Chapter 89 NO ONE MOURNS THE WICKED
THEO'S POINT OF VIEW.
I stood in the heavy downpour and watched as my father was jumped by ten different homeless guys with knives. The sound of his grunts of pain as they stabbed him in other places should probably have done something to my heart, or mind….but all I could think about was Seraphina, my mother, and my sister. About the fact that they’d be safer without this monster close to them.
I’d been waiting for this moment all my life, dreaming of the day he would die… but for some reason, I couldn’t do it…something always stopped me.
“You good?” Lucien asked from where he stood beside me. I stared at the guys, each of the horsemen who pulled up for me tonight. All I needed to do was tell them that I needed their help, and they all showed up without asking questions. The tattoo we got years ago burns in my back like we’d just gotten it, as I feel my strength rising from theirs.
We’d all shared a form of darkness or the other, borne from the experiences we’d shared as children at the hands of one person or the other. Lucien and I understood each other best, maybe because we both hated our fathers, and shared a trauma linked to them, but one thing I knew was that they would always stand by me, no matter what.
“Yeah, just happy he’s in pain. He should get worse than this, but this is the most we can do to avoid suspicion.” I whispered, the water pouring on my face, and my drenched coat.
“You should have told us sooner. We would have done something a long time ago.” Cassian says, staring at my father’s limp body, which lay in the large puddle of water. I wondered…if he saw me, would he beg me to spare his life?
One thing my father was scared of was death, and the darkness it would bring. He dreaded it so much that whenever the house was a bit dark, he would tremble and shake like a leaf.
“Why did you speak up now?” Killian asked, and Lucien gave me a knowing look. He alone understood what this meant, because he would do the same for Sloane if it came down to it.
“He wanted to touch something that belonged to me.”
“Seraphina?” Killian asked, a smirk on his lips.
“How did you….?”
“Oh, please, you think that smile on your face would not have me searching for answers? You were sneaky, but not sneaky enough for me.”
The fucker.
Only he would be nosy enough to go searching for answers, and I would not notice. The bastard always got into the house of his married teacher while her husband was home to fuck her.
“So what’s going to happen now?” He asked, staring at my father’s body.
“We mourn in public, but really, no one mourns the wicked,” I said, pulling my phone out to text my sister.
Ana: Get mum out of the house, take her to my secret villa.
Her reply was quick because Dad wasn’t home to stop her from using a phone.
“Is everything okay? I’ll do it, but are you good?”
Ana: “Yes, just trust me.”
“Well, let me start crying now, cause my father’s dead.”
“Who’s gonna be duke now, your Lordship?” Kllian mocked, bowing slightly.
I smirked at that, the realization of becoming the duke in my father’s stead dawning on me. I’d do things so differently, as long as I had everyone by my side.
“Shut the fuck up, idiot.” I snickered.
“So, your lordship, how are we going to do this? Do we call the hospital?”
“No, idiot. We wait for some sorry fucker to find his body, then the police get pulled in, and all is history from there.”
“Oh snap, have you done this before? You damn near planned everything out.”
“Let's just say I’ve had years to imagine this moment,” I said, walking back to my car.
“Are our alibis checked?”
“Yes, we’re all at the steakhouse at the moment, and from there, we went home to sleep. You know, since we’re innocent teenagers about to be adults with nothing but math in our brains.” Lucien smirks before getting into his Ferrari.
“Well, get going, guys, we have a burial to plan.”
“Theo!” My mother called, rushing over to me. “What happened? I heard you wanted us at the villa.” She whispered, pulling me in a hug. If it could even be called that, she was so small against me that all she could do was wrap her small hands around me, as I hugged her back. Her small frame made my heart pound as I heaved a sigh of relief at the thought of her no longer having to deal with that demon.
“Yes, mother. I needed you two here. Have you had something to eat?” Father starved her and my sister again, this time, for two weeks. I was barely able to get her food from the cafeteria so she wouldn’t pass out from hunger and dehydration again.
“Is there food?” She asked, her eyes widening in shock, as her belly rumbled loudly.
“Yes, Mom. There’s some pizza in the fridge. All we have to do is heat it. Lucien had them delivered here this morning.” I whispered, kissing her forehead softly.
“Really?” She asked, her eyes glistening with tears that made me want to pull Phillip’s heart out myself.
“Yes, mother. We never have to starve again.”
“Really, brother? Are you saying…” Anastasia asked, walking to us. Her collar bones poked through her dress, as her tiny body dragged along in exhaustion.
“Yes, Ana.” I pulled her over to me, kissing her forehead too. “Phillip is in hell now,” I whispered, hugging both of them to my body.
In that moment, I didn’t have to be strong, as tears welled up in my eyes, and I cried with my mother and sister in my arms, rejoicing in the life we could live now, no longer shackled to that monster and the fear he made us live in.
That night, as it poured, my mother, sister, and I munched on food patiently, without having to rush it since my father could easily tell us to stop eating for as long as he wanted, laughing along sadly as we looked ahead to a future without Phillip Kingswell.
Tomorrow, we can mourn him for the cameras, but today, we’ll smile, dance, eat, and for once, be actually happy.