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“Sure,” Gulliver says as the rest of the group stays quiet, still a little shocked by today’s unexpected turn of events.
“Can you take us to Fetch, please? It’s near the Kingsacre campus,” I call to the driver, who nods silently.
Pressing the button, I wait while the privacy screen slowly rises, hiding us from his eyes and ears. Once it’s completely closed, I turn and look at my Princess sitting beside me. Her eyes are wide and a little glassy. I wish I could take away all the pain she’s in right now, but I have no idea what I can do to help other than just be here for her.
“Did all of that just happen?” she asks, her voice soft and a little shaky.
“Fucking hell, Pen, you’re richer than all of us combined,” Davis says, laughing, like it’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard.
“I don’t want it,” she sighs.
“Fuck that,” Kip cries. “You’ve earned every fucking penny for all the shit you’ve been through since your great-grandfather died. I hope the asshole’s rotting in hell for all the crap he’s put you and Izzy through. Your mom and dad are going to shit a brick when they find out you still got all the money.” He laughs.
“Half of it is Izzy’s,” Penelope says, in the same tone you’d say Tag, you’re it.
“I don’t—” Izzy starts.
“Half of it’s yours, I’d give it all to you if you’d have it,” my Princess shouts, her panic so obvious it fills the interior of the limo, thickening the air.
“None of you have realized what this means yet, have you?” Gulliver asks, his voice silencing us.
“What?” Izzy asks.
“Now that Pen has signed the paperwork officially accepting the inheritance, we own one hundred percent of the shares in Rhodes Corp., we own it all.” He laughs. “We don’t even need to put firing your dad to a vote, you can just fire him.”
Penelope’s body visibly tenses, and she turns her wide, fearful eyes on me.
When I smirk, her eyes immediately warm even as they fill with tears. Her lips tip up at the corners, and a laugh bursts from her. “Oh my god,” she cries, covering her mouth with her hand as more laughter escapes, and the tears she’s been battling back finally fall, raking paths down her cheeks. “We can fire Dad,” she gasps.
Izzy starts to laugh too. “Oh my god, can I do it? I want to do it.” She giggles.
“Can we record it? I want to see his face from every angle,” Princess cries, laughing so hard she bends at the waist, her whole body shaking.
“Girls, you’re thinking too small; firing him is only the start,” Gulliver says, an ominous amusement lacing his words.
* * *
Thirteen days later
It’s been almost two weeks since Penelope signed all of the lawyer’s paperwork and officially became the sole beneficiary of Reginald Rhodes the Second’s estate. The moment it was all legal, she engaged Mr. Stanton to gift half of everything to Izzy.
Even though she’s only half as rich as she was, I can still see the weight this money is putting on my girl. Part of me wants to insist she give it all away, but the truth is, I don’t think she should. Like Kip said, she’s more than earned that inheritance. Even if she only uses it for therapy or leaves it in trust for our kids, it’s still hers, and her blood, sweat, and tears coat every dime.
I know her monsters are fighting to consume her right now, she’s solemn and withdrawn, except for when I drag her out of herself, replacing her demons with my control, the way she begged me to in the darkroom that day.
I’m hoping what we plan to do next might somewhat unburden her. When we got the full list of assets that were part of the estate, we discovered some very interesting things, and with a little help from our very helpful new lawyer, we’ve put some fun stuff in place.
My girl wanted revenge, it’s what brought us all together, it’s what united us, and in a day’s time, she’ll have it. She told us all that it wasn’t fair that her parents got off scot-free, that they got to pretend they weren’t involved in all the terrible things they all did in pursuit of a fortune, and she was right.
Even now, estranged from both of their daughters, Trudy and Barnaby Rhodes haven’t shown even an ounce of remorse for the way they’ve treated their children. But soon they’ll understand that every action has a consequence, and for my beautiful fiancée, I really hope revenge will be sweet.
38
PENELOPE
Waiting is the worst thing in the world. There’s something about sitting and watching the clock count down that makes time go slower than it ever has before. Nervous, excited butterflies are swirling around inside of me as I force myself to sit still when all I want to do is pace the room or run away.
I wanted this. I asked for help to get revenge on my parents because I wanted them to feel just a glimpse of the pain and agony I feel every day for the things I’ve done. But I figured out a while back that to feel remorse, you have to have a soul, you have to have feelings and a conscience, and my parents have none of them. Trudy and Barnaby Rhodes are soleless entities, entirely driven by their own needs and wants and without an ounce of regard for anything or anyone else.
