Forty-two

Forty-two
Charles

I walked out to the pool and found Emma in her swimsuit, reclining on her sun lounger, her skin glittering against the hot sun.

She was reading a fashion magazine with a drink sitting firmly on the small table beside her.

“Mother,” I called her the name she hated hearing me call her, stopping right before her, “You sent for me?”

She glanced at me through the dark shades that hid her eyes, then sat up and dropped the magazine on the table. “Hey, Charles.”

The tone of her voice was unusually cheerful and friendly, and my instinct knew what was coming.

“Can you please sit?” She gestured at the sun longer by her side, “I want to talk to you.”

“Oh, no thanks.” I declined, “I would rather stand. Go on, I'm all ears.”

She stared at me with an impassive expression on her face, “Well, this might take a while.”

“Then make it quick,” I said, my tone raspy. “I have places to be.”

Her expression quickly changed.

Good.

I love antagonizing her.

“So, it's come to my attention that you have a girlfriend.” She began.

“Yes, I do.”

“And you've been dating her for how many months now?”

“Over a month.”

“Well, I'd love to meet her.”

A smirk creased my lips.

I knew it.

Emma. How predictable you are.

“Why don't you invite her over for dinner tonight?”

“Oh, I will.” My smirk grew wider, “Just not tonight. Tomorrow night. There, she can meet this whole family.”

She stared at me under her dark shades, and I could imagine the intensity of the hatred in those eyes.

“You're trying to impress your Uncle, I see.” She finally said, her tone now cold.

“Oh, are we done pretending?”

Her jaw tightened, “Look, Charles. I don't know what you're trying to achieve by doing this, but whatever it…”

“Oh, I'll tell you what I'm trying to achieve.” I hummed in a soft voice, lowering to her level. “I want to ruin you… You and your son. You both made my life so miserable that I wished death to come upon me, so I see no problem in trying to return the favor. Tit for tat, right?”

“Dream on.” She gritted hoarsely, “You can't touch me. You can't do anything!”

“Can I? Look, I can ruin you and your son right now if I want to, but there's no fun in that.” I went on, “I’m gonna make you go down on your knees and beg for your son's life, the same way my mom begged you for mine.”

She jumped out of her skin in shock.

“Oh? You didn't know I knew?” I asked, clearly enjoying every bit of this moment. I leaned forward, “Oh, Emma… I know what you did to my Mom… I've always known… and I won't stop until you join her. Heartless, rotten bitches like you deserve to be wiped from the face of the earth. You could have killed me when you had the chance.”

I could see she was trying as much as she could not to tremble. Her fingers had dug into her skin, and her lips were pressed tightly against each other.

Oh, seeing her like that made me feel so good.

I rose to my feet and smirked down at her, “Oh, don't you worry, Mother… the game is just getting started.”

With that, I spun around and walked out of the pool, leaving her to drown in her thoughts.

I was heading upstairs when my phone began to ring in my pocket.

It was Lopez.

“Yes?” I placed the phone to my ear, “Have you found the guy?”

“No, but we're getting near.” He answered.

“Then why are you calling?”

“Henri just called. Finn is having Eve’s friend tailed.” He informed, “She told him that she didn't you or Eve, but clearly he didn't believe her. He also threatened to get rid of Eve… do you want to hear the tape?”

“No, that's okay,” I replied, staring into space.

“His guy, Jace, is on the hunt for finding who Eve is, and I'm worried about her…”

“Don't be.” I said, “Eve will be fine.”

“Alright. Just wanted to let you know.”

Just when I disconnected the call, my phone began to ring again.

It was Eve this time.

“Yes?”

“Am I in danger?” Her scared, trembling voice came over the line.

Katy must have gotten to her.

“What do you mean?” I enquired, feigning ignorance.

“Katy said that your brother told her that he's gonna get rid of me,” She was speaking so fast that I could imagine her ragged breath, “She also said that he's having her tailed. That's crazy! So, all this was to get at your brother? Whatever it is that is going on between you and your brother should be between you and your brother, and I don't know why you're getting me involved. I clearly asked you if I'm getting myself in danger and…”

“You're not.”

“What?”

“You're not in danger.”

“Well, how can you say that when you were the one who told me to steer clear of him?” She enquired, still a little bit skeptical. “He seems dangerous.”

“That's just how Finn is.” I assured her, “He gives off these scary vibes…”

“But why did you tell me to steer clear of him?”

“Because I knew you'd be spooked by him,” I responded. “Just like you are now, and you haven't even met him. You have nothing to worry about.”

“But Katy said he's tailing her…”

I sucked my teeth, feigning annoyance. “I'm sure your friend was mistaken. Don't worry.”

“O… okay.” She seemed to calm down.

Eve was easy for me to manipulate, so calming her down was no problem.

“So, I can meet up with Katy?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

“Bye.” I disconnected the call before she could say anything further.

With no hesitation, I dialed Lopez's number.

“Hello?”

“Lopez. Where is Henri now?”

“He's watching Finn.”

“And Max?”

“He's following the guy tailing Eve's friend.”

“Good. Ensure that Max makes that guy lose Katy trace, and Max should watch her for the next forty-eight hours.”

“Alright.”

“Also, Eve needs to be watched at all times… at least till the next forty-eight hours.”

“I'll be sending Jacob over to her place.”

“Good.”

I've always known that getting Eve to do this with me might put her in danger; that's why I never told her why I'm doing this.

We've come a long way now for her to bail.

For my plan to work, I need her to impress Uncle Ian.

And I know she will.