Page 8 of Vengeful

"But we really should get down to why we're here," Slade said. He glanced over at me, letting me take the floor. Theslightest sparkle in his blue-green eyes told me he was thinking about his cum on my thighs.

I rolled my eyes at him slightly. Men.

I decided to be blunt. "Chloe was in a car crash. Zachary too."

Dad flinched slightly. "Are they…"

"Dead? No." I flicked my ponytail back off my shoulder. "We made it look like you sent the car, but we fixed the brakes. She didn't hesitate to get into the driver's side and drive away. The car is totalled, but she's fine. Zachary may take a bit longer to recover fully."

Dad listened, visibly absorbing what I was telling him.

"You tried to kill her?" he asked evenly. He gave away nothing of his thoughts.

"Not exactly," I replied. "The cars I bought were made to withstand the impact. If that wasn't what happened, then… That would have been too bad."

My stomach twisted and I resisted the urge to turn and run. I hadn't ruled out the possibility he might throw all of us in the basement rooms.

Fuck.

Should I have called him instead? I didn't because I wanted to look him right in the eyes and tell him what we did. Okay, I wanted to see a hint ofsomethingin his face. Pride, or…something like it.

"She didn't question that the cars came from me?" He didn't seem particularly concerned by how much of his money was spent on those cars.

"Not for a second. She took the key from the guy who delivered them and drove away. I'm sure you'd agree she let her guard down." My heart raced. I wanted to beg him to agree with me. To say that he approved of what I did and that Chloe failed this test.

Yeah, it was all kinds of fucked up, but I needed to hear that from him. Some reassurance I wouldn't end up back in the darkness.

"It certainly sounded like she did," he said slowly. He turned away and finished making a cup of coffee.

"That's it?" I asked. Was that all he had to say about it?

"What more is there to say?" He added sugar to his coffee and gave it a quick stir.

"You could offer us a cup," Parker said helpfully. "Although, it might be laced with something, and I've been drugged enough for one lifetime."

Dad raised an unsympathetic eyebrow in his direction and sipped his coffee.

"You know Lila deserves to lead the family," Hunter said.

"Do I?" Dad sipped again before lowering his cup. "Or is this just more proof none of you deserve it?"

I glanced down at the hardwood floor. "I don't know what more I'm supposed to do."

"That's exactly the problem." He turned his lack of sympathy back toward me. "None of you seem to have a clue. Am I supposed to believe you didn't try to kill your sister? Yes, she let her guard down, but you tried to kill her and you failed."

I took a step back and bumped into Slade.

He placed his hands on my shoulders. "We all know killing is easy," he said. "It's far harder to outsmart people."

"That depends on the people." Dad's eyes flicked towards the twins and back again.

"Rude," Parker muttered. "At least we're on Lila's side."

"Yes, we are," Hunter agreed. "Maybe you should try it sometime. You might find out how amazing she really is. She's—"

"I'm perfectly well aware of what my daughter is like," Dad said coldly. "She conducted a little test and her sister failed. I'mimpressed with her ingenuity, but it ultimately proves nothing." He returned his gaze to me.

I lifted my chin. "It proves Chloe trusts you more than she should. That may change after this. For all she knows, you sent those cars."

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