Page 90 of Cup of Lies

“We do love you,” Bastian interjects. “It was what was best for you.”

Caius cracks his neck audibly. I’m sure he’d love to pummel my brother even worse than the last time. His self-control is admirable. I’ll have to reward him later.

“If you loved me, you wouldn’t have shipped me off to have my brain wiped.” I bite on my lip for a second to keep the emotion from swelling up. “Seth was an abusive rapist. That wasn’t what was best for me. Just like when you shipped me there as a child to have them scrape my mind.”

“So this is personal,” Dad snaps. “You ruined my fucking legacy because you were upset that Daddy sent you to the insane asylum where you belonged?” He snorts out a cruel laugh. “Romy, you were always going to be like your mother. A crazy bitch!”

In three short strides, Caius lunges at him. The Glock smacks my father across the temple and he groans in pain.

“Call her a bitch again. I’ll unload every damn bullet into your gut.”

Bastian glowers at Caius as he steadies Dad. “Your family is going down too. It’s not just us. You Crownes are guilty as fuck.”

“In due time,” Koyn grunts out. “Don’t worry, we’re getting to it.”

“This part is personal,” I agree, shrugging. “I thought this would be a lot more painful, but turns out, my heart always knew I wasn’t loved by you. I’d been a pawn for you to use. You liked having something that belonged to my biological father. I bet you were so proud of yourself to march me in there as a child to have him work his fuckery on me. You make me sick.”

Dad’s nostrils flare. “Power is everything, and owning something that belonged to him was always satisfying. You were a tool, child.”

Caius tenses like he might attack him again. I grip his elbow to keep him from doing something stupid.

“Well, fucking kill us already,” Dad snarls. “Drawing it out is boring. There’s nothing left for us anyway. You successfully destroyed our legacy, Romy. You ungrateful little bitch—”

Bang!

At first, I think it’s a gunshot, but it’s a door slamming against a wall. Footsteps rush for us. Men and women with matching jackets and guns drawn enter the space.

Feds—carefully vetted and friends of Copper. He’s with them, looking more like he belongs to those people than as a biker, and gestures for us to get the hell out. He allowed us our moment, but the Feds were going to get them in the end. It was always the plan.

I linger long enough to watch my brother and father get handcuffed. Then I let Caius drag me by the hand out of the home and next door. As soon as we’re alone and Koyn makes himself scarce, I fall against Caius’s chest.

It’s over for Bastian and Dad. They’ll never step foot out of prison again, not after all their crimes.

“Is it over yet?” I ask, voice fatigued.

Caius kisses the top of my head. “Soon, love. Really fucking soon.”

Caius

He knows we’re here.

Theo shoots me a nervous look as he pulls into the garage under the lodge. I’m tense, coiled tight like a spring as we pass Dad’s expensive cars he’s collected over the years. We pull into an empty spot next to the Maserati.

I have a flash of a memory.

Me and Romy.

Sliding my dick against her pussy.

The overwhelming urge to push inside her, but knowing I wouldn’t. It was all for a show. To protect her from Solomon’s twisted proclivities.

She was my responsibility back then—a mess to clean up. Now she’s my everything.

Closing this final chapter is necessary. Confronting Dad and ending his lifetime of terror is the only way for me and my family to safely move on.

Our plan is to divide and conquer. Theo will go to the main office at the lodge to pull what he can off the servers in there. I’ll be the one to have a little chat with Dad.

We exit the vehicle and make our way to the door. It’s been left ajar. He’s waiting.

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