Page 29 of Owned By Two

On that shuttle ride home, he broke down into tears — the only time I had ever seen him so weak — and told me all about his wife he had left behind, his various failed ventures, and the alcohol addiction he had suffered with his entire life.

It was only after he managed to kick the habit that he finally began to see success.

“I have many regrets,” he told me, “but none surpass my weakness in abandoning my family.”

He passed unconscious and I carried him to his bedroom.

There, waving unsteadily with his arm, he pulled open a drawer and showed me a photo of his daughter.

He had two small identical pictures, meant to be slipped into a wallet — if he ever carried one.

That was the first time I ever laid eyes on Lizzy, and even then, I could see she was a beauty.

She couldn’t have been more than eighteen or nineteen years old but I felt a shiver run through me the moment I saw her face.

And I knew that somehow our destinies would be entwined.

I removed the old man’s jacket and shoes and eased him under the covers where he slept fitfully.

I watched him carefully over the next few weeks, ensuring he didn’t relapse into his previous addiction.

I was surprised to find he didn’t flutter so much as an eyelid at me.

I saw him break into a sweat now and then, and occasionally dab at his sweaty top lip, before focusing once more on the task at hand.

Not once had he ordered for a drink to be brought to his rooms.

Neither had he given me orders to prevent any from reaching his lips.

He had simply decided not to taste another drop and that was all there was to it.

He seemed to defeat it as easily as if he had never suffered from it at all.

It was only while his defenses were lowered during sleep that I saw any difficulties.

He also never mentioned his daughter again, and knowing how painful it was for him, I never asked.

But I did my own research and found where his daughter had studied at the age she was in the photograph, as well as everything I could learn about her mother.

I was sad to discover she had died recently, and it was that perhaps that had made James break down in tears on the shuttle home.

She had died, and with all his riches and wealth and power, there was nothing even he could do about it.

I glanced over at Lizzy at my side again and was astonished to find she evenwalkedlike her old man.

It was remarkable, I thought, how similar she was to him, despite having not spent much more than a few minutes in his company.

I supposed it must have been genetics, passed down from father to daughter, or some spiritual connection that science would never fully explain.

I turned down a corridor and several of the servants stopped and nodded politely to Lizzy as we passed.

Lizzy looked at them before her eyes darted to me in confusion.

No doubt she was shocked they should address her so respectfully.

There would be a great many more shocks she would have to put up with soon, I thought.

After all, she would be inheriting a vast empire and could live any type of life she wished.

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