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“Poppy, I have no idea what you're talking about. I've been going crazy since you went missing. I've been looking all over for you. What happened?”

“You're such a liar,” I snapped.

“Poppy, I swear, Honey. I'm serious. I was terrified something bad happened. It really made me think of your mother. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you.”

I cocked my head over my shoulder and glared. “Just shut the fuck up. You hired someone to kill me. You actually hired someone to take my life. Tell me why? I would have just left if you had asked me to. I was planning on leaving anyway. I was just waiting for the right time. But you wanted me dead? Really, Dad? Who the hell are you?”

“How dare you make these accusations! I'm your father,” he snapped angrily as his face reddened. “Why would I want you dead? That just doesn't make sense.”

“Because I know what you did.” The reason was simple. I was the link between him and my mother's death. I could turn his world upside down. He had become paranoid. Fearful that I might remember one day and destroy his world. Well, he was right.

“I don't know what you're talking about.” My father cautiously walked around the other side of his desk, his eyes stagnant as they fixed on me. “Are you taking your medication, Poppy? Because you're not making sense. Those are strong allegations to make about your father. You should be careful.” He rested his hand on the top of his desk and placed the other in his pocket. “Let's take a second to calm down. Alright?” He pressed the tips of his fingers into the wooden top as he watched me.

“Calm down?” I asked as I whipped around. “You think I'm fucking crazy? I'm not crazy. I know I'm not fucking crazy. And neither was my mother. You did that to her. You fucked with her mind.” I poked my temple with my finger and sneered. “And then you killed her.”

My father's jaw stiffened as his teeth clenched. “You don't know what you're talking about.” His voice was low and threatening. “I suggest you stop before you really dig yourself into a hole.”

“I remember all of it. And you're going to pay for what you did. I promise you, I won't let you get away with it. I just want to know why? Why did you do that? Why did you take her from me?” My voice began to rise as my emotions took over. All the sadness and loneliness and loss I felt from the years without my mother came out. “She was my mother! My mother!” I yelled as I slapped my chest. “And you took her from me!”

My father held up his hands and flicked his eyes to his chair. “Can I sit?” he asked calmly.

I just glared at him. My jaw locked up tight, and my teeth ground against each other. “Why did you do it?” I demanded.

My nostrils flared wide as my hands turned to fists. The sharp edges of my nails dug into my palms, but I didn't flinch at the pain. It felt good. It was a release. It kept me grounded and stopped me from leaping across the room to strangle him to death.

My father tilted his head as if he felt some form of compassion for my pain and distress. “Look, Pumpkin—”

“Don't fucking call me that,” I barked.

He held up a hand and nodded. “Poppy, I don't know where you're coming up with this, but you're wrong. Why don't you sit so we can talk? Tell me where you've been.”

“No. I came here because I wanted answers,” I said through my teeth as I snarled. “Tell me everything. I deserve the truth.”

My father slipped into the chair, relaxed back, and steepled his fingers together. He tapped his outstretched fingers to his mouth as he peered at me. “Let's say you're right. Say I did kill your mother. What the hell are you going to do about it?” A thin smile began to take shape on his lips. “You're just as crazy as she was. No one is going to believe you over me.”

“We both know I'm not crazy.” I pulled Vega's gun out from behind my back. “I think you need a little motivation. Why did you kill my mother?!” I screamed.

My father held up both hands. Yet, I didn't see any fear in his eyes. There was no remorse or regret. He just looked empty. “Come on now, there's no need for this. Put the gun down, Poppy. You want answers. I get that. You lost your mother at a young age, and it's hard for you to come to terms with it. But this isn't the way to do things. That gun doesn't change anything.”

“Maybe not right this minute,” I said. I held the gun firmly in both hands and walked closer. “But maybe if I place it right between your eyes, you'll remember the truth like I do.”

My father didn't flinch. Not one muscle trembled with fear. His eyes didn't widen with shock. Instead, his mouth tightened, and his hands clenched. I could see the thick vein in his neck as he swallowed.

“You think holding a gun to my head is going to change something?” His lids lowered, and he arched one of his brows. “You have a lot to learn.”

“Why did you do this to me? Why couldn't you just let us go?” The gun was shaking in my hand as I aimed it right at his head.

“Because I don't lose anything, including you and your mother. I'm the one who decides if you can go. Not you. Not your mother. Me. And when she took you without telling me, when she dared to leave the country without my permission, she sealed her fate.”

“You did it because of control? That's it? You killed my mother and tried to kill me, all because you wanted to keep us under your thumb?”

He bobbled his head from side to side. “That's a part of it. Your mother was also trying to destroy everything I worked for. I put too much into this to let that whore of a mother of yours fuck it all up. She was going to go to the cops. I couldn't have that.”

My jaw fell open, eyes darting between his. “You're a monster.”

“No, Poppy. Monsters hide in the dark. I've been out in the open the entire time.”

“You haven't been out in the open. You've just been parading around in a costume, but I see you now. And I'm not going to let you get away with this. You need to pay for what you've done.”