Culmination (Clandestine Affairs, #3)

by Tessa Teevan

  And there he is: Theo Morningstar, leaning back against a large oak desk, puffing on a cigar as if he’s Don Corleone himself and he’s been waiting to pass judgment on me.

  It’s unnerving, the sight of this man. I don’t know what I was picturing, but it certainly wasn’t this. I guess I imagined some old, decrepit Bond villain of a man. Reality, however, is just an older version of Adrian, with a less olive-toned complexion. Though he’s not nearly as tall as Adrian, he’s at least six feet, with a lean body he clearly prides himself in. His hair is raven black, with small hints of gray at the sides. His eyes, appallingly, surprise me. Unlike the beautiful green of Adrian’s, his eyes are a shocking blue.

  So blue that they remind me of another player in all of this.

  “Hello, Gabriella.”

  Two simple words meant to greet have never sounded more sinister. His voice is chocolate velvet, and it’s no wonder he’s spent decades winning over board members and the public alike—including my father for a time.

  “Mr. Morningstar,” I reply, sending a curt nod in his direction.

  He smiles, and it’s…kind. I’m taken aback, yet somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I remember that this man taught Adrian everything he knows about being a con artist. This man also believes I’m weak. Easily swayed. I’m not that girl anymore.

  No. I’m not that woman.

  “Call me Theo,” he insists. “After all, we were quite close to being family, now weren’t we? I just don’t understand why my son would hide away a pretty little thing like you for so long.”

  I smile demurely, as much as it kills me. I have no idea what Theo’s play here is, and while all I want is to ensure Rafe’s safety, I know that one false move could set his man off. So, instead, I’ll bide my time and pray that this all goes smoothly.

  “Please, before we discuss anything else, let him go. Rafe has nothing to do with this.”

  My pleas falls on deaf ears though. I have no idea where he is in this monstrous place—or even if this is where they’re holding him—but I have to try.

  A bushy eyebrow rises, wrinkling Theo’s forehead. “Doesn’t he? In fact, I’d say he is one of the central figures, wouldn’t you? Although it’s rather charming you’d come in here demanding his release before even hearing me out.”

  “I said please,” I bite out. “I wouldn’t exactly call that demanding.”

  He waves a hand as if it’s neither here nor there. “It doesn’t matter. You’re in no position to make demands of me, whether or not they come politely.”

  “I’d like to think differently. After all, I have what you want.”

  His eyes flash with anger and I get a glimpse of the man underneath the polite façade. A glimpse of the man who murdered my parents.

  “I could snap your neck like a twig and all this would be over,” he warns, his voice low and menacing.

  “If you’re going to kill me,” I say, squaring my shoulders and setting my jaw with a confidence I hope I’m projecting, “you may as well tell me why. What this is all for.”

  The psychotic man has the gall to laugh. “Look around you, sweetheart. Do you think I spent my entire life building an empire so one man with a conscience could destroy it all out from under me?”

  “So this is all for wealth? For greed? What makes your life so much more important than anyone else’s?”

  “Ah, there’s that naivety Adrian so adored. A fool, my son was, and a fool you are now. Of course my life is more important.” The matter-of-fact way he says it unnerves me. “I am the backbone of this company. Hell, I am this company. Without me, there is no Morningstar. Without the baby you carry, there is no future for Morningstar.”

  I ignore his threat as well as the desire to protectively cover my belly. “And that makes your life worth more than my father’s? My mother’s? More than mine?”

  “That’s life, Gabriella. We’re all cogs in this machine. Some of us are essential. Others? Small pieces are inconsequential. If I’m gone, tens of thousands suffer. Your father? The only one left suffering is you. So, yes, my life over his.”

  Though it’s never been in my nature, I lift my hand to slap another. Just before my palm makes contact on his cheek, Theo’s fingers circle around my wrist. He yanks me towards him until there’s no space left between us.

  I’m staring up into a replica of the eyes of the man I love, and for the first time, I despise those eyes. Bile rises in my throat, but when those eyes turn cold, it recedes, because Rafe’s eyes could never pierce me with such disdain.

  “Be careful, little girl. The last person who attempted to hurt me has been decaying in a cold grave for nearly five years. It’d be a pity to harm you, especially when you have so much left to give the world.”

  His chilling words cause goose bumps to rise on my skin, and as I try to break away, he only holds me tighter.

  “Let me go,” I insist, my nostrils flaring, hoping my face isn’t revealing the fear that’s crept up my spine at his close proximity.

  “You should be thankful you’re alive, Gabriella. After all, there were supposed to be three bodies in the carnage that night. But you… Somehow, you keep escaping death.”

  I set my chin. “So you admit you killed my parents.”

  “You know, idle conversation isn’t usually my forte. However, you’ve come a long way from the meek little girl you portrayed grieving at the funeral, and I find myself wanting to explain.” A shadow crosses his features, and if I hadn’t been staring at him intently, I may have missed it. “Ms. Latham, we both know the truth about what happened that night. There’s no need to go over the details.” He scoffs. “Imagine my surprise when the news only mentioned two bodies and the traumatized daughter who was now an orphan.”

  Tears threaten to rise, but I force them back. I cannot let this man affect me.

  “Why did you kill them?”

  He waves my question away as if it’s inconsequential. As if their lives were inconsequential. Just like he’s said. “I sent Adrian to the funeral. My idiotic son was supposed to eliminate you. No loose ends, he was ordered. Imagine the tragedy of the poor girl dying just days after her parents. The media would’ve had a field day. Yet here you are.”

  “How did you plan on not raising suspicion? My parents’ murder and then mine? Why would you risk that? I knew nothing.”

  “Yes, you would have me believe that, would you?” Theo’s dark eyes bore into mine. A devil’s smile crosses his lips, and God, it reminds me so much of his elder son that I nearly close my eyes to escape it. “Yes, a tragedy. Suicide, unable to cope with the loss of your mother and father. You were suddenly all alone in this world. No one would’ve blamed you. No one would’ve suspected. But no. Adrian took one look at you and fell hard. He tried to fool me, but he was always weak. Too much of his mother in him. But God, then my hired hand fell for you, too? I do suppose it shouldn’t be a surprise. You’re as beautiful as your mother was.”

  “Don’t speak of her,” I hiss through clenched teeth. “You have no right.”

  “Ah, finally. A little fire coming from you. It’s such a pity you’re finally finding your spirit when it’s nearly too late.”

  As bile burns the back of my throat, I maintain my composure, resting a hand over my belly. “I have what you want. You won’t hurt me. Not until you get it.”

  I’m calling his bluff, but it’s the only card I have.

  There’s a crack in his steel demeanor—evident for the slightest of seconds before his lips twist into a sinister smile.

  “I don’t care if my son is the father of your child. He’s dead, and even if he weren’t, he’s proven to be less of a man than I gave him credit for. He had so many chances to get rid of you. All he ever did was let me down.”

  “All Adrian ever did was exactly what you wanted.”

  “If that were true, Gabriella, you’d be dead.”

  Those three words echo all around us. Cold sweat runs down my spine.

  His words ru
sh back to me.

  “I wasn’t trying to kill you, Gabriella. I was trying to save you.”

  Adrian was telling the truth.

  I squeeze my eyes shut for a brief moment as hot tears sting my cheeks. He was telling the truth and all I did was constantly accuse and turn my back on him. Not that I had any choice. Just… I should have known him better. Hell, if I’d ever known him at all.

  “Ah, I see you’re finally realizing that perhaps my son wasn’t the terrible man you decided he was.” The amusement in his tone breaks through my mental anguish. “How unfortunate for you that he died before you learned the truth. He tried to save you. And in turn, you betrayed him.”

  My eyelids flare open, rage coursing through my veins. He has no idea his son is alive, and if I have betrayed Adrian once before, I will not do it this time. I swallow back my fury and turn downcast. “Despite you, Adrian was a good man. I just wish… I wish I hadn’t been too late.”

  The unexpected catch in my voice surprises both of us. I tamp it down, not wanting to examine this sudden emotion for Adrian.

  Theo? He’s not letting it go. His eyes flash with curiosity. Then he folds one arm across his chest, using it to prop the other up, his index finger tapping away at his chin.

  “I almost wish he were still here. Watching the two of them fight over you would be entertaining, to say the least.”

  Dropping his hands, he walks towards me, and like a fierce predator, he circles me as if assessing his prey.

  “You’re pretty enough, of course, but my god, Ms. Latham. What is it about you that has two men ready and willing to risk their lives for you?”

  I don’t respond until he’s back in front of me. When our eyes meet, I’m nearly taken aback. Those steely blue eyes are Rafe’s. There’s no denying it. Why does he even need proof?

  I try to force the lump out of my throat. Setting my chin, I gaze up at the man who took everything away from me. The same man who—with no care of his own—gave me two great loves in my life.

  “If you can’t even mourn the death of your own son, there is no way I can explain love to you in a way you’d understand.”

  Theo’s rigid body remains impassive, unaffected by my words. A large hand lifts in the air, capturing a strand of my hair and twirling it around one finger. I flinch, and the move elicits a perverse twitching of his lips.

  “I understand love just fine. I even felt it once before. Long ago.”

  My mouth nearly drops open.

  He doesn’t miss it. He huffs a small laugh. “Surprising?” He takes a step back, holding his arms out. “What do you think this was all for? Myself?” Shaking his head, he clucks his tongue, his hawk like eyes gazing at me as if I’m a fool. “From the moment I saw her, I knew she was mine. I had to have her.”

  “That isn’t love. That’s possession.”

  “Are they not one and the same? Two sides of the same coin? After all, she possessed me as much as I did her. It wasn’t until much later that I learned love was not what I thought. Not at all what it seemed.”

  “I don’t thin—”

  He cuts me off abruptly and I clamp my mouth shut, watching as he paces in front of me.

  “Love, Gabriella, is power!” He clenches a fist. “It wasn’t enough to have her in my home. In my bed. I wanted all of her. I wanted to consume her. To be all she saw, as she was to me.” His voice turns to a whisper. “And yet…the more she consumed me, the more power she had over me. Until one day…”

  He stops. By now, his rants have his back to me. His shoulders heave, his ragged breathing echoing throughout the cavernous room.

  “What happened to you, Theo?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper.

  He whirls around, his eyes flashing—not with the love he was reminiscing, but with whatever fury has been consuming him for all these years.

  “Love, Ms. Latham. That is what happened to me, and precisely why I did not want it happening to my son.”

  “I would have never hurt Adrian,” I breathe, and I’m not sure if I’m speaking for his benefit or my own.

  “And yet, you already did.”

  I’m amazed when Theo’s shoulders sink. For anyone across the room, the move would have been discernible, but at this close proximity, it’s apparent he’s more affected than he lets on.

  “I only wish I’d been there to protect him from you.”

  “You sent him to me in the first place!” I protest, not entirely sure why I care to plead my case to him.

  Theo’s hand brushes the air as he waves me off. He tugs the ends of his suit jacket before rubbing forehead. When he returns his gaze to me, any sign of the father who may have still had an iota of caring for his son has dissipated.

  “Gabriella, as enlightening it has been to finally speak with you, I’m afraid this conversation is now trying my patience. I know you’ve uncovered the evidence your father was keeping against me. The only way you’ll ever see your darling Rafe is if you hand it over to me now.”

  I swallow the lump in my throat. I can’t believe that, just a moment ago, I felt anything other than revulsion towards this man.

  “How do I know Rafe is even here? How do I know you haven’t already killed him?”

  Theo rolls his eyes in a way that reminds me so much of Adrian whenever he’d get exasperated with me. “This isn’t the movies where I show you proof. It doesn’t matter if Matthews is safe or not. I don’t give a single fuck about your boy toy. All that matters is that I get what I want. Whether the two of you leave here alive is entirely up to you.”

  “You… You’re a monster.”

  “No, little girl. I’m a businessman.”

  He says it so nonchalantly, so matter of factly, like its second nature. A given.

  Psychopathic, more like it.

  “Now give me what I want, or I’ll take it by force.”

  This is it. The moment I’ve been waiting for. The culmination of what my life’s come to, the journey this man put me on, and if I hesitate a moment longer, I don’t think I’ll have the nerve to see this through.

  My fingers tremble as I reach into my handbag, unzip the secret compartment, and feel cold steel against my clammy palm. Fear, trepidation, and uncertainty coil low in my belly, and I wonder for a split second if I can actually do this. If I am indeed strong enough to see this through.

  Just as I’m about to pull my hand out of my bag, something rigid presses against the small of my back. I jump, turning my head back to look behind me. A tall man dressed in a dark suit is standing directly behind me. I can’t see what he’s holding in his hand, but I know what it is. My heart races when I return my gaze to Theo, who watches me with vile intent.

  “Think carefully about your next move, Gabriella,” he chides. “After all, I am the one holding all the cards here, am I not?”

  I swallow then nod. With slow ease, I pull my hand out to reveal a key. Theo nods to the guard, and when the tip of the gun leaves my back, I nearly heave with relief. Until the man picks my bag up and finds the subcompact pistol Adrian gave me that day in his apartment. I didn’t want it, but he insisted I needed it to keep me safe. And for a split second, I thought I could use it on his father.

  God, was I so wrong.

  My head falls, and I’m all too aware of what Theo will do now. Instead, the man surprises me.

  “You chose well, my dear,” he says, nodding for the man clad in black to come forward.

  Seconds tick by as I wait for the guard to take the key to Theo. His cold eyes meet mine.

  “What, pray tell, is this?” Theo hisses. “Where is the book?”

  “Which one?” I ask, proud that my voice isn’t shaking as much as my hands are.

  His eyes narrow. “The diary. The photos. The birth certificate and the ultrasound. I want it all. And don’t lie, Ms. Latham. I knew Helene gave them to your father. Just like I knew you and my son would eventually find them.”

  The panicky laugh that escapes me sounds almost deranged. “If you do
n’t care about your son, why do you need the diary? Why does any of it matter if Adrian is no longer alive?”

  His nostrils flare as he steps towards me. “That is none of your concern.”

  “But obviously it means something to you. Let Rafe go and I will tell you what you want to know. Just please, let him go,” I plead.

  Theo tsks, and two firm hands pull my arms behind my back. The man behind me pushes me down until I’m forced to my knees.

  “Apparently, you’re under the impression that you hold the cards here. Let me correct you. I alone hold the cards. The only person on this planet that cares for you is half conscious in this home. It’s adorable you thought you could rescue him, but this time, you must make a choice now. Tell me where the book is and I won’t kill you where you kneel.”

  I close my eyes with brief hesitation, my chest heaving from ragged breaths. Hot tears spill onto my cheeks, and I know I have no other choice. When I open my eyes and see the triumph in Theo’s, I give in.

  “There’s a small box hidden beneath the lilac bush on the edge of the property. Send one of your men to retrieve it. It’s all in there.”

  His lips curl up into a devious smile. “Mighty clever, my dear. Not with you, but within close enough proximity that I wouldn’t be tempted to kill you while waiting to see if you’re telling the truth.”

  Time spins on an endless loop as Theo starts barking orders. The guard at my back, who’s now gripping my shoulders more firmly than necessary, in such a way that will leave bruises, remains in place until the man in black returns moments later, the box in question in his hand.

  “It was right where she said it’d be, sir,” he informs Theo, his voice gruff, brisk. But when his eyes meet mine, there’s sympathy in them.

  It’s a quick reflection, one that’s covered with steel, but I didn’t miss it and I have to wonder if this man is on our side. Confidence that this isn’t over blooms inside me. Theo Morningstar has not yet won, no matter what he may think.

  I turn my gaze back to the man as he inserts the key into the slot, opens the lid, and pulls out the worn, leather-bound book. His eyes close briefly. Then he flicks his gaze at me.