Page 67 of The Enemy

This was her doing.

The board was a hit to the company, but this was a fucking blow to the family. She wanted me to hurt as much as she was hurting.

I must have stared at my phone a little too long because the fighting subsided, and when I glanced up, everyone was looking at me. No doubt trying to figure out if what was said carried a hint of truth. But since all of our secrets were laid bare, why wouldn’t mine be either?

My mother looked livid, and even though I didn’t want to look straight ahead, I manned up, and Richard looked like he wanted to kill me.

Maybe I should have told Lourdes the truth because she single-handedly fucked up the revenge I had been working on for the last three years.

“Everyone out,” Richard barked, and judging by how he looked at me, I knew he meant for me to stay.

As people began to file out, he made a call, and if I had to guess, it was to security to stop rolling the tape in this room. That would be what I would do.

Once the last person filed out, and when Richard put his phone down, my mom got up. She walked up to me and slapped me. All I could do was hold on to my face as I watched her, biting my tongue so I wouldn’t speak out of line—not yet.

“You stupid boy!”

“Outside, Pricilla,” Richard barked, and my mother flinched.

“W-w-what?”

“Get. Out.”

It took a few seconds, but ultimately, she did as he asked. I think part of her was waiting for me to stick up for her, but she chipped at the bridge until there was nothing left for me to save.

We both waited until the door closed and out of respect, I let him go first.

Last year, I would have lied or cheated to get what I wanted, but I couldn’t do that anymore. Hell, Lou already burned it all to the ground. What was another fire to extinguish at this point?

“Tell me it’s a lie,” Richard demanded.

I laughed. It was the worst moment to do so, but I couldn’t help it.

“I wouldn’t seek to destroy someone I considered a brother based on a lie,” I replied. Looking him straight in the eye, I couldsee his anger. He probably regretted opening the doors to his home to us.

Richard got up and pointed at his phone.

“Is this what you wanted? I welcomed you with open arms, gave you my name, and you repay me this way!”

“This is not on me. This is on you…Youlet Gerald speak to her like she’s nothing. You let my mother walk all over her, and you sat back and let the board treat her like a child. She fucking needed you, and you abandoned her!”

God, it felt good to get those words out.

“Get out of my offices,” he demanded as he pointed at the door.

I got up and walked toward the doors, but I turned to look at him before I opened them. Despite everything, I did respect him. At the end of the day, he was the only father figure I had ever had.

“I wanted to kill my best friend that day, but the only thing that kept me back was that I wanted his pain to go beyond a few days. That’s why I came to you. I needed your help and wisdom to take everything away from him. I was ready to set the world on fire for her.”

Richard didn’t say more. He let me leave the conference room, having the last word. My mother was hovering by the door when I left the conference room. I ignored her pleas and got the fuck away from the company.

TWENTY-ONE

LOURDES

If anyone neededa guide on imploding their life, I was their girl.

In the corporate world, Riviere Conglomerate was a dumpster trash on fire. Articles were being printed left and right. Stocks kept going down, and I bet my grandfather was close to having a heart attack.

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