Page 119 of Oblivion

My gaze shifted from the useless phone to the gray eyes of my captor. I shrunk back a pace, then faced my father.

“How could you do this to me? I’m your daughter, andyouhad me kidnapped. So, that means, the whole entire time spent in lockdown was just to save face? To make itlooklike you were ‘protecting’ me?”

Even to my own ears, it sounded absurd.

“Ronan.” The single word from Paul spurred him into action.

Ronan jumped the desk and grabbed me by the upper arm. His fingertips bit hard as I tried to fight him off.

“Get off me. Get the fuck off me!”

Grunts of effort came while he manhandled me into Paul’s office.

“Sit the fuck down, Penelope,” Psycho Killer snarled in my face, bringing back all the nightmares from four weeks ago.

I complied, but only because I was realistic about my chances of escaping a room with two grown men standing between me and the exit.

“You weren’t harmed,” my father snapped.

My voice grew shrill.“Not harmed?How is being tied to a chair and gagged not being harmed? I still have scars on my wrists and ankles. Hecut myhair!”

Paul pointed at Ronan. “I’m still not happy about that, by the way.”

Ronan shrugged. “Technically, I didn’tharmher.”

Paul’s lips pressed into a hard, pissed-off line, while tears threatened in my eyes.

“Why would you do this to me?”

He leered. “You won us the sympathy vote, Bunny. I did what I needed to win the campaign.”

A disbelieving cry tangled on my tongue. “Are you for real? This was all just to win the stupid election?”

I looked at Ronan. “How much did he pay you?”

“N—”

“Don’t answer that, Ronan,” Paul cut in. “That’s none of your concern, Penelope.”

“It is my concern, because for all I know, you used my inheritance to hire him.”

I would have been blind to miss the fleeting smirk. Completely fucking blind.

“You didn’t,” I breathed out. “Tell me you didn’t!”

His expression turned harsh. “Let’s be honest here, shall we? The moment I found out you weren’t my daughter was the moment you lost your entitlement to my money. And now that I’ve won the election, you’re no use to me.”

Emotion stung the back of my nose, making me sniff hard to rid the growing prickle. The only father I ever knew was ripping my heart out. I couldn’tbelievehe’d be so callous to stand there and openly cast me aside. My soul broke knowing I’d been nothing more than a pawn in his political game.

“Wait… you had this planned formonths?”My voice pitched as a single tear fell from each eye. “You told me about not getting the inheritancebeforethat letter arrived on my birthday.”

He scoffed. “Oh, come on, Penelope. I’m not blind, nor am I stupid. I’m away for a month and when I get back, your mother is miraculously pregnant? I’m no man’s fucking fool.”

“So, you thought you’d wait twenty-one years for your fucked-up plan to come to fruition?”

He shrugged. “You needed a father, and I simply filled my role as a family man.”

“Who is he? Who’s my real father?”

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