~LAYLA~
"What do you an?" His voice had changed, losing so of its authority.
"Drop the act, Charles. I know I’m not your daughter."
There was a long pause. When he spoke again, his voice was ice. "You don’t know what you’re talking about."
"Oh, really? That’s the card you’re playing?"
"Layla, that’s ridiculous. You’re upset; you’re saying things..."
"Don’t," I cut him off sharply. "Don’t insult my intelligence by denying it. I know the truth. I know I’m adopted."
The silence on the other end was deafening. I could hear his heavy breathing as he processed what I’d just said.
"How..." he finally spoke in a quieter voice now. "How did you know?"
"It’s not necessary how I found out. What matters is that I know."
"Layla, listen to . Your mother and I, we loved you. We raised you as our own..."
"Loved ?" I interrupted. "Is that what you call it? Treating differently from Cassandra my entire life? Making feel like I had to earn your approval while she could do no wrong?"
"That’s not fair!"
"It’s completely fair! Now I understand why. I was never really part of the family, was I? I was just... what? A charity case? A correction to your drunken mistake."
"It wasn’t like that."
"Then what was it like, Charles? Enlighten ."
He sighed heavily. "Your mother... she couldn’t have children after we got married. There were so issues. She wanted a child so badly. When we found you, she saw it as a blessing."
"A blessing you couldn’t wait to throw away the mont I didn’t fit your perfect Watson image anymore."
"That’s not true."
"Isn’t it? The mont your ’daughter’ humiliated before the whole world, what did you do? You sided with her, and when I challenged your decision? You cut off... disowned . Would you have done that to your real daughter?"
"Cassandra is different..."
"Because she’s your blood," I finished. "At least now I know why you never fought for the way you fight for her. Why you let her destroy without consequences."
Charles was quiet for a mont. When he spoke again, his voice was calculated. "What else do you know, Layla?"
The question hung in the air, loaded with implications.
"What else are you hiding, Charles?" I countered. "What other secrets are you afraid I’ve uncovered?"
"Answer my question."
"Why? So you can get ahead of whatever I might reveal? So you can start covering your tracks?"
"Layla, don’t play gas with ."
"I’m not the one playing gas. You’ve been playing them my entire life. Pretending to be my father, pretending to care about , all while treating like I was less than."
"We gave you everything..."
"Everything except the truth! Everything except real love and acceptance!" I was livid now. I wasn’t sure if it was the deal that we just lost, or Cassandra’s action of Charles’... or everything combined.
"Do you have any idea what it’s like to grow up feeling like you’re never quite good enough? Like there’s sothing fundantally wrong with you, but you can’t figure out what it is?"
"We tried our best—"
"Your best wasn’t enough. And now Cassandra’s facing the consequences of the entitlent you instilled in her, and you can’t stand it."
"She’s my daughter."
"And I’m not. We’ve established that. So stop calling asking for family loyalty when you’ve made it clear I was never really family to begin with."
"Layla, regardless of blood, you were raised as a Watson..."
"No, I was raised as less than a Watson. As soone who had to constantly prove their worth, who had to be perfect just to get a fraction of the attention you gave Cassandra."
"That’s not how it was."
"That’s exactly how it was. And you know what? I’m glad I’m not your biological daughter. I’m glad I don’t share your blood, because it ans I’m not destined to beco the kind of person who protects criminals and punishes the innocent."
"Watch your tone," Charles warned, his voice taking on a dangerous edge.
"Or what? You’ll disown again? Too late for that. You’ll cut off financially? Already done. You’ll try to destroy my business? Cassandra already tried that and failed." I took a breath, steadying myself. "You have no power over anymore, Charles. None."
"You’re playing a very dangerous ga, Layla. Making threats, throwing accusations..."
"I haven’t made any threats. I’ve simply stated facts. Cassandra committed cris. She’s being held accountable. That’s how the law works, even for Watsons."
"The law," he scoffed. "You think the law is on your side? You have no idea how many judges, prosecutors, and politicians owe favours. How many strings I can pull."
"Then pull them. Use all your influence, all your money, and all your connections. But it won’t change what happened. It won’t erase the evidence."
"Evidence can be discredited. Witnesses can be convinced to change their testimony. Juries can be swayed."
"Are you admitting to planning to obstruct justice?"
He laughed coldly. "I’m simply stating facts, as you put it. The legal system is more flexible than you think, especially for people who know how to work it."
"That sounds like a threat."
"Consider it whatever you want. But know this: if you continue down this path, if you insist on prosecuting Cassandra, you’ll make an enemy of . And I’m not an enemy you want, Layla."
"I made an enemy of you the day I chose to live my own life instead of the one you planned for . This changes nothing."
"It changes everything. Before, you were just a disappointnt. Now you’re an active threat to my family."
"Your real family, you an. The one I was never truly part of."
"Don’t twist my words."
"I don’t need to. You’ve made yourself perfectly clear over the years. I just finally understand why."
There was another long pause. I could hear muffled sounds in the background, like he’d covered the phone to speak to soone else.
"Last chance, Layla," he said finally. "Drop the charges against Cassandra. Walk away from this. I’ll make it worth your while financially. We can pretend this conversation never happened."
"You want to buy my silence? Try to pay off like I’m so kind of blackmailer?"
"I’m offering you a way out of this ss."
"The only ss is the one Cassandra created. And I’m not dropping anything. She faces trial, she faces consequences, and if you interfere, I’ll make sure everyone knows exactly what kind of man you really are."
"You’re making a mistake."
"No, the mistake was ever thinking you actually cared about . Goodbye, Charles Watson."
I hung up before he could respond, my entire body shaking with a mixture of anger and adrenaline.
"Well," Henry said after a mont of silence. "That was intense."
"Are you okay?" Helena asked, looking and sounding genuinely concerned.
"No," I admitted, sitting down heavily. "But I will be. Eventually."
"You’re adopted?" Henry asked carefully. "I didn’t know that."
"Neither did I until recently. My mother left a letter before she died."
Helena squeezed my shoulder gently. "I’m so sorry, ma’am. That must have been such a shock."
My phone buzzed again. This ti it was a text from Axel: How’s Chicago?
I stared at the ssage, debating whether to tell him about the failed eting or Charles’s call. I decided on honesty: The eting fell through. Optics too risky for them. And Charles called, threatening .
His response ca quickly: What?!!!
Before I could type a response, my phone rang, with Axel’s na flashing on the screen.
Reviews
All reviews (0)