Page 18 of Yours To Keep
“You couldn’t save her, could you?” I ask, already knowing the answer. I can see the look in her eyes. It’s the look of someone who knows there’s no hope. Someone who knows the end isn’t near, it’s now.
“No. I couldn’t. But those men? Death was a welcome reprieve after what they endured at my hand,” he says, and I turn to face him.
He looks scared, as if I’m going to run at any second after finding out who he really is. That couldn’t be further from the truth. So many times I’ve caught myself wishing I could’ve been the one pulling the trigger when I see stories on the news about children being abused or killed. There’s a darkness in me that rivals his own. I just don’t think anyone looks hard enough to see it.
“Good,” I say, smiling back at him. Shock registers in his eyes, and he steps closer to me, his hand finding my neck again. He’s going to kiss me. I feel it in my bones.
“I got it!” Breaker shouts, stopping Iris just inches before his lips meet mine.
“Fucker,” he mumbles, and I giggle. I’ve never seen a man so desperate to kiss me before. It’s scary as hell if I’m being honest. Reluctantly, he moves behind Breaker.
“The lawyer had better encryption technology than most banks do. Which is already a red flag,” Breaker says, piquing my curiosity.
“What lawyer?” I ask, coming to look over Iris’s shoulder where he stands next to Breaker’s computer.
“Don’t get mad, okay?” Iris says, giving me a sheepish look.
“What lawyer, Dalton?” I say, my hands resting against my hips. I can’t stand the phrase ‘don't get mad’.
“Your mother’s lawyer,” Breaker says, and I swear my eyes bug out of my skull.
“WHAT?!” I screech, and Iris winces.
“Look, Montgomery said some shit that didn’t sit right with me, okay? So I asked Break to dig into it,” he rationalizes.
“And you’re not gonna like what I found,” Breaker says, pointing towards a large monitor in front of him.
I see what looks like some kind of contract for a business deal. Only, it isn’t. The closer I look, the more the details blur, my stomach clenching. This looks like a marriage contract. She’s selling me off like fucking cattle! In the list of things he will receive, once we’re married, of course, is the majority interest in my father’s company, partial liquidation of my parent’s assets in the amount of 2.5 million dollars, andownershipof me. Below the list is my mother’s signature. It’s plain as day in ink, and notarized.
“What the fuck…” I whisper, tears welling up in my eyes. I’m angry, livid beyond explanation. But I’m also so incredibly hurt. This woman gave me life! How could she agree to something so horrific?!
Bile rises in my throat, threatening to choke me. Running to the trash can in the corner, I empty the contents of my stomach. I vomit until there’s nothing left but dry heaves and tears. This is truly unbelievable. I’ve always known my mother hated me, but this?
“It’s okay, angel,” Iris stands behind me, holding my hair back and rubbing soothing circles across my back. “They won’t touch you. I promise you, Magnolia.”
Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I lean my shoulder into his chest, letting him support my weight. My head is spinning with the reality of what I just read, and the hundred questions now brewing in my mind.
Why would she do this? Does my dad know? Did my sisters have to go through the same thing? If they did, how could they not warn me? A sinister laugh bubbles out of me before I can stop it.
“Of course this is my fucking life! You know what? I don’t care! Fuck her, fuck Aaron, FUCK EVERYBODY!” Tears burn my eyes, spilling over my lashes before I can hide them.
Iris wraps his powerful arms around me, kissing my hair softly, and I let the tears fall. I’ve never had a picture perfect mother, but I never could have imagined she’d be capable of this. Suddenly, something hits me like a fist to the temple.
What the fuck does she get out of this deal?
“We’re still digging,” Iris says, and I’m not sure if I said the words out loud or if he’s just that good at reading my mind.
“I think…I think I know why. I’m still trying to find a way to prove it, but I have a good assumption,” Breaker says, leaning back in his chair with an uncomfortable look on his face.
“Just tell me. It can’t get much worse.” Instantly, I regret saying that. He grimaces, and I know whatever he’s uncovered, it’s so much worse.
“I don’t know anything for sure. I’m still trying to prove it, Mags,” Breaker says, typing furiously. “But after reading through the contract, I had to ask myself, what’s in it for your mom? That’s when I found this.”
He pulls up another document, but this one I don’t recognize. I’ve never seen something like the contract I’m looking at right now.
“You’re fucking kidding me,” Iris says, his hands balling into tight fists at his sides.
“What? What is it?” I ask, neither man answering me. They seem to be locked in some kind of silent conversation. “Hello? Somebody answer me!”
