Chapter 193 BLOOD IN THE WATER
KAI’S POINT OF VIEW.
I stared at him, his precise hands pushing the rook forward before he took my knight. “I take it everything is going according to plan?” Silas asked, not because he didn’t know, but because he wanted to be sure I was still in the game.
And fuck, I was.
“Yes, Silas,” I replied, pushing my game forward to kill his as well. Shit… that was a mistake.
“You left your queen unprotected. What? Not sure you can keep her safe anymore.” He smiled, as if this were some game. Well, it was. A part of me regretted playing this game with Silas. He was a fucking mastermind, an enigma of chaos, and brilliance when it comes to putting his enemies down. Hi, the signet ring glistened in the light, reminding me of how many death sentences he pronounced to ten companies this month alone.
“Don't.” It was one word, but he knew what it meant.
“I will not harm your so-called queen, Kai. We both know the chase is much more satisfying than an instant kill.”
“Silas….” I warned, my grip tight on the edges of my seat. “We had a plan.”
“I know, son.” He took his rook forward, stopping right in front of my queen. “My question is, do you?” He glared at me now, those dark eyes that resembled mine harbored so many secrets, ploys, and things I couldn’t even name. No one knows what my father is thinking, not until he strikes.
“I haven’t taken my foot off the tiger’s neck.” I hissed, willing my body to stay still. It was hard, grating even. The thought of him getting to her before I did, of him hurting her… it did something to me. I would rather drink bleach mixed with acid than let him within a square mile radius of her.
“You have left your queen unprotected, son.” He smiled, fingers tapping gently against the oak table. “How will you save her from me?”
“Your eyes seem to be looking in the wrong direction, Silas. You are forgetting something.” I smirked, taking my player to his queen and king at the same time. His smile froze. “I’m just like my father.” His king and queen fell, leaving him alone with his rook and a few pawns.
“She will fall.” He hissed, his tone restrained, reminding me of who he referred to.
“Not if I have anything to say and do about it.” I took his rook out; the sound of it falling left a deeply satisfying thrill down my spine. “Checkmate, father.”
The game was done. Well, this one. The real game? It hasn’t even started yet.
“Son.” He called just as I stopped at the door. I didn’t bother turning; I only stopped, my back tense at him. “I take it everything for the merger announcement tonight is prepared.” I looked at the mirror beside me. He had started playing, this time, all by himself.
“Relax, Silas.” I clenched my fists, the taste of blood familiar. “You’ll get the chaos you seek.”
“Good, because I remember the chaos her family brought on ours. I want them all to crumble for it.” There was an unspoken rule in the Mercer family; forgiveness was a sin. There could only be two things for anyone we considered an enemy;
Judgement… and death.
“Aurora has nothing to do with it,” I said before I could stop myself. The second I did, Silas’ head sprang up, his eyes filled with what I never wanted. Suspicion. An untrusting Silas was a volatile one…and an anaconda was easier to control than Silas Mercer.
“A debt is owed, and it must be paid.” The darned debt… the noose around my neck from the day I was born tightened, along with the thought of Aurora’s face from earlier, the way she shook with fright at the thought of the Vaihalla and Orsini laying eyes on her again.
“Is it truly powerful to attack the pawn, and not the king of the board?” I finally turned. Silas was standing now, a glass of wine in hand. He never drank any other thing….not scotch, not rum, not cognac….nothing except wine because ‘it’s for the real refined tastebuds, son.’
"You’re playing a predictable game, Silas. You’re obsessed with the king when the real power is already off the board."
Silas tilted his head, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Let’s talk about power then, Kai. Let’s talk about the debt the De La Vistas have owed us for three generations. Their ancestors didn't work so hard for them to strike gold; no, we gave that power to them.
And we certainly did not give them a loan to start Vistaline out of charity. It was a blood-bond. A Mercer and a De La Vista were meant to unite the crowns. Armando thought he could cheat the bloodline when he threw Aurora’s mother away for that viper, Denise."
"He didn't just cheat our bloodline and ancestors," I nodded, regarding Silas as one would a poisonous snake. Sometimes, I asked myself if he carried the anger of our ancestors. Anytime he spoke about this, he got quite slimy. "Armando stole a throne. We both know the company belongs to. His sister made sure certain changes… that was right before she... vanished. Armando is a squatter in a house he doesn't own."
Silas’s hand tightened on his glass. "Precisely. And the plan was simple. You seduce the Morgan girl, you marry the Morgan girl, and we reclaim the salvage rights to Vistaline, and everything that family owns. You were supposed to be the executioner, Kai. Not the savior. Why the hell are you with the useless one?"
“She isn’t useless, Silas.” A grunt pushed out of me before I could restrain myself. Silas smirked, clearly relishing the reaction from me.
“I guess my son really has fallen in love. I mean….you seem to have this reaction anytime I speak of her.” He chuckled. Silas doesn’t believe in love. It cost him something dear afterall….but that was his fault. He leaned forward, the cool air from the air-conditioning making his skin look flawless. "So tell me... why did I hear you mention Marloise's name to the board? Your mother’s name is something neither of us has mentioned in years, not since the incident, not since twenty years ago."
I felt the air in the room thicken at once. My heart beat slow and heavy like a war drum. I leaned back against the wall, matching his lethal intensity.
"Because the plan has evolved, Silas."