And I don’t blame her. That shit left a sour taste in my mouth, too, but I don’t have any regrets over sticking a blade in that asshole. He came for my best friend and me. As far as I’m concerned, he deserved to die like that.
My head spins with the possibilities of who might have sent that guy. At this point, it could be anyone. I assume my mother told Osmond about my virginity going up in smoke. And if she hasn’t told him, then she’s in pretty hot water herself. Aside from him, the suspect list is far too long to think about by myself. With Demetra out of commission, it’s up to me to sort things out with the little notebook I found.
All I need is an hour with a high-speed internet connection, and the roles will reverse all too quickly—and sweetly.
As soon as I descend the staircase, my wound-up mother calls for me from my late father’s office. I hear rapid typing, backspacing, and more rapid typing, my satisfaction swelling the closer I draw to the office door. With the most casual expression I can muster, I lean against the doorframe and watch my mother frantically tap the keys of the computer.
“What the fuck?” she whispers. She looks at me. “We have a problem.”
“No, you have a problem.”
Her gaze darkens as she stands up to her full height. “Excuse me?”
“And I imagine your problem is trying to access the family funds. Am I right?”
“How did you know—?” Her face whitens when I hold up the notebook. “You little snake.”
When she rounds the desk, I hold up a finger as a warning. “Wouldn’t do that if I were you. Security here will respond to a threat on my life if I call for them.”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Alexandra? You can’t even manage your own life, let alone off-shore accounts!”
“Here’s how things are going to go in my house for the foreseeable future.”
Indignation floods her features. “Your house?”
“It all starts with a brand-new lock on my bedroom door. I’m the only one who will have a key. If I see that the lock has been tampered with while I’m gone, I will take the appropriate action.”
She sneers. “This isn’t going to work.”
“If you want your allowance, Mommy, you’re going to have to behave.”
“You can’t talk to me like that. I gave birth to you.”
I squint at her. “Well, if you don’t like it, then you can move out.”
“This is my home!”
“And it’s my home too. Or did you forget about that when you invited that perverted pig to live here?”
The way she glares at me provides a ping of satisfaction. She’s under my thumb now. I won’t ever have to answer to her again. Whoever I end up choosing as my husband will give me even more power, regardless of whether or not he sticks around. And if my plan goes accordingly, maybe none of them will be standing by the time I’m through.
I just have to stick to my guns. “I’ll honor one of the marriage contracts. When I’m ready.”
“You’re supposed to marry Parker.”
“I don’t have to marry anyone if I don’t want to. Choosing a contract is a courtesy to the fucking family. Do you understand? It’s a privilege I’m even considering it.”
She shakes her head. “I knew I should have sent you off with Osmond immediately.”
“Well, it sucks, doesn’t it? Now you have nothing to give him. I’m tapped out—but I have plenty of rage to spare, and I think I might start with you.”
“You won’t get away with this.”
I shrug. “There’s nothing you can do about it when I have all the passwords stored in my head.” I tap my temple with a menacing smile. “So, don’t go getting any ideas. All right?”
I leave her growling in the office. The sound of her destroying furniture makes me feel the kind of joy that a proposal should make me feel. But then again, those are the kinds of things for normal people. I’m not normal anymore, so far from human that it’s impossible to tell what I’ve become.
While I’m still a toy, I know I don’t have to act like one for long. It’ll be a useful position to get what I need, and then I can discard the things I don’t—like the four boys who bruised my flesh for their pleasure. Even now, I can still feel their hands clawing my body, grasping to claim every inch of me. And while I liked some of it, I didn’t like being manipulated.
If they want a toy, they’ll get one, I think while wandering into my bedroom. For as long as it takes to reveal Daddy’s murderer.