Page 84 of Hiding In the Dark (The Righteous 4)
As he stared at the older version of the man he knew, with greying hair and a potbelly that announced he ate and drank too much without exercise, he felt nothing but free.
“Son?” his father asked, breaking the silence first.
“It is I, the prodigal son has returned,” he sarcastically said as he smiled.
The anger and hatred coated him like a second skin as he thought about what this man had cost him.
“Well, isn’t this a great day? The son that will eventually take over the family business has returned,” his father said like the whole thing was entirely his idea. The people sitting around the table tentatively clapped.
“I plan on taking over, but not eventually. I mean to take over today.”
His father nervously laughed. “Such a kidder, my son is. Always making jokes. I see that hasn’t changed.”
Kes stared at the man lying through his teeth and shook his head in wonder. What had he ever seen in the man to make him think he needed his approval? He looked to Trev, who pulled a handful of images of Zumi and Chelsea from a folder and tossed the eight-by-ten printouts on the table, the pile skidding across the surface and showing off mother and daughter.
His father’s face paled, the blood draining out as his eyes recognized the faces staring back at him from the photos. “Father, I think this would be a good time for us to have the room.”
“Could everyone give my son and I the room? We need to have a family conversation.”
The people jumped and scattered like they couldn’t get the hell out of there fast enough. Chairs rolled back, briefcases were grabbed, and the sound of feet thundered toward the door. Kes was pretty sure every single person in the room knew about his father’s escapades. Shit like that just didn’t stay hidden, and they saw an explosion about to erupt.
“What the fuck is this, Kestrel?” His father picked up a picture and shook it for him to see Zumi’s smiling face. “And who are these people with you?”
“Sorry, where are my manners? This is Trevor Anderson. He is my attorney. You may have heard of him—he’s pretty famous.” His father swallowed hard, his eyes wide as they settled on Trev’s calm face. “And you should remember Ashley—well then again, why would you? She was nothing more than an inconvenience to you, a blemish that needed to be removed before it damaged the family image. You will be happy to know that your efforts failed, and we are engaged.” Kes linked his hand with Ashley’s, and she gave his hand a little squeeze.
“If you want to waste your life with a woman that will never better you, then that is your business. But I didn’t approve of it then and I don’t have to approve of it now.”
Looking down at Ashley, Kes leaned in and gave her temple a gentle kiss. Letting go of her hand, he trailed his fingertips along the long table as he approached his father. “Here is the problem with that sentence, you wouldn’t know the true meaning of bettering someone if it bit you in the ass, and I don’t care about your approval, not anymore.”
His father narrowed his eyes at him. It was the look that used to make him shit his pants and run for his bedroom, but now he felt like laughing.
“What do you want? Money? Is that what this is about? You’re angry that I said I wouldn’t give you any more than your trust fund?”
“I thought you would know what I’ve been up to and what I want. I mean, isn’t that what you said to me? That you know everything?” Kes watched his father’s face redden and his nostrils flare as he tried to maintain his composure. “I guess your P.I. didn’t tell you that I found him, paid him more than you, and then convinced him that it would be in his best interest to stop following me around. I’m also guessing you haven’t noticed that I disabled the tracking device on the yacht, or you’d know that I’ve been living on it for the last couple of months.”
“I’ll ask again. What do you want, Son?” His father sat down with a huff like he was wasting his time and had better places to be.
“You used to be my hero,” Kes said. His father’s brows twitched slightly, but he didn’t show any emotion other than that. “I think you hurt me so badly when I realized what type of person you really were because I genuinely thought you could do no wrong.”
“Does this story have a point to it?”
“No, not really. I just wanted you to know that what is about to happen is of your own making.” Kes waved Trev over. Trev marched up the other side of the table and laid his leather briefcase down, the click of the locks coming undone loud in the quiet room.
“This is the contract for you to sign over all of your shares and rights in the company to Kestrel,” Trev said, laying the thick sheath of papers down. “The pages that need to be signed or initialed are marked with small tabs.”
His father pushed the contract away, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. “I’m not signing that, not now, not ever.”
“Oh? I wouldn’t be too hasty if I were you.”
“Why are you doing this? You hate the company, and you never wanted to have anything to do with it before.”
Kes crossed his arms over his chest. “I realized that it wasn’t the company I didn’t like. It was you that I didn’t want to be around. I have plans for the company, plans to make it better and take it in exciting new directions, but to achieve that, the old regime must go.”
“You always thought you knew better, but you’re still the same ungrateful, sniveling brat that you always were. You were lucky I didn’t press charges against you the night you attacked me like a savage animal. Instead of showing gratitude for my generosity, you ran off like the spoiled child you are and joined the Navy.” His voice was laced with disdain, as if the word ‘Navy’ was disgusting.
“You didn’t have me charged because you thought it would teach me a lesson, and that I’d come running to you and begging for your forgiveness. It also meant I wouldn’t have a record, like I would if I were carted away by the police. That, of course, would hurt the family image—couldn’t have that. I was never going to let you control me like that again.”
His father shook his head and stood in a rush, his fingers fixing the bottom button on his suit jacket. “I don’t have to put up with this. I will be calling security to have you, your lawyer, and—,” his father stopped and looked at Ashley. “‘Her’ removed.”
