by the end of tomorrow or you will suffer the consequences. You all will.”
“Or maybe you will,” I point out, straightening my spine. “You’ve not suffered one consequence in your life. Even cheating on your wife. It was your kids, me, and Mum who suffered. The people you take from… they lose everything, but you… you get away with it all. I’m done being a pawn. I’m done with you blackmailing me, and I’m done with you trying to control my life. I’m done. Now I suggest you leave.”
“You don’t want to do this,” he warns, his voice low, quiet.
A shiver races down my spine as his icy gaze slams into me. “I-I—”
“I know people who, for a few hundred, would love to torture your mum. Her care isn’t the only thing I can hold over your head, Evelyn.”
I take a step back in horror, my hand covering my mouth. “You wouldn’t.”
He smirks, seeing he hit the mark. “I would. She’s irrelevant. She isn’t the only thing I can use over you and you shouldn’t forget that,” he threatens. “I have recordings of you that could be uploaded to the web within seconds. And let’s not forget your boyfriend. The things I could do to him and his brothers would destroy them. Maybe their mum needs to be paid a visit next.”
The blood drains from my face as I stare at the monster in front of me. “You are a monster.”
“If the memory stick isn’t returned tomorrow, I’ll start with you, Evelyn. I’ll make you regret defying your father.”
“You are not my father,” I growl, wiping at the tear that rolls down my cheek.
“Unfortunately, I am. If I have to take matters into my own hands, it’s not going to be pretty, Evelyn.”
“Your face isn’t pretty,” Rebecca snaps, walking up the path to stand beside me. She crosses her arms, glaring at Andrew. “You should leave.”
“I do not take orders from you,” he spits out.
Rebecca grins, holding her phone up but close to her chest. “Oh, but if you don’t, I’ll be sending this recording to the police. I mean, I only got you threatening bodily harm to her mum, but that’s enough.”
He goes to reach for her phone, his face red, veins bulging at his temples. “Give it to me.”
She pulls back. “Leave!”
“Do you think I’ll leave when you have that?” he growls, shaking with rage.
“Yes, because if you don’t, I’ll send it to everyone in my email contacts and upload it all over my social media accounts, and we both know I have enough followers for this to reach the right places.”
He snaps his gaze to me, his expression stony with murderous intent. I inhale sharply. He’s looked at me in many ways, but never once have I felt like my life was in jeopardy. Until now, I didn’t realise how deprived he was of humanity. I always thought I had built him up to be the monster because of how he treated me and Mum, but looking at him now, it was never made up. He truly is sick in the head.
“I’ll be seeing you, Evelyn. Do not forget what is at stake. I want what is mine.”
As soon as he turns his back to us, I rush for the door, pushing Rebecca in before slamming it shut behind me.
My legs feel like jelly as we rush up the stairs and let ourselves into my flat.
“Okay,” Rebecca starts, catching her breath as her shaky hand runs over her ponytail. “What the fuck was that outside?”
“Did you really record it?” I ask, hopeful. We could go to the police. There would be no need to do what we had planned with regards to breaking into his office.
“No,” she admits, and my shoulders sag in defeat. “I’m going to push my friend to look through your mum’s file and find out where you stand. I’ll even let her know what was said outside. She’s good at her job.”
“This is a clusterfuck. What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know, bab. What was he after?”
“A memory stick Wyatt’s younger brothers stole. They think it has blackmail on,” I explain, then run through everything Wyatt and Jaxon told the group earlier on in the day after they met with a client, all the while grabbing two glasses and heading for the front room to lounge on the sofa.
Rebecca tucks her feet up. “This is bigger than we assumed.”
“I know.”
“And there is no way after that performance downstairs that we’ll be able