Page 26 of Seventeen Years Ago

I never forgot the first time I questioned my father on something. I may have been six or seven years old. His only answer was a backhand across my face. Blood ran from my nose, and he said if I ever questioned him again, then he would teach me the painful price of disobedience. I could only imagine how he treated the Tabiqian women.

“No. I don’t need to hear anything else.”

“Caydan has vouched for your character, and I don’t normally question what they tell me. You on the other hand, are the exception,” he stated firmly.

“So the other driver wasn’t sick after all?” I questioned, knowing from the beginning that had been the case.

Bennett snarled. “There is only one reason you still are in Tabiq, Steven. It’s because I have no proof that you are anything like your father. But know that I am watching you closely, and if I learn otherwise, I’ll do everything in my power to bring you to justice,” he warned.

I met his eyes. “I share his DNA and last name. That’s all.” I knew I was not like my father, but I was not innocent. I had my own secret that was haunting me. A shame that I still carried.

“For your sake, you better be telling the truth.” He turned around and put the vehicle back in drive. There was nothing further for us to say. Bennett laid it all on the table. I just didn’t know if he’d shared his knowledge with anyone else. Part of me didn’t care. I didn’t answer for my father’s actions. But I still needed to answer for mine.

When we arrived back at New Hope, I slammed the SUV door and headed to my room. My head was pounding, and I wished my father was still alive. I had so many questions for him. Like how could a person who had been born with everything, go and take so much from innocent people? How could he treat anyone as though they were less than human?

I will never know the answer. And even if he were alive and told me, nothing would ever get me to understand why he was the way he was.

It was times like this that I missed my older brother the most. He would be the only person who could relate to what it felt like to be the son of pure evil.Maybe he knew better than me and maybe that’s why he took his own life. He couldn’t stand being the offspring of the devil.

I grabbed a bottle of whisky, no glass, and headed for my bedroom. There was only one way I was going to get any sleep and that was by passing out.

I’ll numb the pain tonight; I’ll deal with the consequences tomorrow.

Even as I gulped down the whisky, Aiza’s face was all I could see. I could drown out what I did, but it wasn’t that easy for her. She was a victim, and I was the one who had made her one.

Father, I hate you for what you did, for what you had me do.

I needed to come clean about my actions. But was spending my life behind bars in a foreign country the best way to atone for what I did? Would it really fix anything or only expose a secret that even Aiza had kept all these years.

This was something Aiza needed to do. And I’d support whatever decision she made. Now I just needed to find the right time to reveal who I really was.

And be ready for her to hate me all over again.

CHAPTER12

Aiza

“Yes, Grandma, I had a wonderful time last night. President O’Connor and her husband were very gracious in inviting me.” There was no point mentioning Steven. She wasn’t here, and the odds that she would ever meet him are zero.

“I am so happy that you are not sitting home, bored,” she replied.

“Grandma, I am never bored. I work all day and have plenty to do at night,” I said.

“What are your plans tonight?” she asked.

“Having dinner at home.”If nothing else gets in the way.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to come home?”

“Absolutely not. I am very capable of being alone for a week and you know that. We do this every other month. Why are you so worried about me all of a sudden?” I questioned her. Nothing had changed in my life that she was aware of.Or is it something in hers?“Grandma, are you okay? Is there something wrong and you want to come home? Because I’ll cancel my plans tonight and come get you right now,” I said, my words rushing as panic filled me.

“What plans? I thought you were eating at home alone tonight? Do you have a guest coming over?” she asked.

Damn.

There was nothing wrong with her mind, because she picked up on that slip too quickly.

“I’m having dinner with a friend. That’s all. Nothing to get all excited about,” I stated, as I noticed I was rambling about it.

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