Page 11 of Betrayal (Corrupt Empire 1)

Chapter Three

Avery

His name whirled around and around in my head as I sat in the pitch black cell. The cell he’d put me in.

Aiden.

I finally had a name to hate. Except the name made my heart fucking ache.

I’d seen him as an avenging angel. I couldn’t reconcile the man who’d fed me with the man who’d shot my parents. I hated how conflicted I felt.

His. He’d said I was his. The completely fucked up part about it. I was beginning to think he was right.

I didn’t know how much time had passed since he took me, but he’d mentioned it had only been last night when I saw him kill my parents. I was already losing my mind and it’d barely been twenty-four hours. How the hell was I going to survive this?

The glaringly obvious answer to that question was simple. I wasn’t meant to. Not if Aiden had his way. The fucking prick was in for a wakeup call. I didn’t have the energy to fight him earlier. Next time he wanted to start with his bullshit, I’d be ready for him. I had to make it out of here so I could turn him in. That meant surviving. Surviving a man like Aiden was impossible, but no one could blame me for trying. I had time to work out how. Too much time.

I shifted back until I hit the wall. I brought my knees up and rested my head on them. Exhaustion settled into my bones. Everything I’d been through suddenly felt like too much. Perhaps I’d just rest my eyes for a little while. Who knew when Aiden would grace me with his presence again. I needed to regain my strength.

I let myself drift. Fading in and out of consciousness.

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I snuck into my daddy’s office when he left for a moment. I loved the smell of his cigars and whisky. Crawling under his desk, I smiled. My nanny, Esme, would be looking for me.

“No, now isn’t the time to move the date forward,” I heard my dad’s voice and his footsteps on the carpet. “I told you, we have to be careful. Things are delicate right now.”

There was no one else with him so I assumed he was on the phone.

“Listen, the girls are our most lucrative trade. If I fuck this up, Nick will give the business to Chuck. No one wants him in charge of operations.”

I put a hand on my mouth stifling a giggle. Daddy said a bad word. I crawled out a little way from his desk. He had his back to me, staring out the window with the phone to his ear.

“Yeah, well, we both know my brother has a loud mouth and will get us into more shit.”

Was Daddy talking about Uncle Charlie? I didn’t feel right around him. He always looked at me strangely. Daddy turned. His eyes fell on me, widening slightly. He gave me a smile.

“Look, I have to go. Something has come up. No. We can deal with it later. All right. Bye.”

Daddy slipped his phone in his pocket and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Now, Avery, you know you’re not supposed to be in here.”

I crawled the rest of the way out from the desk and stood up. I brushed my dress down.

“Sorry, Daddy.”

He squatted down and put his arms out. I ran towards him, squealing with delight when he wrapped me up in a bear hug. He set me down, putting his hands on my small shoulders.

“Where is Esme?”

“I was hiding from her. She said it’s lunchtime, but I wasn’t done playing.”

He chuckled, squeezing my shoulders.

“Are you angry with me, Daddy?” I asked, folding down my bottom lip.

“No, you’re my little angel.”

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