Page 3 of Wicked Royals
Stephen nodded and took the pen. He hastily scrawled his signature on both copies of the contract, and Chuck followedsuit.
While they waited for the ink to dry, Chuck picked up the silver tray and held it out to Stephen. “One more for old time’ssake?”
Stephen shook his head. “I have Willow with me, so I reallyshouldn’t.”
Chuck let out a derisive snort. “It’s quite ironic for you to be so concerned about your child’s safety, considering what you justsigned.”
Stephen sighed and put his head in his hands. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the other man had a point. He leaned forward and snorted a thin line of powder up his left nostril, hating himself despite the wonderful rush that hit his brain in the nextinstant.
Chuck snorted two lines of his own before excusing himself from the room. He returned two minutes later with a flickering black candle and a small dark wooden box. Stephen watched as he opened the box to reveal a gold seal stamp along with a pot of dark red wax. The pot was placed in a small stand above the candle, allowing the wax tomelt.
“This is it,” Chuck remarked a moment later as he folded up the contracts and slipped them into two envelopes. “Last chance to change your mind and tear up it allup.”
Stephen didn’t say a word. The other man smirked and dipped the stamp into the hot crimson wax before fastening each envelope with the Order’s contract seal, a skull and crossbones symbol within acircle.
“Congratulations,” Chuck said, handing one envelope to Stephen. “Your debt to my family is paid in full, and your problems will be mere history by the end of theday.”
“Thank you,” Stephen murmured, averting his eyes. He was suddenly struck by a strange vertiginous sensation, as if his mind were hovering somewhere above his body, watching himself go through the physical motions of the darkest decision of hislife.
“Just to reiterate: you’ll have a long time with Willow. The contract clearly states that we won’t collect our dues until we are able to use her, and I don’t intend to break theterms.”
“Iknow.”
Chuck leaned forward, dark eyes gleaming in the firelight. “Enjoy the time you have with your daughter, Stephen, because the day she turns twenty-one, she’ll no longer be yours. She’ll be the property of theThornes…”
2
Willow
May 2nd,2018
1 Observatory Circle, Washington,D.C.
“Doyou think your mom has ever fucked thepresident?”
Marissa Leahy tilted her head to the side and fixed me with a questioning gaze. I stared back at her through narrowed eyes, slowly shaking my head as our friends Simone and Kate giggled and looked on. Behind them, harpists played soft music and attentive white-gloved servers filtered through the crowds of partygoers with heavily-ladentrays.
It was a night of flickering candlelight, tasteful decorations, and sparkling glamor, otherwise known as my mother’s birthday party. Every elite powerbroker in D.C. was in attendance, including the most influential politicians, lobbyists, and billionaires. Together, they made up America’s very own version of royalty. Anyone who wanted to make a grab at even the smallest bit of power would’ve killed to obtain a spot on the guestlist.
The party planners had moved most of the furniture out and opened up every double door on the ground floor to combine the living room, dining room, reception hall, garden room and lounges into one big party zone. A glistening champagne tower stood on a polished table right in the center of what was usually the dining room, and an enormous ice sculpture sat behind it, quietly dripping onto the tablecloth. Next to that was another round table stacked with gifts for my mom. I had no doubt that the guests had all tried to outdo each other to win her favor, each present more expensive and ornate than thelast.
“Well?” Marissa asked when I didn’t respond immediately. “Has she fuckedhim?”
“The president is married to the first lady, and my mother is married to my father,” I said, pinching my empty champagne flute between my fingers so it didn’t slip out. The room had grown hot with so many people, and my hands were getting sweatier by thesecond.
Marissa arched a perfectly-waxed brow. “That doesn’t exactly answer the question, does it?” she said, red lips curling into a mischievous smile. “Think about it. Your mom is the VP and she looks amazing for her age. President Rutherford is pretty sexy too. Do you really think they’veneversneaked off to bang one out in the Green Room during one of those CongressionalBalls?”
I rolled my eyes. “I think they’re too busy running the country. Also, that’sgross.”
“You’re only saying that because it’s your mom,” Simone chimed in. “But Marissa is right. It makes sense. President Rutherford is a fox. I’d fuck himtoo.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that. The idea of Simone shedding her bristly, uptight image and jumping the president in the White House’s Green Room was hilarious, if only because it was soridiculous.
“Oh my god, there he is!” Kate pointed across the room, and we all turned ourheads.
President Rutherford and his wife Belinda had just stepped into the room. I already knew they were coming tonight—it was my mother’s birthday party, after all, and she was the vice president—but I had to admit, it still gave me a little thrill every time I saw the First Family. They seemed so perfect. Rutherford was a handsome, charming man, and Belinda was gorgeous, well-educated and articulate. Their son Teddy was the same. Handsome, intelligent, andcharismatic.
I looked around to see if he was at the party too, and my heart skipped a beat when I spotted him on the other side of the room. He was deep in conversation with LoganThorne.
