Page 68 of Corruption
“Vince, getting someone else to claim it’s their child wouldn’t change the facts,” I reminded him, seeing his eyes narrow slightly as he refocused on me.
“Because?”
“Because the time frame matches. The article says she is ten weeks along,” I sighed, looking away and berating myself internally for such a major slip-up.
Vince sighed as well, and the sound prompted me to look at him again.
“It wouldn’t work anyway,” he admitted.
“What?”
“Dirty secrets are a dangerous thing. If someone truly wanted to harm you, a quick internet search, a paternity test, and the truth would come to light, wouldn’t it?” he asked. “And you and I aren’t exactly making friends with our chosen way of life, are we?”
I nodded in agreement, acknowledging the importance of his words. He was undeniably correct. As I refocused my gaze on the ground, I could sense him moving closer to me. To my surprise, he didn’t strike me again to teach me a lesson. No, he placed his hands on the sides of my neck, urging me to meet his eyes.
“I know what you’ve been working toward for years, what you’ve built yourself up for, Jared. I’ve supported you because I understood your motivations. But this... I can’t wrap my head around it,” he said. “You claim to despise her more than anything, that you merely want to destroy her as you did her friends and your other tormentors. Yet, you go and get a look-alike pregnant? From what I saw in that picture, she doesn’t even resemble Alison all that much. She has the blonde hair, the fine clothes, the elevated status, but the rest is nothing like your tormenter. How could you, when you’re so close, make such an enormous mistake?” he asked.
“Maybe because I am so close,” I replied.
Vince shook his head, as if I had answered incorrectly, even though he had posed the question.
“No, son, that’s not it,” he whispered.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“How badly do you want it?” he questioned.
“What?”
“Your revenge. How much does it mean to you?”
“Are you suggesting I should let Alison be?” I asked.
“I’m concerned about how deeply you’re involving yourself in this,” he said, squeezing my neck with his hands to express his worry.
“I don’t understand what you’re worried about.”
“It’s because you’re not seeing it. It’s so damn obvious. You got someone pregnant because of a faint connection to Alison Brown. Yet you don’t see it?” he inquired.
“What?” I genuinely didn’t grasp the connection he was trying to make through all of this.
“Jared, fuck!” he groaned, pressing his forehead against mine. “Don’t. Lose. Focus.”
“I’m focused,” I assured him. “It was one slip-up.”
“One that you’re going to pay dearly for if we let it be,” he sighed.
“I’ll figure something out. I’ll find a way to fix it... somehow.”
“No, you’re too deeply involved in this.”
He pulled away, gently pushing me back. I looked at him with confusion.
“I made the mistake. You taught me to always clean those up,” I reminded him.
“I did, but this, I don’t trust you with. Children complicate things,” he insisted. “Trust me, I would kill for you, son. I would go to great lengths to ensure your safety and make sure you achieve your goals. Therefore, I can’t trust you with this.”
“Don’t you trust that I can do what’s necessary?” I questioned.
