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)
“Goodbye, Carmine.”
I hang up the phone.
Daddy’s there then. He hugs me against him and I cry into his chest. I cry hard, feeling like a fool, hating Daddy and Grandpa and Carmine and Stephen and all the horrible men in my life. I cry and hate myself most of all for falling for Carmine’s bullshit, for almost wanting something better with him, for beginning to believe for one stupid second that he’s maybe more than the shallow gangster he pretends to be.
But I was wrong. Carmine’s nothing but a shark, a mindless and hungry shark, and he’ll consume me for fun if I let him.
“Come on, sweetie,” Daddy says, helping me to my feet. I’m sure people are staring and this is basically a Rowe’s worst nightmare. A display of emotions in public? How disgraceful. I was taught better. I should be better. But I’m not—I’m a broken and twisted thing barely keeping myself together with spit and tape and prayer. It’s like everything is cracking and falling to pieces. “I’ll take you back to Texas. We’ll figure this out, honey, I promise.” He gives me a sad smile. “Rowes do what’s right. Right, honey?”
Rowes do what’s right. The phrase echoes in my mind.
What is right anymore? What does it matter if I get it wrong?
All the while, Stephen Panagos sits in his chair and watches me with a smug smile like he’s amused by this situation, and I want to scream to him and lash out, but I have no energy left. I’ve been burned badly enough by men like him and I’m done with them, done with them all.
My father exchanges some words with Stephen then steers me toward the entrance. When we’re outside, I spot Angelo as he gets out of the limo, but I stare at him and wave him away. He looks confused, but my father whisks me into another car, and by the time Angelo’s back behind the wheel of the limo, it’s much too late.
We’re already on our way to the airport and Daddy’s already making promises, none of which will ever come true.
Chapter 20
Brice
Home feels empty. Even sitting in my favorite room in the house, the parlor in the very back of the structure with the antique fireplace and the big couches with all the mushy throw pillows and the super soft blankets, even that doesn’t make me feel comfortable. It’s like my ability to feel safe in my own skin is forever gone, ripped out by Carmine’s lies and my family’s selfish indifference.
“He’s a real piece of shit,” Robyn announces and throws back a glass of prosecco. “An absolute miserable nightmarish piece of stinking dog turd and I wish he’d be forever squashed beneath the boots of an army of angry toddlers.”
“Toddlers don’t typically wear boots,” Cassidy says. “I guess unless it’s winter.”
“In this scenario, they all have on little tiny toddler boots covered in very sharp spikes.”
“He’s a fuck,” Sara says in her typical understated way, but coming from her that’s quite the indictment.
The sick part is some stupid piece of my brain wants to argue. I want to tell them that Carmine did what he did for a good reason. That I’m sure he didn’t plan on pulling me into this mess, or at least he didn’t plan on going as far as it did. My father stole from the company, he stole from the family, and his entire excuse is I was getting away with it but how is that okay? Carmine might’ve been selfish in selling out Daddy, but he wasn’t wrong, he didn’t lie, he didn’t frame him. Daddy made all those decisions and broke all those laws. He’s only mad that he got caught.
But I can’t let myself justify Carmine’s actions. Even if Carmine was right and Daddy really is a criminal, it still can’t excuse what he did.
“The whole thing is beyond creepy,” Cassidy says. She’s sitting cross-legged near the fireplace and feeding it twigs while sipping from her prosecco glass. Of everyone here, she’s never visited the Rowe Manor and seems somewhat put off by the splendor. Not that I can blame her, the whole place is absurd. She’s officially back in the apartment now, although she admits she had a good time staying in the hotel for a while and living off Carmine’s credit limit. And not that I can blame her. Apparently, the spa was particularly relaxing, and my only regret is that I don’t get to see Carmine’s face when he gets the bill.
Robyn says, “Who would do something like this? I mean, seriously. I remember him from school and he was a total psycho back then, but I didn’t know he was, like, this mentally unstable.” She shivers as she hugs herself. “How’s your family taking everything?”
“They don’t seem to mind,” I say and stare into the fireplace. “Grandpa was a little annoyed, mostly because he has to go break the news to all his rich society pals and I guess because we won’t get any more Scavo money, but Daddy told him to marry Carmine himself if he wants to and that basically ended that. I think Grandpa is mostly happy so long as there’s money coming in from somewhere, and it looks like the company’s stock is stabilizing and might start to turn around soon, so that’s good.” Even though I don’t feel like it’s good at all.