By the Book by Maria Vickers

Author:Maria Vickers [Vickers, Maria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: self
Published: 2017-06-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Samuel

I had never been more nervous to say goodbye to someone as I had been the morning after my brother’s untimely visit, but I had to go to work and Josh had to go home. My boyfriend seemed to take everything in stride though, acting as if it was any other day and he had nothing to be concerned about. The thing was, I didn’t trust Charles. I didn’t think he would do anything to Josh or his family, or that he would physically hurt anyone, however, I honestly didn’t know what he would do or how far he would be willing to go to fulfill my father’s whims.

Neither my brother nor my father could be trusted.

Marcus Cayden earned the reputation of a shrewd businessman with good reason, but beyond that, he possessed a reputation for getting what he wanted when he wanted it. Charles followed him blindly, listening and obeying whenever an order was given.

With his uncanny ability to run a multi-million-dollar business, one would think he’d understand that attempting to strong arm his youngest son would net him zero. Even if he somehow managed to get me back home, I’d refuse to cooperate. If anything, I’d do everything I could to make his life a living hell.

And if he was dying—I didn’t know if I could believe the news—nothing he did could force me to remain there. I wouldn’t mourn his passing or feel sorry for him. I felt nothing for the man.

Sometimes I wasn’t sure how he managed to run a business if he couldn’t see beyond his own little world. To him, his sons were born to follow his orders, follow in his footsteps, and do what he told them to do.

Not me. I came out of the womb obstinate and disobeying every order he gave. As a child I got into trouble constantly. I remember being locked in my room for a week during the summer with only bread and water when I broke a genuine Tiffany lamp. My mother tried to lessen the severity of the punishment. It was changed from two weeks to one. But it wasn’t so bad. She made sure I had books to read and snuck in some snacks here and there.

I was never sure why my mother stayed with my father, or how she fell in love with him, remaining completely in love with him until the day she died. He was not a lovable man. I remembered asking her one time, and she said, “Sometimes, it’s what lies deep inside that’s the true measure of someone.” Deep inside I was sure my father was the same horrible man he portrayed on the outside, and when she passed away, he got worse.

The man was deluded if he thought I would drop everything and run off to California to fulfill whatever crazy plan he concocted. I’d run away and escaped, and I had no intention of going back. So sending Charles to me was a waste of time and money.

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