Page 19 of Tangled in His Game

Yep, definitely Victor’s father.

Wow.

And he owns a popular nightclub. I guess that’s the place he was talking about when he mentioned the club.

No wonder Victor thinks he owns the whole damn world. His father almost does. There are tons of companies connected to him. Hotels, casinos, clubs, restaurants... He’s a damn billionaire.

I lean back in my chair. An article describes Jake as a perfectionist who never settles for less or accepts defeat. Victor must be under a lot of pressure to be the best if he wants to impress his father. But he already has millions and he’s going to inherit more. I refuse to pity him, and I don’t want to be his punching bag.

I’m not exactly sure what kind of training Jake had Victor do, but if I leaked the video, his father might be upset. As I replay the whole thing two more times, I can’t shake off the feeling that it was too much and too cruel for no reason.

Victor would’ve never gotten past all those five guys on his own, no matter how hard he tried. The whole thing was set up against him, and yet he tried again and again just as Jake wanted.

Why? Is he a perfectionist too? Or overestimating his abilities? They didn’t have to punch him when he went down, but they did, and Jake wasn’t even the least bit concerned for his son’s wellbeing.

Maybe he knows Victor can take it, but still. And I can see Victor being stubborn enough to try to win, despite the odds, because I’m sure he thinks he’s the best at everything in this whole damn universe.

But why would his father let him risk getting hurt? If he wants Victor to be the best player, doesn’t he know Victor can’t do anything if he’s injured?

Maybe there’s something I don’t know, and maybe I can use it to get Victor to stop. I push the replay button on the video and pause it as Victor is on his knees. That’s exactly how I want him to end up.

But will this video be enough? I don’t know, but I can imply I have some more videos. It’s not like he’ll know whether I’m lying if I mix some lies with the truth. He knows I saw him with that guy in the alley. Maybe I can make him believe I have a video of that too.

Oh yeah, it’s his time to be afraid and worried.

Chapter 10

I’M A LITTLE LATE FORalmost all my classes because I have to wait for the hallways to clear before going anywhere. Everyone is still busy talking about Victor’s shirt and about me.

As I stride down the hallway as fast as I can, a girl gets in my way.

“You’ll never be like us,” she sneers.

“Well, thank god for that!” I snap back at her, and she scoffs as if she’s surprised I dared to say anything back.

What’s wrong with all these people? Are all the Emberwell students robots who only look human and share one mind? Does everyone want to be Victor’s friend?

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