Irrefutable

by K. A. Berg

  A maniacal laugh fills the room, and my head snaps up just in time to see my father double over his desk in laughter.

  “What the hell is so funny?” I demand furiously.

  His obnoxious laugh lasts a minute longer before he stops and speaks. “You, sitting here talking to yourself about how you thought you could outsmart me. You’re having a conversation with yourself out loud, and you thought you were smart enough to beat me?”

  “You think the fact you’ve driven me to the point of insanity is funny? And I thought you had no idea what I was talking about. Now you’re bragging because I thought I could beat you but can’t.”

  “When I do something, I do it right. It’s a lesson you clearly haven’t learned in life.” His ego is starting to take over. Yes! Here we go!

  “And what exactly is it that you did right?” I press further. This is the reaction I was hoping for. I just need to keep yielding to him. Keep him thinking he’s got one up on me.

  “Pretty blondes with blue eyes are easy to find. One fake driver’s license was easier. I already had access to your personal documentation. Fake Quinn was more than happy with a free trip to the Bahamas and ten grand for signing a few papers.”

  Holy shit! “You paid some chick to pretend to be me?” I don’t know if I’m mad or shocked. Who would whore themselves out to be a stand in for an embezzlement plan? That’s a big fucking risk. She better hope daddy dearest doesn’t sell her out.

  “Now you’re catching on…”

  “To what?”

  My father’s lips turn up into an evil grin, making him look kind of like the Joker from Batman. “How much smarter I am than you and I’ll always be. Even when you think you’ve got me, you don’t. There’s no way to link me to the embezzlement. I’ve pulled off the perfect crime and did it right under your nose. You’ll never be to able trace anything back to me. The only thing linking me to it is far away enjoying a whole new life.”

  Malicious motherfucker. How can someone hate their child this much? As if framing me isn’t enough, he has to brag about it and rub it in my face. For what reason? What does he get out of this? What have I ever done to him?

  “Why? I’m your daughter. How could you do this to me?”

  “You think too highly of yourself, and it’s your biggest problem. You don’t matter to me, Quinn. It’s not my fault you built me up to be something I’ve never been,” he says with the flip of a hand, like he’s swatting a gnat at a picnic. He doesn’t even hesitate when answering me. His true feelings for me spilling out with no reservations. “Kids were never my thing. But your mother wanted one and I needed a boy to pass my name on to, so imagine my disappointment when you arrived. You’re just a pawn. Something for me to use to get what I want in life. All you’re good for is looking pretty and using what you’ve got to further this company.”

  My mind is spinning. He hates women. I can’t believe I never noticed just how misogynistic he is. He doesn’t give me any time to try to wrap my head around anything. He just continues on.

  “When you turned into a spiteful childish bitch, trying to make me look bad and embarrassing your mother with your little tantrum about the secretary, I knew you’d be nothing but trouble. You can’t be trusted. I’ve been watching your every move for years to make sure you don’t go and taint up my good name. Then I saw an opportunity for a big move and you became useful again. But I knew you’d never let go of this dream of trying to be better than me, and it was time to make sure you were out of my way for good.”

  “And sending me to prison doesn’t stain our name further?” I ask. He’s worried I’ll give this family a bad name? I’ve done nothing to give us a bad name, he has. I’m the one who gives us a good one. I’m the decent human being.

  “It will pass,” he says nonchalantly. The blasé demeanor shows me how little I truly mean to him. He’s telling me about my worthlessness to him like we’re discussing the snowstorm predicted this weekend. “And I get to play the sympathy card, making me look like the most honest capitalist out there. Following the law to a T, even though it meant turning my own daughter in. But we caught it, stopped it, and the funds will even be recovered because I know you’ll sign them over in an agreement to try and save your ass.”

  The depths of his depravity are outstanding. I thought I had loose morals, but I’m Mother Theresa compared to the man who fathered me. One has to be born this heartless. There’s no way you just become this horrible of a person. And I’m the one ruining the family name?

  The door to the office swings open, slamming against the wall with a loud thud causing both my father and I to snap our heads toward it.

  “That is quite enough, Louis,” my mother bellows, the loudness of her usually soft and demure voice reverberates off the walls.

  “You’ve gone too far this time,” she continues approaching the desk we’re sitting opposite of each other at.

  My father doesn’t like to be challenged, especially by my mother. His face reddens, and I see the veins in his neck start to pulsate. “This doesn’t concern you, Marian.”

  “It most certainly does,” she counters. “You told me you wanted the marriage between Quinn and Jordan because he could secure her a good future. He could take care of her. You dragged me into supporting you setting our daughter up and sending her to prison. But I won’t allow you to do this.”

  My mother has shocked me. I thought it’d be impossible to be shocked by either one of my parents at this point, but again they’ve proven me wrong. It’s taken a lot for my mother to stand up to my dad. I’ve never seen her do it before. So many times, I wished she would say something to him to demand respect for herself, be something other than a doormat, and now she’s finally doing it—for me.

  “You disgust me,” I spit at him, drawing strength from my mother’s support. “But you’re wrong. You’re not smarter than me.”

  Leaning back in his chair, he crosses his arms over his chest and says, “From where I’m sitting, it seems I am.”

  There’s a commotion just outside of the doors and I know Hailey’s team is making their move. They got here a lot faster than I thought they would, considering they were down the block.

  Sophia’s voice carries over all the rest, “Ay Dios mío”

  As soon as the two guys, followed by Hailey, burst into the office, all wearing matching blue jackets and hats with yellow letters spelling out FBI, my father smiles at me. “Guess they caught up with you already.”

  With a triumphant smile in place, I shake my head. “No, daddy, not me. You.”

  “Louis Taylor, you’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent…”

  Everything must click in for my father because his voice calls out over the agent reading him his rights. “You little bitch! Who do you think you are? Do you know who I am? You’ll pay for this.”

  “No, I won’t,” I say steeling my spine. I will not break down in front of this asshole. He will not get any satisfaction today. “I was smarter than you this time, and I’ll be smarter than you next time. But there won’t be a next time. Your time here is done. You’re scum, and everyone will know it. Who wants to do any business, legal or not, with someone who turns on his own family and doesn’t even get away with it? You have no loyalty to anyone other than yourself. You’re ruined. On both sides of the law.”

  Turning, I head out the door of his office, past my mother, with my head held high. I’m done with this man. I’m finally free. Free to live my life for me. With the man waiting for me outside. Waiting to be whatever I need him to be.

  I won.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Alex

  “Holy shit,” Jordan gasps as Quinn finishes her reply to her father’s threat.

  I’m so fucking proud of her. The things he said to her were awful. But she didn’t back down. That took a lot of strength.

  A big part of me was terrified for her today. I knew her father would have nothing nice to say to her, and I wasn’t sure if she w
as going to be able to get him to say the words we needed him to say.

  My heart stopped the moment Hailey said, “We’ve got ‘em. He just admitted to fraud.”

  Neither Jordan nor I even thought about that aspect of it. We’re so emotionally involved in this fight and we were looking for a different confession. Not on about the bank accounts he fraudulently opened in Quinn’s name.

  My concern was mostly occupied with Quinn’s emotional state. The only thing I could think about was the horrible things coming from her father and how they must be making her feel. I stopped worrying about the plan and started becoming concerned about how this was all going to affect my girl.

  A glimmer of hope bubbled up inside of me when her mother came in to stand up for her. She’s never had any parental backing in her adult life and hopefully this means she has the possibility of having a relationship with her mother in the future.

  A lone figure nears the bottom of the stairs and heads for the black wrought iron gates surrounding the front of the house. Realizing its Quinn, I slide the door open, leaping from the van and run the short distance to her, pulling her into my arms.

  Quinn’s arm wraps around my waist and squeezes me tight as her body deflates into mine. Her adrenaline is gone, leaving her body through a heavy long breath blown from her mouth. A plume of steam clouds the small amount of space between us as her warm breath mixes with the frigid air.

  Pulling her tight to me, I kiss the top of her head and say, “I love you.”

  She gives me a small nod as she pulls back. I see how bad she hurts right now, the sadness painted all over her face. The small frown. The wrinkle in her forehead. The glistening in her eyes. Looks like she’s doing everything in her power to hold those tears in. She’s learning to deal with her emotions, but I know she’d never let herself publicly display them.

  Giving her a sincere smile, I guide her back to the van. “I’m so proud of you.”

  I’m rewarded with a small smile as the van door opens to a waiting Jordan.

  “You doing okay?” he asks.

  I might not like the fact Jordan was ever engaged to Quinn, but the way he’s had her back makes me tolerate him. He’s a nice guy and is very good to Quinn, but he’s still a guy who thought he was going to get to spend his life with the woman who’s always been mine. I don’t fully trust him.

  She gives him a stiff nod and says, “Yeah, it’s finally over.”

  As far as I’m concerned, I think this is just the calm before the storm. It’ll pick up again when Quinn has to deal with everything this means. Processing exactly what her father did to her. This part of it is finally over, but we still have to deal with the aftermath.

  Before we left her parents’ house, I told Hailey I was shutting off Quinn’s phone for the day and to call me if she needed anything. But only if it was an emergency. Quinn needed some time to decompress and be alone with her thoughts.

  Hailey completely agreed and said if anything was needed it could wait until tomorrow.

  The drive back to Jersey was quiet. Quinn sat staring out her window for most of it. I wanted to ask how she was feeling, but I also wanted to give her space to digest everything. She made it clear she needed time when she handed me the keys to her car. She never lets anyone drive her car.

  As soon as we got back to her house, she jumped in the shower and I didn’t see her for an hour. It was a very long hour. There were so many times I was tempted to go stand outside the bathroom door just to make sure she wasn’t in there crying all by herself. I couldn’t do it, though. She wanted privacy and I wanted to give it to her.

  When she finally came out, it was to tell me she wanted to take a nap because she was tired and drained.

  “Do you want company?” I asked. I just wanted to be close to her, so she knew she wasn’t alone.

  There was no hesitation as she said, “Yes, but I don’t want to talk.”

  I nodded my understanding and led her back to her bedroom where we climbed into bed.

  Lying on my side, I slid Quinn’s body flush against mine and rested my chin on her head. She surprised me when she turned in my arms and nestled her face in my neck. I can’t say why but having her seek solace within me did something to me.

  It made me feel loved and made me want to take away all the bad for her so she never has to deal with it again. Quinn shows her deep emotions through actions. Her body says the things her mouth can’t. It’s not really a bad thing, but when it’s the only way someone communicates feelings, it’s not a good thing either.

  She’s working on dealing with her emotions and has made huge leaps and bounds. She’s communicating. Leaning on me. Needing me, even if it’s just my presence. Quinn is showing me how much I mean to her.

  “I love you,” I reminded her, kissing the top of her head.

  “Thank you,” she whispered as I tugged her as close to me as I could get her, not even enough room to fit a piece of paper between us.

  I laid with her for a little while until she was in a deep, relaxed sleep. Then I slipped out to call Ash and Tanner and tell them what was going on. I made sure to keep the call short just in case Quinn woke up and asked them to relay the message to Tiff for me. It wasn’t even ten minutes later when I slid back into bed with her and let myself close my eyes.

  The sun was low in the sky and the room darker when I woke up with Quinn still sleeping next to me. The bright display of the clock illuminated the room. Almost five. I had started to wonder if Quinn took a sleeping pill because she’d been out for a while. I wouldn’t have blamed her. Sleeping seemed like the best idea for her at that point.

  We needed to eat something. Lucky for me the diner a few blocks away delivered. I ordered a ton of breakfast items. French toast, pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, the works. Breakfast is the best meal of the day and the best comfort food.

  I waited until the food was delivered before waking Quinn up.

  “Angel,” I whispered, gently nudging her. “Come on. Time to get up and eat.”

  Her eyes blinked open and there was a moment when everything was okay. Quinn was in the tiny moment of bliss as you wake up but don’t yet remember all the horrible things that have happened to you.

  Bright blue turned dull as the sadness crept back in.

  “I know, angel,” I frowned, my heart breaking for her as all the emotions flooded back in. “Let’s go eat something. I ordered breakfast.”

  Now, we sit at the table in relative silence. It’s easy to tell Quinn’s rehashing things in her mind. Her eyes keep glassing over as if she’s watching a movie and completely focused on it. Her body remains still as she gets lost in thought. I watch as she snaps herself out of her revelry and forces herself to eat.

  All I want to do is take this pain and struggle away from her. Even though he deserves everything coming his way, setting her father up was hard for her. I don’t have to be inside her head to know there’s a part of her wondering if she’s just like him. There’s been many times since this started she’s wondered that. Lying to Jordan. Plotting against him like he did to her. Now she’s actually sent the man to prison; exactly what he was attempting to do to her.

  Quinn’s just pushing the eggs around her plate at this point. I get up from my chair and head into the kitchen. Grabbing a glass, I pick the first bottle of wine my hand touches from the small wine rack on her counter and open it.

  Full glass in hand, I hand it to her and say, “Come on.”

  She readily obeys, following me to the living room. I quickly settle myself into the corner of the couch and tug her down next to me. She’s already managed to drink half her wine.

  Setting her glass down on the coffee table, she molds her body against mine, tucking her feet underneath. My arms wrap around her and she rests her head in the crook of my neck. Combing my fingers through her hair, I break the silence. “Talk to me, angel.”

  Her body slides down mine until her head rests in my lap as she sighs, “Not yet. I’m not ready.” />
  Understandable, so I respect her wishes for the moment and don’t push. But I’m not going to remain silent either. “Okay, that’s fine for now,” I tell her. “But while you have all that vile shit he said to you rolling around inside your mind, remember this: none of what he said is true. You are one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. You are brilliant. Beautiful. Loyal. Fierce. Don’t let anything he said to you seep too far in because it’s not true. And you are nothing like him.”

  She doesn’t say anything but then again, she doesn’t have to. She only needs to listen.

  “I love you,” I remind her for what feels like the hundredth time today. After everything, it’s what she needs most. Love. She just needs to feel loved.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Quinn

  A loud banging on the door rouses me from my sleep and I’m not happy about it. I feel like shit. My head pounds as if someone stabbed an ice pick in it, which means I can count on having a full-blown migraine by the time I finish brushing my teeth. Fuck! My body aches worse than the day after running the obstacle course my sorority hosted for charity.

  “Ugh,” I groan trying to push myself up as the knocking sounds again. I fail miserably, my arms and legs feel like they weigh a ton.

  My bathroom door opens, and Alex walks out, a cloud of steam surrounding him, wet and in nothing but a towel. “I’ll get it.”

  I get a quick glimpse of his nicely toned ass when he drops the towel and pulls on a pair of sweats. He heads back over to me, a sympathetic smile gracing his lips, and leans down to kiss my head. “You killed two bottles of wine last night and slept like shit. I’m guessing you need some Tylenol. I’ll bring you some after I deal with whoever’s at the door.”