Page 63 of Midnight Salvation

I pursed my lips together. “Technically, you’ll find that this house belongs to me as it is directly linked to the company. Lucas is here because he’s family and I trust his advice.”

“Family?” Dad’s eyes narrowed.

“Family,” I confirmed. “I married his daughter a while ago. That makes him my father-in-law.”

“Married.” Dad slumped back in his seat.

“Indeed.” I straightened the cuff of my shirt. “I’ll be brutally honest, I had no intention of sharing my wife with the other males of this family. Therefore, I kept our marriage hidden.”

“I knew it!” Uncle Eli exclaimed. “I told you from that photograph that he had feelings for that whore.”

A smart man would have seen Lucas moving around the room like an apex predator. A smart man would have kept his eye on him. Uncle Eli was not a smart man. Lucas launched himself forward, and before anyone realised what had happened, he had grabbed Uncle Eli around the neck and pushed a tablet into his mouth.

“Your debt is now paid to the zodiac brotherhood,” Lucas said as Uncle Eli’s eyes rolled back in his head and foam emerged from between his lips. Lucas placed a black card with the zodiac symbols on it on Uncle Eli’s chest. He set a handwritten note in front of him. His penmanship was excellent, and I had no doubt that an expert wouldn’t be able to detect that it wasn’t written by the dead man at the table.

I stared at the scene impassively.

“Since Elijah has no living heirs, I believe his shares pass to you,” Xavier commented. He smiled at Uncle Bart. “In these times, it’s best to keep your loved ones close.”

“You sick, twisted, evil piece of shit,” Uncle Bart grated out.

“Thank you,” I replied. “My father trained me in his image.”

Dad tried to lunge over the desk at me, but Jordan grabbed him by the neck and pinned him to the desk. “I seriously advise against that course of action. I have no problem breaking your fucking neck.”

Xavier pulled the contract from his inside pocket and slid it across the table to Uncle Bart. “Sign,” he instructed. “Then I suggest you leave the country and stay with your family.”

In one meeting, I had taken full control of Blackwood Enterprises. I would happily dismantle it piece at a time until nothing remained. This was our domain, where we excelled in the business world. Together we were cutthroat and savage, taking what we wanted. It was why the likes of Nigel had been terrified when I walked into his business premises with Lucrezia all those months ago.

“You’ll never get away with this,” Uncle Bart said.

“I think you’ll find that we already have,” Xavier pointed out. “All our contracts are iron-clad. Jay has already read your grandfather’s will which states that shares in the company he created can only pass to the eldest legitimate heir of his three sons. If you want to keep your family safe, I would sign that contract or start digging graves.”

Jordan released Dad, who shook himself and glared at us.

“I am the first-born legitimate heir of Matteus Blackwood, and the two sons of Elijah Blackwood are dead along with their father.” I stared directly at my father. “You raised me with your values, what did you expect?”

His jaw tightened and he slowly rose to his feet. “At least I had the balls to look into my father’s face when I took everything from him. You did it behind my back.”

“No,” I replied with a sad smile. “I stood in this very room when you asked me to murder the slaves that you were tormenting and told you this was my price. You signed it willingly. I’m disappointed in you, Dad. At least in the past you had a sadistic honour, now all you have is a sick legacy of pain and suffering. You forgot the rules Grandad put in place years ago, that no matter what, we put the Blackwood legacy first.”

Uncle Bart signed the document and pushed it across the desk. Xavier lifted and inspected it before folding it and returning it to his inside pocket.

“The sons of Elijah Blackwood were murdered by their father, who took his own life this morning when he remembered what he had done,” Lucas said to our group. “After realising what happened, his brother Barnett left the country in grief after relinquishing his shares in Blackwood enterprises.”

Dad glowered at Lucas. “And me?”

“You can retire quietly or atone for your sins.” Lucas glared at him with contempt in his eyes. “Your greed and hatred have consumed the lives of too many innocent souls.”

Lucas took a step forward and pushed Uncle Eli out of the way on his route to Dad. “Ash may not want to kill his own father, but if you ever so much as look at one of my daughters again, I will fucking tear you apart piece by piece.” He grabbed Dad by the front of his sweater and slammed him against the wall. “Do you understand?”

I knew they had once been friends a long time ago when they were in the Council together. All that remained was vengeance. Where the hell had it all gone wrong?

A few nights ago, I had paid my family home a visit at three in the morning. All of Dad’s private papers were safely locked away where he could never find them as an insurance policy to keep him in line. When he searched for them, he would only find empty files in their place.

A voice whispered in my head, telling me I should just blow his brains out once and for all. I hated him and everything he stood for, but I doubted that I would ever be strong enough to pull the trigger. He’d lived his life of luxury, staring down his nose at those with less than him.

Caleb would have all his accounts drained by now, all his business assets were frozen. I was sure he had other funds hidden away, but they were nothing compared to what he’d lost. Without wasting another look at him, I walked away.

---