Page 216 of Unravelling The Beast

“Your mother was the only person I’ve ever revealed my true identity to when she came to visit me, and the only reason I allowed it was because I knew Wren was in grave danger from your father. I knew Arlo; I knew exactly what he coerced you to do to your beloved wife under the influence of drugs before you ever knew you did it yourself, and I wasn’t prepared to put my daughter to the same fate.”

I just stare at him as he continues.

“I knew you weren’t prepared to let Wren go and realized everything was spiraling out of control when your father began pressuring you into an arranged marriage to Savannah Throll. You refused to give your father power and control over everything and everyone, Arlo and that’s when I recognized my daughter was in serious danger because of what happened with your wife at the hands of your father. So, I built a plan to let you kill him, but only if my daughter was safe, and you had to be the one to save her in order to show your true love and devotion for her.”

The fact that the woman I’ve fallen madly in love with is the daughter of the most powerfulElite criminal in this country leaves me baffled, and all I can do is blink a few times, speechless.

When I snap out of my trance I shake my head as I speak.

“How the fuck has this happened?”

He raises his eyebrows and shakes his head too as he stands.

“I tried my hardest not to tell my daughters anything of this dark world that we control, but it seems she has fallen deeply in love with someone who is precisely like her father without even realizing it, and it appears Lily has done the same.”

He sighs as he takes a seat in his chair and relaxes back, scratchinghis beard once more while thinking before looking at me again.

“You can never tell her, Arlo. Nobody knows, and that’s how I intend to keep it.My life is absolutely off-limits, clean and you can never contact me about anything business-related, only for my daughter.”

He leans forward again as he continues.

“You do not need to contact me for business-related reasons. In the shadows, I am a ghost and I know and see everything. It must remain that way, do you understand me?”

I observe him before giving a small nod and lifting my glass up to take a long swig as he speaks again.

“You have a big problem though, and you’re not quite aware of the seriousness of it.”

My eyes meet his swiftly and he continues on.

“You have a relentless cop on your ass, Arlo.”

I sigh and look away while leaning back in my chair.

“I’ll just fucking kill him.”

From the corner of my eye he shakes his head as he speaks.

“It’s not so straightforward this time. The FBI knows he is working on an important case against you for killing your wife and father. If this cop goes missing, all eyes will be on you.”

When my eyes meet his, I shrug my shoulders, not giving a shit.

“These dirty fucking cops know not to fuck with me.”

He sighs and rests back again.

“Arlo, they want you out of the game. They intend to take you down for a very long time because of how messy things became with Charles. I’m only warning you because I won’t be able to interfere with this, as I have no say in the FBI when it gets this far. You need to act quickly but carefully.”

He leans forward once more, but this time he lays his hand on my arm and I look down at it.

“I don’t want to see my first grandchild grow up without a father.”

When I lift my eyes to him, I give a small, silent nod, and after a brief silence between us, a thought crosses my mind, and I look down into my empty glass as I speak.

“I want to ask Wren to marry me.”

When I look at him, he is already observing me, and he inhales deeply before nodding sharply.

“You have my blessing.”

---