Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 82094 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82094 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
I feel like I’m going to crack.
“I keep thinking about this one time, Daddy surprised me with a trip to Disney.” I don’t know why I’m telling Sara this but the words spill out anyway. So much for no emotional stuff. “I came home from school one day in the middle of the week about a year after my mom died and he scooped me up and said, kiddo, we’re going on vacation. And then we left for a whole week, just him and me, and we did absolutely everything together. All the rides, all the meals, everything. It was the best week of my life.”
“That sounds really nice,” Sara says.
I blink back tears. “It felt like me and Daddy against the world sometimes. After Mom died, especially. I think her dying really made him double down on being the best dad he could, maybe like he was trying to compensate for her not being there. And I don’t know, I think it might’ve worked. But now I’m sitting here in this little concrete box waiting for him to come in and I just keep thinking, where did my daddy go? Where is he?”
Sara says nothing. That’s my Sara. She puts her hand on my leg and squeezes, and gives me that searching and serious stare. I smile at her and get myself together as the door on the other side of the glass opens, and Daddy shuffles into the room followed by a guard.
I stare at him. I can’t help it. Daddy looks the same—it’s only been a few days since he got arrested—but seeing him with chains on his wrists, and that bright orange jumpsuit, and stubble on his chin and cheeks, it’s like a bad movie.
Daddy’s a big man. Broad, tall, in good shape for his age. His hair’s salt-and-pepper, usually perfectly combed, but a bit unruly right now. I can’t recall the last time I saw him in anything but perfectly tailored clothes, from bespoke shirts to custom suits. Daddy gets chained to the desk on his side and is given a phone to talk through, and I pick up the phone on our side. The guard leaves as Daddy’s voice comes through the receiver.
“Hey, honey,” he says and puts his hand up on the glass like in the freaking movies.
I put my hand up too but quickly let it drop away. All I feel is cold. “Hi, Daddy. How are you?”
“Oh, been better, kiddo.” He grins and waves to Sara. She waves back and seems to shrink further into herself, scooting her chair away slightly as though she’s giving us space. “I see you brought your lawyer.”
“I made that joke to her earlier.”
“See, kiddo. I know you too well. How are you holding up? Everything at home okay? Your grandfather is okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” I tell him about Grandpa coming out of retirement, about the uncles stepping up, about Grandmother running around the mansion like a bat out of hell cooking and cleaning and keeping herself busy even though we have staff for all that.
“Sounds like the world’s still turning without me.” He’s still smiling but there’s something sad behind his eyes. “I’ve heard some things, kiddo. Talked to your granddad yesterday.”
“What did he say?”
“Told me about the company. About the money. Look, honey—”
“Daddy, don’t, please, I don’t want to hear it.”
“It was a mistake,” he says quietly and seem to shrink. “A stupid mistake. I thought if the coin worked out, and I was convinced it would, I mean, so many other coins worked out and made everyone really rich, and I figured I’d put all the money back—”
“Daddy,” I say sharply. “They’re recording this.”
“Right.” He smiles sadly and glances at Sara. “I suppose she should be the one telling me to be quiet.”
“I can put her on if you need legal advice.”
“No, thanks. Your grandfather already sent me a team of lawyers, although who knows what they’ll actually do for me. But, kiddo, there’s something more important.”
My stomach feels like ice. I want to get up and run because I know what he’s about to say. I was afraid of this—I’d hoped he didn’t know about the deal with the Scavo family, but Grandpa clearly beat me to him.
Daddy says, “I can’t live with myself, knowing the family is going to fall apart because of me. I can’t live like that, kiddo, I really can’t.” His eyes are damp and he’s grinning like he’s trying not to break down into sobs. I’ve never seen him so emotional before in my life. Grandpa would hate it. “You can fix it, can’t you? You can fix everything.”
“Please.” I glance at Sara. She can’t hear what he’s saying and she’s studiously looking at her nails. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
“Carmine Scavo can’t be that bad. I know he’s beneath you, and it makes me sick thinking about my daughter marrying a man like that, but we’re Rowes. We can handle arranged marriages, they happen all the time in our world. You know what we say. Rowes do what’s right. Did you know your mother and I were arranged? We had a choice back then, but we were introduced for that purpose, you know.”