isn’t joking, I launch to my feet, thighs trembling. “I willnotmarry Nicholas De Vil. Not two weeks from today, two months, or twoyears.You cannot do this to me. Beth is barely cold in the ground, and now you want me to marry her fiancé? No. That’s absurd. It’s… it’s… obscene.”

“Vicky.” Mum reaches out a hand, but I jerk out of her reach.

“The last daughter you gave to that man ended up dead. Do you want to lose me, too?”

Mum visibly flinches. In normal circumstances, I’d feel bad, offer an apology, or a squeeze of her shoulder, but this situation is as far from normal as you can get.

“Victoria, sit down and listen to me.” Dad rarely uses my full name. He clearly means business, but so do I.

“No.” I dig my nails into my palms. “You can’t do this to me. I won’t let you.”

“My business is in trouble.”

He withers before my eyes, all his bluster and confidence vanishing in the time it takes me to blink. He sinks into his favorite chair, expression bleak rather than commanding, the mask he’d put on for my benefit sliding off his face.

“About eighteen months ago, my company developed a piece of software that could make me a very rich man. Not quite De Vil rich, but enough to keep me and your mother comfortable for the rest of our lives. The problem was it needed a lot of investment. I borrowed against every asset we owned but still fell short of what was required. Then the interest rates increased, inflation spiraled out of control, and my income dropped significantly, meaning I couldn’t make the interest payments.”

He rubs the space between his eyebrows and lets a slow, steady breath out through his nose. “Charles De Vil somehow discovered this research, as well as the difficulties my company was in, and he made an offer. He’d give me the additional investment needed to fully develop and bring the software to market in return for a controlling interest in my company. As part of the deal, I would stay on and run the business I’ve built from scratch.”

Drawing in a deep breath, he blows it out slowly between pursed lips. “I’m aware of the De Vils’ morally dubious reputation, and I didn’t trust him not to fire me as CEO as soon as I signed over the business, which is why I made marriage for one of my daughters a condition of the deal. At least that way we’d always have a connection to the family, and he’d be less likely to cut me off from my own firm. He arranged for the bank to give me some breathing room until I signed the contract on the day of the wedding. Nicholas chose to marry Beth, but now she’s gone…”

His voice cracks, but I’m too angry to offer him any comfort. My hands fist as I wait for him to gather himself and continue.

“If you refuse to marry Nicholas, the bank will foreclose on the company, the house. We’ll lose it all.” His watery eyes lock on mine. “We need you to do this for the sake of your family. Look at your mother. She won’t survive living on the breadline. If I don’t act now, my business will fold, and Charles De Vil will scoop up the pieces for buttons. This way, I get to keep the company and make sure you’re taken care of for the rest of your life.”

“I don’t need to be taken care of! I’m starting my own business. I can take care of myself.”

Dad runs a hand through his hair, and Mumstillwon’t look at me.

“It’s on you to save this family, Vicky. We need you to do this. For your mother. For me. Would you see us on the streets, our family name dragged through the mud?”

Oh, just wonderful.Nowthey need me.NowI’m important to them. It stings like hell that it’s only when Beth’s gone that I’m good enough. But at what cost to me?

My brain races at a million miles an hour, seeking a way out. Every road leads to a dead end—one where Nicholas De Vil waits for me, laughing.

“Nicholas has agreed to this?” I croak. Surely not. He can’t stand the sight of me. The argument we had at Beth’s wake comes back to haunt me.

I pity the man who ends up with you.

And I pity the woman who ends up with you.

He’ll have refused. He will. There’s not a chance he’ll agree to tying himself to me for life.

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