I’m shaking all over when I get to my room. Oscar is my consolation, offering me affection as I sink down on the bed and sit in the dark until my breathing is more normal. As the minutes roll into hours, I try to calm my mind by studying, but I can’t concentrate on what I read. One hour becomes two, then three, four, and five. I don’t have the courage to shower or change. All I can do is wait for Gabriel and Carly’s return. Not able to stand the tension any longer, I take up a post in front of the window in the dining room that overlooks the street-side of the property.
It’s almost eleven before the headlights of a car illuminates the gates. It can be Magda, returning from her dinner party. Relief washes over me when the Jaguar pulls up to the door. A haggard-looking Gabriel gets out and limps around the car to help Carly from the passenger side. With his arm around her shoulders, he leads her up the steps.
I rush to meet them in the entrance. “Carly! Are you all right?”
“She will be,” Gabriel says, moving past me.
“I kept the dinner warm.”
“I’m not hungry,” Carly says.
“You need your strength, honey. Bring it up to Carly’s room.”
He doesn’t spare me a glance as they make their way upstairs. I prepare a tray and knock on Carly’s door before I enter.
Gabriel sits in a chair next to the bed, Carly’s hand clasped in his. He turns his scars away from me. “Leave it on the table. We’ll serve ourselves.”
I obey and escape to the false safety of my room. I’m petrified Gabriel won’t believe me, but even more terrified that my mistake will cost Charlie’s life. ‘One wrong move,’ Magda said. I don’t get why Carly would do something like this.
For another hour, nothing happens. Eventually, my tiredness wins over my anxiety. I have a quick shower and get into bed.
* * *
Gabriel
In the solitude of my study, I sit down at my desk to contemplate my options. It’s a difficult decision. I watched a playback of the security feed from the cameras in the kitchen. Carly’s voice was clear when she asked for a cake with coconut. Valentina told the truth. With a sigh I feel all the way to my bones, I pour a shot of whisky and down it in one go.
I don’t understand my daughter. I failed her. There’s a gorge so wide between us I’m afraid I’ll never bridge it. When the crack started, I can’t say. Was it during Carly’s toddler years, when I was always absent from home, the family business taking up my days and nights? Is it because Sylvia and I couldn’t make things work? If I can pinpoint when it started, maybe I’ll find the reason. Carly and I both know there’s a problem. We don’t acknowledge it, because it’s easier to skip the drama. If I believed Carly has a better relationship with her mother, I’d encourage her to stay with Sylvia, but she’s old enough to choose, and the fact that she lives here tells me enough.
Despite being scum, I try to be fair. It’s the only shred of humanity that stands between the man and the monster, but in my business, fair only applies to family. Putting any staff member above family, right or wrong, won’t be tolerated. Such an act could get said staff member killed. Innocent or not, actions have consequences, and Valentina can’t escape taking responsibility for hers. Sylvia expects me to inflict suitable retribution. She’s not going to forget or let it go. If I don’t do it before Magda comes home, Valentina will die for what happened tonight. I don’t feel like punishing Valentina for something Carly should pay for, but I don’t have a choice.
I refill my glass and shoot back another shot before I pick up my phone and dial Rhett. “Come to my study,” I say when he answers.
The fact that something ignites in me, making me hard, when I think about what I’m about to do is proof of how far gone I am. It could be that the alcohol is fuel on my rusty inhibitions. Maybe it’s heredity, and it’s in my genes. I’m not a made monster. I was born one.
The door opens, and Rhett enters. “You called for me, boss?”
“Take Valentina to the gym.”
The twitch that wrings his lips into a smile makes me want to break his nose. I add it to the mistake he made of shooting the dog. Deep down, I know it’s not Rhett’s fault. He never expected me to let the Haynes’ live. He did what he believed was right, but he caused Valentina suffering, and he’ll have to pay. Lucky for him, he leaves without question. I could do with another drink, but I won’t risk it. I have to be sober. I’ll need utter control.