Page 58 of Volatile Vice

“I want my sister in my life,” I say.

“Do you? Does your mother?”

I hesitate to speak on that. While I know my mother loves Savannah, she blames her for me being in the position that I’m in.

My grandfather continues, “Caroline made her choice. She chose to love your father. Your father chose to love her. But love is an illusion, Vincent. All it does is make you weak.”

I decide to play his own game here.

“Did your love for Serena make you weak?”

His forehead twitches. “Weaker than anything else. And I paid for it. But Serena paid for it more than you can even imagine.”

“Oh, I can imagine.”

“Can you?” He throws his hands onto his desk and leans forward. “Because what I did to you after you turned eighteen wasnothingcompared to what they did to Serena. Hell, what my own father and his goons did to me was nothing in comparison either.”

“Well, she’s dead now,” I say, “and like I said. The dead have no regrets.”

His face darkens. “I never said she was dead.”

I stop my jaw from dropping. “You’re telling me Serena is still alive?”

“I’m telling you that you will never know one way or the other.”

Though my grandfather refuses to look away, I see a hair of regret in his eyes. He played his hand too soon. If Serena is alive—my grandfather still has a weakness.

A weakness I can exploit.

But I’m not the same man he is.

I will never exploit an elderly woman—one who’s probably been through torturous hell—just to bring down my grandfather.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t make himthinkI will.

So I meet his gaze—stare him down—until he finally looks away.

He hasn’t claimed responsibility for the attorney’s death at the Bellamy house, but I know damned well he’s guilty.

Now is the chance to bring up something else I need help with.

I take a seat, never removing my gaze from the bastard who sired my mother.

“So grandfather,” I say, “about Belinda McAllister…”

19

RAVEN

Iknock lightly on my father’s door to his study.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me, Daddy. Raven.”

“Come in, sweetie.”

I walk in to see my father on his cell phone. “I have to go, Connor. I’ll be back in touch.”