Sins of Mine - Mary E. Twomey Page 0,12
that!”
I repeat the mantra twice, and it takes wing, flying through the street and attaching the sentient of hope to everyone within earshot.
When the crowd settles, Sloan reminds me quietly. “Call to action.”
Bollocks. This is why I should’ve stuck to the script. I told them Paxton should have delivered the speech.
Father’s face is red as he stands beside me. I can tell he’s itching to take the microphone away. He wants me dependent on him for life. Now that I’ve saddled myself with nearly five-hundred inmates, that’s what he assumed would have to happen. He wants me to need his deep pockets, so he would have something to hold over me. He wants another strand of my hair, so his magic can be further enhanced.
If I want to stand for what I believe, then I have to get out from under his thumb.
Daddy’s fuming, so I hurry to the end. “Right now, we need contractors and clothing. I’ve secured us houses, but we need foundations poured, which isn’t cheap. Every week, I’ll announce a new way you can help us. This week, we need contractors. And if you can go through your closets and thin out what you’re not using, I know almost five-hundred people who could use the literal shirt off your back.”
My father’s had enough of giving up control, so he discreetly elbows me out of the way, taking over, as is his nature. “The Valentine family is doing what the royal family will not. We are housing, feeding and clothing nearly five-hundred innocents. We are even housing the king’s only son, since Regis has turned his back so heartlessly on his own kin.”
One of the reporters goes for the obvious kill. “You sent your own daughter to prison in your stead. Who are you to talk about loyalty? You’re one of the criminals who cashed in on the Sins of the Father bill.”
Solid point, and to his credit, Father’s ears don’t even redden. He’s prepared for this question, since I’m guessing he gets it a lot.
Good.
His smile is faked, but no one notices the tell. “From the moment my Arlanna took my place, it’s been our family’s mission to get her out. It’s always been our plan to overthrow the Sins of the Father bill. We’ve been hard at work, exposing the system for what it is. Sometimes you can’t overthrow a corrupt system from the outside. You need a man on the inside. Or a woman, as it may be. We will not stop until the Sins of the Father bill is abolished.”
What a pile of lies that is. Even Sloan tightens up. My best friend’s arm curves around my shoulders. “You don’t need to hear this. Let’s get out of here.”
“You read my mind.”
I inadvertently steal the spotlight with my exit, making it clear that I don’t want to hear any part of my father’s excuses for his selfish behavior.
Still, Father does what he can to control the narrative. “I visited my poor daughter, hoping to find a new way to get her out of there. The ease of prison life we were all sold on turned out not to be true at all. My heart broke when I saw my princess in the orange jumpsuit.”
That’s it. I can endure a lot. I know my role is to stand where I’m told and speak as I’m instructed. But this, I cannot handle.
I’ve found my voice, and I cannot turn it off now.
I spin on my stiletto and march right back up the steps, elbowing my father out of the way just as rudely as he dismissed me from my speech. “If any of you are buying that load of rubbish, then King Regis can have you!”
I ignore the laughter from the reporters, the wide eyes of the onlookers, and the guffaw of my father. I grip the podium as if I’m afraid I might be uprooted from the spot, which I know it very well might come to.
“The truth is that my father made a series of poor choices. He committed a crime, to start with. Not me. Him. Then he was caught in the crime.” I turn and lock eyes with my father. “A rookie mistake.”
This earns me a few whistles for standing up to the old man. Everyone has a healthy fear of him, but I refuse to lump myself in that category any longer.
“Then he shuffled the responsibility onto me. What the great Conan Valentine means to say is that he’s sorry.