Page 14 of Rock the Boat
A younger man, the bride’s brother, tried to tackle one of the guards near the kitchen door. He found himself on the ground with what was probably a broken nose and his face gushing blood. I laughed. It wasn’t that I enjoyed seeing innocent people hurt, but he had brought it on himself.
“As you can see, my friends are well-trained and well-armed. You cannot leave.” I noticed someone typing on their phone at one of the furthest tables from me. “You will also notice that your phones are not working.”
“Matthew?” his mother asked.
“Don’t worry. He is safe…for now.” I took in a big dramatic breath and announced, “As it appears Helena doesn’t remember me and Matthew isn’t here to make introductions, I’ll have to do the honor myself. I’m Nell Ward, Matthew’s former fiancée and the person he and Helena tried to kill.”
It sounded as if the air had been sucked out of the room at my announcement. I did love surprising people.
“My son would—” Mr. Blum began.
“If you think your son is as unblemished as the freshly fallen snow, you are either delusional, or you are part of the problem. Are you, Mr. Blum? Have you tried to have people killed?”
“I think the only person here who is delusional is you!” Clod, the best man, announced, standing and crossing his arms over his chest. Grumbles of agreement followed his proclamation. He thought to intimidate me. He failed.
“Ah, Clod Garcia. Best friend of Matthew Blum since first grade. You have helped him roofie at least five girls in college, but nothing could be proven. Don’t worry. You’re on my list, too. I don’t want to leave you out. In addition to that, you and Matthew liked to deal drugs at college parties, and you were involved in a hit and run that left a woman injured. You’re lucky she survived. You settled out of court, and she was sent on her merry way, but you do have to continue paying her every month because she has been left permanently disabled. Your own mother turned you in. I applaud her. That took guts and could not have been easy. I wish she were here to learn about everything else you have done. I’ll make sure to pass it on for you.”
He fell into his chair, his face red. If looks could kill, I would probably be buried deeper than six feet with the heat from his glare.
“You can’t do this,” Helena’s mother stated, her voice trembling. She didn’t stand, but she did move closer to her husband.
“Actually, I can. If you have not noticed, all the exits are blocked. You are in the middle of open water on a yacht that I control. The captain has been persuaded to turn the boat over to my men and me. It didn’t take much.” I wanted to instill as much fear as possible in them, so I did not add that the captain was a cousin to Sergio and had been briefed about everything before we left port.
I pulled out a small remote from my cleavage and pressed one button. Suddenly, a very naked Matthew popped up on the screen behind the stage. He was still as hard as a rock, thanks to the help of the leather I had strapped around his ball sack. It could also be that he gets off on the pain. Masochist?
Before I could say anything, he snored loudly, and I shook my head. “As you can see, he is a little tied up. Shall I show you what he said earlier?” I caught Sergio’s eye and gave a sharp nod in Helena’s direction. I didn’t want her to get any ideas. Her fate was unavoidable.
Pressing another button, the screen switched. I stood in the middle of my room in my robe. I hit play, and the video progressed. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the screen, some hoping they would get a striptease. Too bad for them, it would be Matthew that bared all instead of me.
I accepted the wet wipe one of the men offered me, and I wiped away the makeup on my neck, showing them the scar, showing them how Helena and Matthew forever marked me. The moment Matthew blamed Helena and her family, I heard her gasp, “What? He’s the one—” She cut herself off, more than likely realizing what she was about to say.
“Helena?” her mother called out.
“Nothing. This woman is crazy!” Helena snapped and tried to get up. While I was no longer at her side, Sergio was right there to make sure she didn’t go anywhere.
“I probably am. Two years ago, I was a college student on the verge of graduating with my Ph.D. I was probably the most unassuming person you would ever meet. I was never invited to parties or to go out. And then, one day, a handsome prince saved me. I’d fallen to the ground. He helped me up and picked up my books. Now, I haven’t been able to figure out if I was targeted or if it was random. They needed someone who didn’t stand out or draw attention to herself. I was perfect. I blended in with furniture and the wallpaper more than I caught the attention of anyone around me.”
“None of that has to do with us.” Helena had a backbone. Given the circumstances, I was a little impressed, but it could very easily get her killed.
Laughing, I stepped closer to her, my knife in hand, and pressed it against her cheek. “I don’t want to try to kill you right now. Slicing off your cheek wouldn’t send you to an early grave.” I pressed my blade against her ivory skin covered in small freckles, her red hair tangling with the blade, and my knife winning. Her blood was a deeper, brighter hue. I didn’t do much. A small cut that a Band-Aid could cover.
She sucked in a breath and covered her cheek as soon as I moved away. “You bitch!”
I moved quickly, grabbed her hair, and pulled her head back, exposing her neck. “I’m a bitch? You’re lucky I haven’t done worse to you…yet.”
Tears formed in her eyes, but I didn’t feel sorry for her. I didn’t feel sorry for anyone in this room.
“Helena seems to think that this has nothing to do with her, but I didn’t come here empty-handed. I have a lot of proof, and all of you are about to find out exactly who your precious little Helena and perfect Matthew really are.”
“Lies!” Clod shouted, but this time, his supporters had dwindled.
“Oh, I do love a volunteer.” The sarcasm in my tone overflowed. “Clod wants to go first. I have a whole file on you, and it is very enlightening. Actually, I have a file on most of the people in this room.” I sashayed over to the stage and picked up a tablet that had been placed there before dinner. As I did that, two men grabbed him and dragged him up to the front of the room. “Clod, you have been a bad boy. If we take the hit and run off the table, you are still the scum of the earth. How many, Clod?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” he spat. Seconds later, he was groaning and doubled over. Marcos, who loved doling out punishments, had punched Clod in the stomach.
“Shall we try that again?”
“Go to hell!”
I stopped Marcos before he could do anything else. “Did you know that cutting off the scrotum won’t necessarily kill you? It could, but not always, especially not in this day and age. Poor eunuchs of old, though.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
My hand shot out and grabbed his crotch. I dug my fingernails in and twisted. “Try me. It would be exactly what you deserved.” He screamed, but I did not release him. “Your own mother knows what type of man you are. You think money and power can solve anything. You think because you are taller and stronger than me that I should be intimidated by you, that I should bend to your will. Fuck you. If anyone is bending, it will be you.” I applied more pressure, and he yelled as he dropped to his knees. Only then did I release him.
“You’ve done whatever you had to do to stay ahead and make others fall at your feet. Looks to me like you’re the only one on their knees now…bitch.” I drew back my foot and kicked him in the stomach. “I know things that you would rather remain buried for the rest of your life, but they won’t. I’m going to make sure everyone in this room knows everything.”
