Following her eyes, the man with the russet hair said, “Meet my son, Nicolas.” He extended a hand. “Juan Hernandez, a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Juan shook Godfrey’s hand, but his gaze was glued to Nicolas.
“Sit.” Godfrey indicated the sofa.
They sat down facing Godfrey.
Godfrey steepled his fingertips. “I see Nicolas has captured your interest.”
Garcia coughed and looked away.
“What’s wrong with him?” Juan asked.
“Juan,” Asia said with a soft gasp.
“That’s fine.” Godfrey smiled at her. “He’s welcome to ask.” Turning back to Juan, he said, “If you mean his disfiguration, my first wife did this to him.”
Juan frowned.
“She tried to abort him by taking a drug when she discovered she was pregnant,” Godfrey continued. “When I found out, it wasn’t too late to save the pregnancy. Of course, I had to keep her tied down for the rest of the seven months until Nicolas was born. The drug had done its damage to his physical development, but not to his mind. He’s a genius.”
“What happened to her?” Garcia asked, clearly enraptured.
“To my wife? She gave me one more healthy baby.” His expression turned sad. “A beautiful girl. My princess. But confinement didn’t work well with my wife. I supposed being shackled and chained in the dark reduces life expectancy to about ten years.”
Silence stretched at the revelation. Even Tony seemed taken aback. A shudder ran down Asia’s spine. She was facing a monster. Godfrey and Juan were cut from the same cloth.
Juan’s gaze flickered back to Nicolas. “This is how you keep him alive?”
“Alive?” Godfrey laughed. “Yes, I suppose I want to keep him alive for as long as possible, at least for as long as he’ll serve me as a guinea pig.”
“Guinea pig?” Asia exclaimed before she could stop herself. “Are you experimenting on him?”
Godfrey’s gaze traveled over her. “Yes.”
“You’re doing tests on your own son?” Juan asked, probably disappointed knowing he couldn’t use Nicolas as a trump card like he’d hoped.
“He betrayed me,” Godfrey said. “He helped my enemy and got my adoptive son killed in the process. This is his punishment.”
Asia looked at the man in the white coat who stood next to Nicolas, anger surging in her for their cruelty. “Does he suffer?”
Godfrey shrugged. “He feels pain, so yes, I suppose he suffers. The experiments have been unsuccessful so far and rather harsh.”
Nicolas whimpered, as if in answer.
Sick to her stomach, Asia couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“But we’re not here to discuss my family,” Godfrey said.
Asia got the feeling he wanted to do exactly that, to demonstrate to Juan just how far he was willing to go to punish anyone who betrayed him. It made her wonder if his first wife had married him of her own free will or if she’d been forced, like Juan was forcing her.
Observing Juan, Godfrey said, “You want your own buy button.”
Juan moved to the edge of his seat. “I’m willing to invest double.”
Godfrey crossed his legs. “The shares Stefan suggested will more than triple your income.”
“Forget the shares. I want that button. I don’t have to point out that without my investment there is no income, not for you or me.”
Godfrey drummed his fingers on his knee. “You’re a small fish in a big pond, Juan.”
Juan’s face turned red. “I control fucking Colombia. The president bows in front of me. He’ll bend over and let me fuck him in the ass if I tell him to.”
“Yes,” Godfrey said, “you’re quite the man, aren’t you? But I’m afraid not man enough.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Juan asked, spit flying from his mouth as he made to get up.
Garcia held out an arm, holding Juan back. “Calm down.”
Settling with reluctance, Juan snorted. “Not man enough.” He turned to Tony. “Did you fucking hear that?”
“What do you want, Godfrey?” Garcia asked in a calm voice. “What do you need from us to consider Juan’s proposal?”
“I want you to prove that you’re worthy of digging your fingers in my pie,” Godfrey said.
Tony pushed his glasses up his nose. “How?”
“I want to fuck the girl,” Godfrey said, fixing his gaze on Asia.
Her body went cold.
“Out of the question,” Juan said. “She’s my fiancé, not a whore.”
“We can both fuck her,” Godfrey said. “She may even enjoy it.”
Digging her nails into the armrests, she glared at Godfrey.
“Not part of the deal,” Juan said. “Besides, we’re not having sex before our marriage.”
Godfrey burst out laughing. “Just kidding. Don’t worry. I won’t share my wife—that’s the second one—either.” He wiped tears from his eyes. “I want half of your business.”
“What?”
Juan tried to jump up again, but Tony and Garcia held him down.
Garcia wiped his brow. “Juan, easy.” He let go slowly. “Easy. We’re just talking.”
Godfrey seemed amused. “What’s the girl to you anyway?”
“A third wife,” Juan spat out. He jerked his arm from Tony’s hold and straightened his jacket.