As I stare out at the waves crashing against the jagged rocks Tristan’s words run through my mind.
He said my father would know I betrayed him because there are certain things only I would know.
So, I think about what I do know. I think about what only I know as his daughter and as I do I think about what it would mean if I betrayed him in such a way.
I think of everything he’s told me, of his upbringing and what happened to his family. I think of how he formed the Circle of Shadows and how he gained power over the years.
As I think I remember how he killed my mother and blamed the Syndicate. He gained more power when he did that but that wasn’t why he killed her. He wouldn’t have murdered her in such a violent way if it was that. I think he would have just put a bullet to her head.
I’d bet Nikoli would know. He’s close enough to my father to know a truth like that.
Something strikes me on that thought.
Nikoli… I always, always have my conference calls at Nikoli’s house. Always for the last twelve years. I grew up in that house with the same mantra.
All my father’s orders are also passed on through Nikoli. No guard speaks to him directly without speaking to Nikoli first and when they meet, it’s always at his house.
Like everybody else, I don’t think Nikoli knows where my father stays, but he must have some idea of where the calls are coming from.
Or maybe there’s a way of finding out.
I think I have an idea.
I get to my feet ready to run and tell Tristan but stop in my tracks as his words come back to haunt me.
My father will know it’s me who betrayed him. He’ll definitely know this because this is something personal. I’m the one he talks to at Nikoli’s house.
For a fleeting second, I remember the man who used to take care of me and my mother. The man who used to tell me stories of his bravery. The man who told me my mother was the most important thing in his world and I was what came from their love.
When the second passes I remove that image from my mind and remember him for who he is. Thinking of who he was will bring no justice or redemption. It will only allow him to flourish in strength and continue to do what he’s always done.
Thinking of who he is, is what’s going to allow me to do the right thing.
Who my father is, is the same man who killed my mother, the same man who killed Eric, the same man who whipped me until I couldn’t move and the same man who wants me to marry the devil who killed Eric.
That is who my father is.
Those images and that knowledge moves me. I rush back to the house and find Tristan.
He’s on the front porch talking to one of the guards. He acknowledges me when he sees me.
“I think I have an idea,” I tell him.
“Really?” Hope lights up his eyes.
“Yes. I think I came up with something that might work.”
I hope it does because if I get this wrong and my father knows I set out to betray him, he’ll kill me.