Page 33 of Revenge (Corrupt Empire 3)

I felt like I was falling into a trap here. Did I answer that question honestly or not? I looked away. Ed’s gaze was far too intense, stripping me open and leaving me exposed.

“Does it matter?”

I took a bite of my sandwich whilst I waited for his answer.

“Yes. I think our family has placed far too many obligations on us and this shouldn’t be one of yours.”

My eyes snapped to his. His expression was neutral but his eyes told me he was serious. What kind of obligations did he have? Was this to do with the dark family dealings? I couldn’t ask him outright, but I wanted to know. I needed to. What did Ed know? How deeply involved was he?

“We don’t always get what we want in life.”

“We also no longer live in a time where you have to marry a man you don’t want to.”

My uncle didn’t want me to marry Tristan. My cousin didn’t. What did they have against the Shaws? What exactly was Frazier hiding? Everyone always seemed to get along so well. This made me realise that perhaps more was going on than I’d first thought. I got the distinct impression that my father’s death had been the catalyst to all of this. Had he kept them all in line and made sure these divides didn’t affect their business relationships? If so, then Aiden had completely disrupted everything.

Was this his plan all along?

Did he know how this would play out?

Remove the key player and all the rest would fall one by one. It certainly looked and felt that way to me. Frazier’s insistence on me marrying Tristan. Ed acting strangely. My uncle going from telling me off one minute to apologising to me the next. Rick Morgan involving himself in our family affairs. All of this seemed far too convenient to be a coincidence.

I had to Aiden him later.

“You’re right… that doesn’t mean I’m not going ahead with it. Do you have something against the Shaws?”

He sighed, plucking a bunch of grapes off one of the plates and popping a few in his mouth.

“Not exactly. You just shouldn’t trust anyone outside the family. You never know what type of skeletons are living in people’s cupboards.”

I knew what ones were living in our family’s. Horrific ones involving slavery, human trafficking, rape and abuse. Not to mention murder. Aiden’s mother can’t have been the only girl they’d killed. Whoever it really was considering he was now convinced it hadn’t been my father. That left us at a dead end.

Aiden said the voice was familiar to him. The level of detail he’d used to describe the event broke my heart. It wasn’t just because I loved Aiden. No seven year old boy should have to watch someone slit their mother’s throat and leave her to bleed out on the floor. After witnessing all that shit as a child, it was no wonder he had so many problems. The whole thing was traumatic.

“You saying Frazier has a bunch in his?”

“Maybe he does. Just look at his clients. You can’t think they’re all innocent with nothing to hide.”

Frazier had some very high profile clients. He rubbed shoulders with some of the richest men in England. He had connections. Ones he no doubt used to help my father and all his other associates. It was those connections I needed to find along with his secrets. Frazier had to have covered a lot of shit up.

“I’m not that naïve. There’s darkness in everyone.”Even in me, I added to myself silently.

He gave me a sad smile. It did something strange to my insides. Was Ed struggling with his own darkness? What did he really know? Too many questions.

“Some more than others.”

I nodded slowly. I hadn’t come in here to talk to him about my engagement to Tristan, but it’d given me a lot to think about.

“How are things with you anyway? Are you happy here?”

He steepled his fingers. A gesture which reminded me of my father. He used to do that when he was contemplating something. The thought of it seared into my chest, causing me to clench my fist under the table against the onslaught of pain I felt when I thought about him. I hated my father so much, but there was still a tiny part of me that would always love him. He’d raised me, loved me and cared for me. How could a man who doted so much on his daughter be such a monster behind closed doors?

I reminded myself he’d been less than a stellar father in the past few years since we’d argued so much over my future. He’d shown the true man he was underneath the mask. The one who got angry when he didn’t get his way. Did he take out that frustration on those girls? Did he enjoy dominating them because it gave him a sense of power? Control?

I felt a little ill thinking about it in that way. Mostly because there was such a fine line between the way my dad treated those women and the way Aiden treated me. There was one huge difference. I wanted to submit to Aiden in the bedroom, but those girls my dad abused? They hadn’t wanted it at all.

I had an unorthodox relationship with Aiden, sure. Before I left him, he had all the power and he used it to his advantage. I knew how wrong that was. I recognised it and in his own way, so did he. We’d changed. Our relationship evolved into something else. I was his wife now and he was my husband. I’d chosen to go back to him. I’d picked Aiden. I’d taken my side in this war and I was never going back on it.

“I am. Working with family has been rewarding. Seeing the company go from strength to strength in such a short time, despite all the hardships our family has faced. I only hope it will continue.”

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