Page 23

23

Cassian

O nce I reached my room and closed the door behind me, I pulled out the burner phone to call Kyril. He needed to know what was happening. I could have used my iPhone, but something told me the burner phone was safer. Dad was no tech expert, but it didn’t mean he hadn’t paid someone to install spyware on the damn thing while it was in his possession.

“Your father is looking for you,” I told him when he picked up the call.

“What? How do you know this?”

“Because he’s asked my father to pass on a message via me. Seeing as how we’re friends and you’re not taking his calls.”

There was a long pause. I moved over to the bed while waiting for him to reply. Outside, the giant Norwegian pine trees Dad had paid some decorating company to decorate glittered with pretty lights. Setting the scene for Dad’s New Year’s Eve party held every year. The party he’d expect me to attend.

“Dad invited your father and Ekaterina for dinner the other night, along with a few other people. Ekaterina told me she misses you and can’t wait to see you again for some overdue ‘family time’.” It was probably unwise to taunt Kyril, but being stuck here in this mausoleum had left me feeling rather unhinged. “Anyway, he told me to find out where you were, so he could let your father know.”

“My father can go fuck himself. I’m busy and it’s Christmas.”

“Not in the mood for a family reunion?” I joked.

“Only if it involves me sticking that bitch with a carving knife.”

I chuckled. “She tried it on with me. I threatened her, and she soon backed off.”

“ Eta yebanaya cyka !” he growled, and I heard something smash in the background.

“Hey, calm down!”

“Sorry. She just… really makes me want to kill someone. Preferably her.”

“I get it.” And I did. What she did to Kyril was disgusting. No boy should have to deal with a woman like that. I couldn’t decide who was worse: Vasily for ignoring the predatory nature of his wife, or Lan’s father for pushing him to sleep with women twice his age so the old bastard could further his business connections.

Both of them made me sick.

Was it any wonder the three of us had bonded? Milo’s father wouldn’t win a ‘Father of the Year’ award, but at least he cared enough to get his son help when he fucked up.

“How’s everyone doing?” By everyone I meant Thea, only I was too chicken to ask directly.

“She’s doing OK,” Kyril replied with a trace of amusement in his voice. “Want to talk to her?”

“No.” He sighed.

“She wasn’t trying to hurt you,” he reminded me. “In fact, she did everything to avoid hurting you. The drugs got destroyed, remember? She had no idea there was a camera in the room, and she’s been the target of most of the online hate about the sex tape, not you or Lan.”

“I realize that,” I grunted, not wanting to get into it right now. My head hurt and I desperately needed a good night’s sleep. Christmas was in three fucking days, which meant Dad would wheel me out as his precious son and heir. Christmas was supposed to be about family, but invariably we spent the holidays entertaining guests. None of them were people I gave a shit about.

The one saving grace was that Camilla would be blessedly absent this year and I wouldn’t have to deal with her wandering hands or flagrant disregard for my personal boundaries. Or turn a blind eye while my father flirted with some underage waitress hired to serve drinks and canapés.

“You should come to Ireland for Christmas,” I heard Milo say in the background.

“Milo says he’ll send you the address.”

“You know I can’t leave here.” Dad had made it abundantly clear I was under house arrest until the new semester in January. To avoid any more problematic stories in the press . “I have to play dutiful son.”

“Since when do you care about what your father wants?”

“Since he threatened to send Mom back to the Highgate Clinic.” I wandered back over to the window to see Dad’s car pulling out of the garage. Where was he disappearing so late at night? I frowned.

“Bring her with you. You can both spend Christmas here.”

“Hilarious.”

“I mean it, Cass. Declan says we can stay here as long as we like. He has no plans for the house.”

I flopped down on the armchair next to the window. Last Christmas, Lan and I flew to Verbier for New Year. We stayed in my parents’ chalet and partied for a week with the ski crowd. Fun times .

Christmas in Ireland would be nice, plus Dad was supposedly on good terms with Seamus Kelly, so he could hardly complain if I stayed in one of Declan Kelly’s properties. Ireland was cold and wet, but free of my father’s suffocating presence.

Tempting.

Only I knew damn well he’d never let me leave Blackwood. Mom was stuck here, too.

I couldn’t take her with me if I left. She spent most of her time in a drug-addled stupor. The drug regimen Dad had her on made it hard for her to function normally.

When I questioned why she needed to be medicated so much, he told me Dr Lassitor had advised him the drugs were necessary to control her mood. I was not at all convinced. The man was a snake oil salesman who made money from manipulating rich families into paying his exorbitant fees.

Not that anyone ever manipulated my father. I strongly suspected he sent Mom to Dr Lassitor because the man was corrupt and therefore happy to prescribe whatever Mom needed to ensure she stayed compliant.

“I have to go.” Before Kyril could say another word, I hung up. No doubt my friends would have a fun Christmas without me. Lan and Kyril were already fucking Thea. Milo was uninterested in sex, but he had become attached to the girl. And from what I’d deduced from watching Dario, he was obsessed with her as well.

My presence would only complicate things.

It would be better if I stayed here.

The sound of my bedroom door opening woke me up. When I opened my eyes, Mom stood over my bed like a fucking ghost. I sat up in a panic. Had she started sleepwalking again? It wouldn’t surprise me if she had.

“Mom? Are you OK?” The beginnings of a headache pulsed at the front of my skull.

“I need to talk to you.”

“Talk? Mom, it’s, like, 2 AM! Can’t this wait?” She shook her head and perched on the side of the bed. Her hair hung in waves. Despite the puffiness in her face caused by the drugs she took, Mom was still a beautiful woman. I could see why my father had fallen in love with her.

If he ever had loved her. That was up for debate. Part of me suspected the only reason he’d married her was because she brought with her a significant family fortune and also connections to the upper echelons of the English aristocracy.

“No, my darling, it can’t wait.”

“Let me pull some clothes on.” She sat back while I scooted out of bed and tugged a pair of sweats on over my boxers. The room was cool, but I didn’t bother with a tee. “Are you OK? Do I need to call Miranda?” Miranda took care of mom’s healthcare needs, making sure she didn’t mess up her meds. I wasn’t much of a fan, but the woman seemed competent.

“No!” She grabbed my wrist forcefully. “I dropped a sedative into Miranda’s tea earlier, so she wouldn’t wake up and alert your father.”

“I think he’s out.”

Mom’s lip curled with derision. “Yes, he has a woman in the village he sees sometimes.” My heart broke for her. How humiliating it must be for her, knowing her husband kept a lover in the nearby village and there was nothing she could do about it. Then my brain snagged on her comment about sedating Miranda and my eyebrows shot up.

“Why did you drug Miranda, Mom?”

She half-smiled. “Because she’s a tattle-tale, and I knew she’d wake when I sneaked out to see you. I can’t have her reporting back to Lucian.” She looked up at me, her lovely blue eyes alert for once. “You need to leave, darling. Tonight.”

“Leave? I can’t leave you! Dad said…” My voice trailed off. Mom didn’t need to know what Dad had threatened to do.

“I know.” She squeezed my arm comfortingly. “Trust me, I know exactly what he’s capable of.” Her jaw tightened as she looked away for a moment. Then she turned back, her mouth set in a hard line. “He wants to get you more involved in his activities.” The way she phrased it as if she’d inadvertently swallowed the bitterest, most vile drink in existence, told me all I needed to know about her feelings about Dad’s activities .

“He said as much.”

“Yes, I knew it was coming, but I had hoped he’d wait until you graduated.”

“I think the, err , video made him change his mind.” I wasn’t sure if she was aware of the sex tape. Hopefully not.

“Yes, Cassian. That definitely did the trick. He was furious about it.” There wasn’t much light in my room as I hadn’t bothered switching on a lamp, but there was more than enough illumination from the window to see the look of amusement on her face.

How embarrassing. I cringed.

“But your extra-curricular activities are not important. What’s important is that you leave before he drags you deeper into his fucked-up world.” My jaw dropped. Mom never swore. Like ever. Who was this woman?

“I can handle him.”

“No, darling, you can’t. If he has his way, you’ll become too involved to walk away. That’s how he ensnared me all those years ago.” She sighed. “I was young, foolish, and in love.”

“What happened?” I knew very little about how my parents met, other than mutual friends introduced them.

Mom waved her hand dismissively. “That’s not important right now. All that matters is you leave this house tonight before he realizes you’ve gone.”

“I’m not leaving without you,” I said firmly. Maybe Kyril was right. We could both go to Ireland. I had some money saved. Enough to rent somewhere while I looked for a job. Fuck college. A degree wasn’t essential these days.

“Darling, I can’t leave. He has… information. Information I don’t want to be made public.”

My heart stilled in my chest. “What kind of information?”

“Unsavory information. Things he forced me to do. Information that would ruin my reputation if it ever got out.” Her gaze slid to the carpet in shame.

“Mom, we can…”

“No, Cassian, we can’t, but you still have time to leave while he has nothing on you.” She pulled a small black card from the pocket of her silk robe. “Take this. It’s for an account your father knows nothing about. The money in the account is yours. He took most of my money, but he couldn’t touch this, as your grandmother left the trust for you and any other child I had.”

Her eyes shone with unshed tears. Mom had had four miscarriages after me. I knew the loss of those babies still affected her; it was why she started seeing Dr Lassitor in the beginning, at the height of a major depressive episode.

“Your grandmother’s trust for you matured when you turned 18, but I decided to wait until you needed it before telling you.”

My maternal grandmother died before I was born, so I’d never met her, but I had seen photos of her and my grandfather. She’d been very beautiful in her youth, and it was clear where Mom got her looks from. “How much money is there?”

When Mom told me, my jaw almost hit the floor. “That’s a…”

“Yes, a lot. But the money is yours, and your father can’t touch it.” She smiled with grim satisfaction. “Now pack a pack and leave. Your father will be back soon. He never spends the night with that… woman . You need to go before he gets home.”

She pulled me into her arms and hugged me for the first time in years. It felt so damn good. I’d missed my mom.

“Cassian, always remember how much I love you, darling boy.” Why did it feel like I might not see her again?

“Mom, you can come with me! Whatever shit dad holds over you, we can deal with it!”

“No, baby, it’s OK. My place is here, where I can keep an eye on your father.”

“But I’m worried about you!” I had a feeling that once I left, Dad would send her straight back to Highgate. “I don’t want him to send you away.”

“He won’t.” She pushed me back and stood. “Now pack a bag and call a taxi.”

The lavender scent of her favorite perfume lingered long after the door closed behind her. For a moment, I hesitated while the small black bank card she’d given me burned a hole in my hand.

Was leaving the right thing to do? Surely I was better off staying here, where I could make sure Dad didn’t hurt her?

But that wasn’t what she wanted. She took a risk coming to my room tonight. If drugging Miranda had failed, the bitch would have narced on mom. I had to go. She was right. Staying here meant falling deeper into my father’s tangled web.

The one thing I knew about my father was that he never, ever let his prey go.

I ordered an Uber and then quickly packed a bag. The iPhone could stay; Dad would no doubt track me if I took it with me. My grandfather’s antique Rolex sat on the nightstand. The watch had been a gift from my parents when I turned 16, and it seemed a shame to leave it behind, so I put it on.

With one last look around the bedroom where I’d spent all my formative years, I picked up my bag and made my way downstairs to meet the Uber at the gate before the household staff figured out I was leaving.