Page 92 of Scarlet Mark
And below it read,I’m proud of you, Daughter. See you soon. Assad.
Amara
Dearest Amara,
If you’re reading this, which I suspect you are, then you’ve passed the final stage in your training. I couldn’t be prouder of the woman you’ve become. It’s a triumphant feeling to watch your progeny grow and defeat those standing in her way, to reach the top of an empire.
Creating you is one of my biggest victories. You’re perfect in every way—conniving, strong, and willing to do whatever it takes to win. My daughter to the end. I only wish your mother could see you now. I told her your future, how I intended to mold you into a woman of power and status. And here you are, doing exactly as I planned.
Enclosed you will find everything you need to succeed in your new position, all the documents of your past and future, and the details you’ll require to run the former Rose family business. I’ve taken the liberty of cleaning up the utter mess Clarissa has left behind. All her previous employees are retiring as I write this, leaving you with a fresh start—my gift to you.
My primary goal was to provide the building blocks you needed to reign, and here you are, my darling Amara, standing at the top of one of the world’s oldest organizations. With all the assets of a famous former senator as well.
I doubt many other parents have ever gifted their child with such success, but I’ve always felt you deserved the best.
I’ll be in touch soon, once you’re settled in. Should you need me in the interim, reach me through Taviv—he is your older brother, after all.
Your father,
Amir
P.S. Welcome to the family, Bedivere. I wasn’t sure about you at first, but you’ve proven to be an admirable companion for my Amara. Treat her right.
Iread the letter three times before I finally set it down to stare at Killian. “What. The. Fuck?”
He had spread the other contents of the envelope out over the desk, ignoring the corpses of Clarissa and Geoff behind him. They were situated in the wingback chairs, portraying a brutal throne scene with their ruined clothes and dead eyes.
But I honestly couldn’t even focus on them with the bombshell Amir had dropped in my lap. “He’s my father?”
“It would appear so, yes.” Killian slid over a birth certificate with my name on it, listing Amir Assad as the father and Flora Assad as the mother. “Then there’s this.” He handed me a financial document showing an initial transfer of funds from Amir to Clarissa, the transaction details stating it was a payment for my care.
More transactions followed in a monthly pattern, the sums widening my eyes.
“And these,” Killian said, his tone holding a darkness that had me uncertain as to whether or not I wanted to see the papers in his hand. But he gave them to me anyway.
Brief instructions. All in writing. All depicting exactly what Amir wanted done to me in terms of mytraining. He even provided a timeline and a list of desired candidates, all of whom he instructed Clarissa to invite to my sixteenth birthday. The night that changed everything.
My stomach churned with the details.
I felt dizzy.
Overwhelmed.
Shocked.
Abused.
I sat in the chair behind the desk, clutching the letter as if it held all the answers. And yet it told me nothing at all. “What empire? What organization? What the fuck is he talking about?”
Killian remained quiet, his attention on more of the documents from the never-ending envelope.
“It seems he’s transferred all of Malcom’s assets to you. As well as the Rose estate and all their former funds, of which there is a great deal.” His lips flattened, his dark eyes lifting to mine. “If I’m understanding all of this, it means he’s chosen you to lead the Rose family legacy. To run the trafficking rings and the several other illegal affairs they’ve managed throughout the last few centuries.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“It seems that it’s already happening. You own everything, Amara.” He set the envelope down, his expression shuttered. “This is all yours.”
“I don’t want it.”
