King of Wrath (Kings of Sin)

The Wednesday after I moved out of Dante’s house, I chartered a flight to Boston. According to my mom, whom I’d called under the guise of discussing wedding arrangements, my father was already back home.

I’d spent the plane ride rehearsing what I would say. But as I sat across from him in his office, listening to the clock tick and the shallow cadence of my breaths, I realized no amount of rehearsal could’ve prepared me for confronting my father.

Silence stretched between us for another minute before he leaned back and raised a bushy, gray-tipped brow. “What’s the emergency, Vivian? I assume you have something important you’d like to discuss if you showed up unannounced like this.”

He was the one who had something to apologize for, but his stern voice sent a knee-jerk spiral of shame through me. It was the same voice he’d used whenever I received anything less than a perfect test score. I tried not to let it affect me, but it was hard to overcome decades of conditioning.

“Yes, I do.” I lifted my chin and straightened my shoulders, trying to summon the fire from two days ago. All I managed were a few puffs of smoke.

It was much easier to rant at my father in my head than in real life.

Part of the reason was how exhausted he looked. Heavy bags hung beneath his eyes while lines of worry formed deep crags and crevices across his face.

News articles had started popping up about trouble at Lau Jewels.

Nothing major yet, just a few whispers here and there, but they were a sign of the storm to come. The office buzzed with nervous energy, and stock values had dipped.

An unreasonable pang of guilt pierced my gut.

My father was responsible for this mess. I shouldn’t feel guilty for calling him out on it, no matter how tired or stressed he was.

“Well?” he said impatiently. “I already pushed back a meeting for this.

I’m not going to postpone it again. If you don’t have anything to say now, we’ll discuss it over din—”

“Did you blackmail Dante into marrying me?” I blurted out the question before I lost my nerve.

My heart slammed against my ribcage as my father’s expression hardened into an unreadable mold.

The clock continued its deafening march toward the half hour.

“I overheard you. In Dante’s office.” I clutched the purse in my lap for support. I wasn’t wearing tweed or neutrals today. Instead, I’d opted for a custom-tailored silk sheath and an extra coat of red lipstick for confidence. I should’ve put on two extra coats.

“If you overheard, then why waste my time by asking?” My father’s tone was as indecipherable as his face.

An ember of anger sparked to life.

“Because I want you to confirm it! Blackmail is illegal, Father, not to mention morally wrong. How could you do that?” I forced air past my tight chest. “Am I so undesirable you had to force someone into marrying me?”

“Don’t be dramatic,” he snapped. “It wasn’t anyone. It was Dante Russo. Do you know the doors marrying a Russo would open? Even with our wealth and your sister’s marriage, some people look down on us.

They’ll invite us to their parties, and they’ll take our money for fundraisers, but they whisper behind our backs, Vivian. They think we’re not good enough. Marriage to Dante would’ve shut those whispers down immediately.”

“You blackmailed someone because of a few whispers?” I asked disbelievingly.

My father had always been conscious of his appearance and reputation.

Even before we were rich, he’d stretch our budget and insist on paying for the table during get-togethers with his friends so he didn’t lose face.

But I never could’ve guessed his need for social validation ran this deep.

“The opportunity arose, and I took it,” he said coolly. “His brother was foolish and reckless. What were the chances I’d catch him with Gabriele Romano’s niece during a visit to New York?” An unrepentant shrug. “Fate put him in my path, and I took advantage of it for our family. I won’t apologize for that.”

“You could’ve chosen anyone else.” It was hard to hear over the buzz in my ears, but I pushed forward. “Someone who would’ve willingly agreed to an arranged marriage.”

“Someone who would’ve willingly agreed wouldn’t have been good enough.”

“Do you hear yourself?” The embers fanned into flames. My fury came roaring back, so hot and bright it blurred my father’s face. “These are people’s lives, not toys you can bend and manipulate. What if the photos leaked and Dante’s brother got killed? What if you got killed for holding onto the evidence? How could you be so…” Cruel. Callous. Morally corrupt. “ Short-sighted? It’s not—”

“Don’t raise your voice at me!” My father slammed his hands on the desk so hard the items on it rattled. “I am your father. You do not speak to me this way.”

My heart threatened to explode from my chest. “The father I knew would’ve never done this.”

The silence was so acute you could hear a moth flap its wings.

My father straightened and leaned back again. His gaze bore into me.

“You only have the luxury of caring about morals because of me. I do what I have to do to make sure our family is protected and the best it can be. You and your sister grew up sheltered, Vivian. You have no idea what it took for me to get to where I am today because I shielded you from the ugly truth. The number of people who laughed in my face and stabbed me in the back…it would make you sick. You think the world is rose-colored when it’s gray at best.”

“Protecting our family doesn’t mean destroying someone else’s. We don’t stoop that low, Father. It’s not who we are.”

The briefest shadow of remorse passed through his eyes before disappearing. “I’m the head of the family,” he said, his tone final. “We are who I say we are.”

The words touched my skin, cold and unfeeling. A shiver skated down my spine.

“And my relationship with Dante?” The clasp of my purse dug into my palm. “Did you not think how your actions would affect me? There’s a difference between an arranged marriage and a forced one. I would’ve had to spend my life with someone who resented me simply because you want his name in our family tree.”

“Don’t act like a martyr,” my father said. “It’s unbecoming. Your sister never complained about being married to Gunnar, and she had to move to another country.”

“She doesn’t complain because they actually love each other. ”

He continued like I hadn’t spoken. “There are worse things than being a billionaire’s wife. You’re young and charming. You would’ve worn Dante down eventually. In fact, he already seemed quite smitten with you over the holidays.”

“Well, you’re wrong,” I said flatly. “It’s over, Father. I moved out of Dante’s house. We’re not getting married. And…” I glanced out the window onto the main office floor. “The company isn’t doing well.”

Because you provoked someone you shouldn’t have.

The words sat unspoken between us.

My father’s jaw tightened. He hated being reminded things were less than perfect under his watch.

“The company will be fine . We’re merely experiencing a hiccup.”

“It sounds like more than a hiccup.”

He stared at me, his ire melting into something more calculating.

“Perhaps you’re right,” he said. “It might be more than a hiccup, in which case we could use Dante’s help. He’s upset now, but he has a soft spot for you. Convince him to…assist.”

Cold sank into my bones. “I told you, we broke up. He hates us. He doesn’t have a soft spot for me or anyone else in the family.”

“That’s not true. I saw the way he looked at you when your mother and I visited. Even if you broke up, I’m sure you could make him see reason if you tried hard enough.”

The cold spread to the pit of my stomach.

I stared at my father, taking in his perfectly gelled hair, expensive suit, and flashy watch. It was like facing an actor pretending to be Francis Lau instead of the man himself.

How had he morphed from the slightly corny but well-meaning parent of my childhood into the person before me?

Cold. Devious. Obsessed with money and status and determined to gain —and keep—both at any cost.

He looked the same, but I barely recognized him.

“I won’t.” My voice wavered, but my words were firm. “This is your mess, Father. I can’t help you.”

I hated how my mother and sister would be affected should Lau Jewels capsize, but I couldn’t play pawn and possession for my father anymore.

Plus, they each had their own nest eggs; they would be fine, financially speaking.

I’d turned the other cheek for too long. Been too willing to go along with whatever my parents told me to do because it was easier than rocking the boat and disappointing them. For all his faults, I loved my father and my family. I didn’t want to hurt them.

But I didn’t realize until now that not speaking up when they crossed the line would hurt us more in the long run than anything else.

Disbelief filled the grooves of my father’s face.

“You’re choosing your ex-fiance over your family? Is this how we raised you?” he demanded. “To be so disrespectful and disobedient?” He spat the word out like a curse.

“Disobedient?” Indignation blew through me like a sudden gale, sweeping aside any remnants of guilt. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me! I went to the ‘right’ college, broke up with Heath, and played the role of perfect society daughter. I even agreed to marry a man I barely knew because it would make you happy. But I’m done living my life for you.”

Emotion thickened my voice. “It’s my life, Father. Not yours. And the same way you can’t make decisions for me any longer…I can’t make excuses for you. Not anymore.”

This time, the silence was so heavy it pressed down on me like a lead blanket.

“Of course, you are free to make your own decisions,” my father finally said, his voice terrifyingly calm. “But I want you to know this, Vivian. If you walk out of this office today without making amends for your insolence, you are no longer my daughter. Or a Lau.”

His ultimatum barreled into me with the force of a runaway train, skewering my chest with a bayonet and filling my ears with the roar of blood.

The temperature dropped into subzero territory as we stared at each other, his cold fury waging silent battle with my pained determination.

There it was.

The invisible monster I’d feared since childhood, laid out like a gruesome corpse of the relationship we used to have.

I could cover it with a blanket and look away, or I could stand my ground and face it head-on.

I rose, my blood electric with fear and adrenaline as my father’s composure slipped the tiniest fraction.

He’d expected me to back down.

I’m sorry. The apology almost fell off my tongue through force of habit before I remembered I didn’t have anything to apologize for.

I wanted to stay a minute longer, to memorize his face and mourn something that’d died a long time ago.

Instead, I turned and walked out.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.

My father had disowned me.

My father had disowned me, and I hadn’t tried to stop him because the price was too high.

Tears crowded my throat, but I forced them back even as a crushing sense of loneliness invaded me.

In the space of a week, I’d lost my family and I’d lost Dante.

The only thing I had left was myself.

And for now, that would have to be enough.