Chapter 4
Adrian Mercer never entered the house.
He didn’t need to.
The livestream was the door.
I looked at Natalie.
“What was Mercer supposed to see?”
She said nothing.
Victor answered.
“You losing control.”
“Why?”
“Because your men think you’re disciplined.”
“They know I am.”
“Exactly.”
Victor smiled.
“You’ve built a reputation around restraint.”
“And?”
“If Mercer sees that restraint disappear over a child, he learns where to push.”
I stared.
“You fed a rival my weakness.”
Victor’s smile widened.
“Your weakness lives under your roof.”
Lily heard him.
She looked down.
I moved her behind me.
“You speak about her again and this conversation changes.”
Victor shrugged.
“There. That.”
“What?”
“You threaten anyone who mentions her.”
He sounded pleased.
As if he had proven a theory.
Natalie touched my arm.
“Sebastian, stop.”
I moved away.
“You planned this.”
“I planned a scene.”
“With my child.”
“She wasn’t supposed to get hurt.”
Lily whispered:
“She hit me before.”
Natalie froze.
I looked down.
“When?”
My daughter hesitated.
Victor sighed dramatically.
“Oh, here we go.”
I ignored him.
“Lily?”
“When cake came.”
Natalie said quickly:
“She means I tapped her hand.”
Lily shook her head.
“Yesterday.”
My breathing slowed.
“Where?”
“In kitchen.”
“Why?”
Lily looked at Natalie.
“Because I said no.”
Natalie’s face hardened.
“To what?”
Lily whispered:
“She wanted me to say Daddy scares me.”
The room vanished around me for one second.
I turned to my wife.
“You coached her.”
“No.”
“You wanted my daughter on a livestream saying she was afraid of me.”
“She misunderstood.”
Victor laughed.
“She understands more than you think.”
I looked at him.
He realized too late.
“What does she understand?”
Silence.
Lily tugged my sleeve.
“Grandpa said if I say it, Mommy gets a new house.”
Natalie closed her eyes.
Ethan whispered:
“Damn it.”
I looked from one face to another.
This was not about one violent clip.
They wanted a story.
A public one.
A frightened child.
An angry father.
A pregnant wife.
And somewhere behind the screen, Adrian Mercer waiting to use it.
But the phrase that stayed with me was not Mercer.
May you like
It was new house.
Because Natalie had already planned where she would go after destroying mine.
