Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Three years. That was all the time I needed.
After that, I would take my inheritance and move away. I would start my life.
I doubted I would ever see him. If he was anything like my father where their business was concerned, he was probably going to be gone, traveling, and in meetings a lot.
Yes… I could do this. I could be strong, not because I didn’t have a choice, but because I’d make the best out of the shittiest situation imaginable.
So I grabbed the pen, and with resolve and determination, I signed.
Once that was all done, I headed to my room and packed a bag. There were a lot of things that were just materialistic, items that I didn’t need to bring with me.
And as I filled my suitcase with my clothing and a framed picture of me and my parents, I sat on my bed and just looked around. I reached for my phone and searched for who Judge Wilcox was. Most of what came up was standard information about his age, credentials, and the circles he associated with. My breath caught when I saw an image of Hades standing next to the judge. Hades wore his signature apathetic expression as he stared at the camera and held a glass in one hand, dark liquid filling the crystal a quarter of the way.
The picture had been taken at a charity gala, where they’d recognized Hades as a primary benefactor. The judge had one hand raised as he laughed at something. His puffy cheeks were a ruddy color, and a sheen of sweat dotted his brow.
I did a bit more deep diving online and found an article from last year claiming the judge had been accused of gross misconduct with a girl at his son’s school when the student came forward and said Wilcox had accosted her and made grossly inappropriate remarks. But nothing came from it. No charges filed. No repercussions. They had brushed everything under the rug with mentions of coming to a settlement between the two parties.
I didn’t know how long I sat there, but it was the sound of the doorbell ringing that pulled me out of my thoughts.
After gripping the handle of my suitcase and walking out of my room and down the stairs, I held my head high and refused to show how uncomfortable the situation made me.
I wouldn’t give Hades that satisfaction.
Once at the bottom landing, I saw him standing in the foyer dressed in another dark, three-piece suit, his hands in his front pockets, the material unable to hide the definition of his masculine body.
He was stealthy as he glanced down at my suitcase before looking back at me, an eyebrow cocked the closer I came. I stopped when I was only a foot from him, my shoulders still pulled back, my head tilted so I could look at him in the eyes.
The sunlight streamed behind him, and I could hear workers outside. It was just another day for everyone else. Yet, for me, my entire life had changed in a matter of days.
Being this close to Hades, I could see that his eyes, ones I had once thought were black as night, upon closer inspection were actually more of a deep amber color with flecks of honey and red swirled within them.
It was a beautiful color, even if the man standing before me was ugly as sin on the inside.
“I’d ask if you’ve made your decision, but the suitcase sitting beside you answered that.” His voice was so deep and rough, it was almost painful to listen to, like a blade going over my skin.
In my other hand, I had the paperwork and held it out to him. He only looked at it for a second before Hades took it from me, flipping through each sheet to make sure I undoubtedly signed in all the spots.
He tucked the forms into the inner front pocket of his suit jacket, smoothed his hands down the lapels, then turned and headed outside to the sleek, black car waiting.
I stood a moment, just staring at him, and turned to glance around the only home I’d ever known. I’d never see this place again. I knew that in my heart. And although I’d grown up here, at some point, this would just be a place I’d lived once.
And today was that day.
Chapter 5
Hades
At three years old, they found me sitting in a pool of my mother’s blood, her gunshot wound self-inflicted, and her arm covered in track marks. I’d been sitting there so long her blood had congealed in a pool around my small body. Her lifeless eyes fixated right on me.
I knew I’d been the last thing she saw in her miserable life.
By my fourth birthday, I’d been in three separate foster homes before being adopted by Michael Cronus.