Godfather

The Scars She Hid From The World

REGINA MCBRIDE

The heavy iron gates of the Wilderness Correction Camp groaned as they released me after three years of state-sponsored hell. I stood on the dirt road, clutching a plastic bag that held my entire life, waiting for the family that claimed they sent me there for "rehab." My brother, Brady, picked me up in a luxury SUV only to throw me out onto a deserted highway in the middle of a brewing storm. He told me I was a "public relations nightmare" and that the rain might finally wash the "stink" of the camp off me. He drove away, leaving me to limp miles through the mud on a snapped ankle. When I finally dragged myself to our family estate, my mother didn't offer a hug; she gasped in horror because my muddy clothes were ruining her Italian marble. They didn't give me my old room back. Instead, they banished me to a moldy gardener’s shack and hired a "babysitter" to make sure I didn't embarrass them further. My sister, Kaleigh, stood there in white cashmere, pretending to cry while clinging to her fiancé, Ambrose—the man who had once been mine. They all treated me like a volatile junkie, refusing to acknowledge that Kaleigh was the one who planted the drugs in my bag three years ago. They wanted to believe I was broken so they wouldn't have to feel guilty about the "wellness retreat" that was actually a torture chamber. I sat in the dark of that shed, feeling the cooling gel on the cigarette burns that covered my arms, and realized they had made a fatal mistake. They thought they had erased me, but I had returned with a roadmap of scars and a hidden satellite phone. At dinner, I didn't beg for their love. I simply rolled up my sleeves and showed them the price of their silence. As the wine spilled and the lies crumbled, I sent a single text to the only person I trusted: "I'm in. Let them simmer." The hunt was finally on.

Modern Revenge Scheming

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Alexa's POV

Tears stung at the corners of my eyes as his words reverberated through the large office space, bouncing back to my ears. I couldn't bear the harshness, nor could I bear the man from whom those words were coming.

"You're a worthless piece of shit! Just take a look at what you have caused! We lost all those millions because of you!" he screamed.

"Dad..." I began.

"What is it, Alexa? Are you ready to explain how these documents were signed?" he demanded, flinging the papers at my face.

The tears that had stung at the corners of my eyes now clouded them, threatening to spill down my face. "I don't know anything about those papers, Dad. I wasn't the one who signed them."

He snorted at my words. "But those are your damn signatures! If you weren't the one who signed them, then who did? Who freaking did?"

His eyes burned with fury as he glared back at me. I had to bend my head when I could no longer stand the heat of his gaze.

Just then, the office doors opened, and the familiar sounds of heels clicking on the floor announced who had entered. I didn't bother raising my gaze from the floor, knowing it was none other than Elsie, my step sister.

Her confident steps told me she was more than excited about the issue I was having with our father. It's not that I was expecting her to be anything else but happy.

Elsie hated my guts with everything within her and hadn't hidden it even for one day.

"Here are the papers you asked for, Daddy," she said in an excited tone.

"Hand them over to your sister," Dad replied to her.

She came closer to where I was and gave me the papers. "Take, Alexa."

The amusement underlying her tone told me that whatever was in those papers wasn't good for me.

My eyes widened as I scanned through the words written on it, "you want me to resign from my position as the CEO?"

"That's right," Dad confirmed, "I've lost enough millions all because of you. I need you to sign those papers right now."

"But Dad..." I began.

"I said now, Alexa! I don't want to hear any more of your silly excuses," he stormed over to where I was and landed a thunderous slap on my cheek, "the damages you have done to the family business are enough!"

I held the side of my cheek where the slap had landed and signed the papers with shaky hands.

"Good," he scoffed, "This is the only good thing you have done in a long time."

I heard Elsie squealing excitedly behind me. I thought she was being the typical Elsie until Dad motioned for her to take a seat.

She rushed to my former chair with a speed faster than that of light and relaxed in the chair.

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