81
LINDEN
That sick son of a bitch!
“Where are you going?” Estelle followed me out of the Gunner Room.
“I need some air.” My blood was still boiling. I was still shaking with rage. I would have already broken his face if he was just in front of me. Father-in-law or not, I didn’t give a fuck. He couldn’t accept Estelle chose me over his pompous ass boy, and now he wanted to ruin us.
“Hey.” She took my hand, linking it with hers. She knew I was shaking. “I should be the one furious. He ruined my company, but I don’t want to give him the satisfaction he craves, Gabriel. He thinks he succeeded. No, he did not. The company will be back on track now that I know who’s behind it. And you and I are still here, together.”
We walked to my office, and I rubbed my temple, and it didn’t miss her sharp eyes. “You should go back to your office or go home. Take some time to rest.”
“I have tons of work to do.” She pressed my hand against her lips. Estelle always calmed me down, but not this time. Her father got out of control. And it was time that he and I needed a one-on-one talk.
“Baby, you work so hard. Just take this day off.” I went to my desk to sit on my chair.
“No.” She stood right before me and shook her head. Her face hardened. “I wanna talk to my father.”
“Don’t do it. He cannot know.”
“Why?”
“I have plans.”
“I don’t wanna put my father behind bars. He may be evil incarnate, but there must be another way to punish him. I want Tatiana to pay for what she’s done. She shouldn’t have taken his money.”
“We will make them pay, Estelle, but your father is the root cause. He can’t go unpunished after what he put you and your company through.” I couldn’t believe she was still considering letting her father walk free after what she witnessed. Maybe I was too angry, or maybe Gustav deserved it. I didn’t know what exactly to feel.
“You’re angry with him. I get that, but that’s my father. I’m also angry. Hell, I’m furious. I can punch him in the face right now, but I will not humiliate my father and the entire family. I know his actions are unforgivable, but I want to give him a chance. And besides, he has lawyers. Trust me, we won’t win.”
.
“I know you love your father, and he’s your family, but he won’t stop until the two of us are over. He wants to ruin us, Estelle. And I can feel that this is just the beginning. I’m not gonna let you choose between me and your father. I would never do that, but maybe he will put you in a tough position and let you choose between me and my child. What would you do?”
She shook her head again, trying her best to convince me. “That will never happen. I will never choose between you and our baby. Just let this one go. I’ll talk to him. It started between me and my father anyway. It’s time I’ll see my father.”
“I don’t trust him, Estelle.”
“He’s not gonna hurt me.” She picked up one of the books I bought about fatherhood and first-time dads. A little smile appeared on her lips.
“Don’t touch that.” I took it from her. “You don’t know that. You know what he’s capable of.”
“He’s my father, Gabriel. You have to understand that.” She slid her ass to sit on my desk, checking the books one by one. “You’ve been reading, huh.” She sounded more amused than impressed.
“Gotta learn a few things. Will you mind your own?” I grabbed those away and dropped them under my desk, making her chuckle. “Estelle, let me talk to your father.”
“You didn’t just say that? What’s wrong if you read books? Don’t you think that’s a good thing? At least one of us must learn something because we don’t have experience raising a child. And seeing a nerdy husband with his eyeglasses on is kinda hot.”
“Estelle, I know what you’re doing, and I don’t wear glasses. I have 20/20 vision.”
“No, Gabriel. Let this one go.” She leaned in to cup my face. “Don’t confront him. Do you understand me?”
I was about to say something, but Micah was already joining us.
“I should go back to the office.” She kissed me on the cheek. “See you later at home.”
I had no choice but to follow her outside the office. Once they entered the elevator.
Kye cleared his throat. “What happened?”
“Gustav is behind the Tiktok video stunts.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“He paid that woman to ruin the launch of the new collections.”
“I see, but that’s a little childish for his age, don’t you think? He could have done something more dramatic.”
My stomach twisted. “I have a feeling that he’s planning something bigger. I feel it in my gut, and my gut has never been wrong.”
“Now you’re scaring me. Do you want me to watch him?”
“No. Estelle doesn’t want me to do anything. After what Gustav did. Can you believe that?”
“When it comes to family, we always have a blindspot. Family is family, brother. We always give them chances.”
I groaned in annoyance because Kye was right. “I have to go.”
“Where? I’m coming with you.”
“No. Stay. If anyone asks for me. Just tell them I have a personal errand to run.”
“Then take Lynx with you.”
“I’m going alone, Kye.”
Kye blew a breath as I walked away.
One hour later, I was at the golf club. I knew Gustav liked to unwind with his influential friends.
“Can we talk?” I stopped beside him.
“Why would I waste my time?” He didn’t even turn to face me. This was not the first time rich people treated me like dirt. In fact, I was used to this and developed a thicker skin because I was a nobody who was ambitious to make a name for myself.
“I know what you did, Gustav?”
“What did I do?” He neither confirmed nor denied, walking to follow the ball.
“You paid Tatiana Golds to make that video for Star LLC to look bad.”
He faced me with no emotions, not even a hint of guilt on his face. “Well then, where is the cavalry? The cops?”
“What did Estelle do to you that you have to destroy the reputation of her hard work?”
“Her hard work? I called those investors. The company won’t be where it is if it’s not because of me. Then she fell under your spell and forgot everything I have sacrificed for her because of you.” Not hiding the acidic tone in his voice, he strolled his gaze at me from head to toe and never hid how disgusted he was.
“I’m her husband, and we’re having a baby. Why can’t you just be happy for her and bury the hatchet? Estelle would be happy to hear that.”
“I just lost thirty million dollars because of you, Linden.” Of course, it all came down to money. “So why would I accept you as my son-in-law? For me, you’re just an—”
“Opportunist? Yeah. I know who I am, but you forget that I work hard to put food on our plates.”
“From what? Killing people?”
I should be offended, but belittling me wasn’t new anymore. “Is that what you think I’m doing? Is that how you see what my company is?”
“You killed people, didn’t you? I know someone like you once. After I gave her everything—”
“Her? Deirdre. Your marriage didn’t work, but it doesn’t mean it won’t work for me and Estelle. How would you know it will never work if you won’t give us a chance?”
“You only want money, fame, power.”
“I don’t want those things. I’m not superficial. All I want is to be happy with your daughter.”
“Of course you do? You can’t deny it. You envied your friends. Cenric is a billionaire, Mykel is a billionaire and married to a billionaire heiress. Rome Langston is married to a princess, Striker’s father. You know him, and you’re like a puppy, following him wherever he goes and whatever he asks you to do. You’re just his puppet, Linden. Once he’s done with you, he will end the partnership, and you are still no one. I don’t like you because you’re going to drag my daughter with you through the mud, and you’re already doing it.”
“I don’t envy my brothers—”
“Brothers?” He snorted, looking icily confident and smug. “Brothers are bound by blood. You don’t. Go back to where you came from. Find your mother and stop pretending you have connections and influence because, without your so-called friends, you’re just a low-life parvenu.”
Well, tough shit.
My bones trembled. My skin pricked. “I know what I am. Besides, I’m still that person and won’t change who I am. I am not pretending to be who I am not. I am honest with everyone, with my job, but I can’t convince you to believe my true intentions toward your daughter. This low-life wannabe might save your life one day.”
“Here’s what I want you to do, Linden. I want you to stay away from my daughter.”
“I can’t do that.” My voice turned hard and thunderous. “I love your daughter and your grandchild. Estelle is my wife. You can’t change that fact. And here’s what I want you to understand, Gustav. You may hate me and despise my relationship with Estelle, but I will never give up my marriage. I will never leave my wife.”
“Let me show you something.” I knew it would hurt or devastate me further when he took his phone from his pocket. He scrolled down and showed me the screen. “What do you say, Linden?”
My mouth parted as I stared at the picture on his phone, and I’d never been scared to death until now.
I swallowed the dread clogging my throat as I thought of my wife and unborn child. I was right, after all. I should have listened to Estelle. I should not have confronted and provoked this man.
“Where did you get that?” I forced myself to speak out.
“It doesn’t matter.” He looked me in the eye. “I’ve lived long enough to know what kind of person you are. And you come here to lecture me about family and loyalty? You don’t know anything about me or what I’m capable of, Linden. You may have Moses right now, but I guarantee you will lose everything and everyone you hold dear. Here’s what I want you to do. Leave my daughter—”
“Don’t do this.” My voice cracked in the end.
“Leave and divorce my daughter. I’m giving you three days, or I will call Ilya Vasilyev and tell him who Jasper Greer is, where his loyalty stands, and who he truly works for.”
“Please?” I swallowed hard, my gut churning.
“I know you would do everything for your family and brothers, right? You ruined my relationship with my daughter and my plans for her. And I will do everything in my power to ruin you, Gabe Linden. Since you love being their hero, I suggest you start moving and save him.” He laughed. His voice echoed. “Oh, no. That’s not the real deal.”
“What do you want, Gustav?”
“If you warn his handler, call him, or even discreetly send him a message, I would know. Do you think you’re the only one who knows who? Do you think you caught me talking to that woman? No, no, no.” Motherfucker! “Now you know how I feel. But I know how you work. It was me trapping you. It was a bait, and you bit it. One wrong move, he’s dead, and don’t ever try to pull a trick.”
