Page 83 of Pregnant By A Rich Demon 2

“I put roofs over their heads,” I said. “I put food on their tables. I gave them educations, connections, power. I made them into men who command respect in this city.” I set the cup down with a sharp click. “That’s what a father does, Odette. He builds. He provides. He ensures his sons have what they need to survive.”

“That’s not love.”

“Love is a luxury,” I interrupted. “And luxuries get you killed in our world.”

She was crying now.

Silent tears running down her face.

“Amai will stay married to Yahmaria,” I said. “Kaisen will stay in line. And you will stop interfering in things you don’t understand.” I straightened my cuffs. “Are we clear?”

Odette didn’t answer.

Just sat there crying, powerless.

The same way she’d sat for twenty years.

“I have a meeting,” I said, moving toward the door. “Rest. You need your strength.”

“One day, Winston, one of them is going to become exactly what you made him. And you’re going to act surprised when he turns on you.”

“We’ll see.”

I left her there.

Alone in the sitting room.

Crying over sons she couldn’t protect from a husband she couldn’t leave.

Because she’d made her choice years ago.

And choices had consequences.

Even for women who thought love was enough.

My driver was already at the car, door open, waiting.

I slid into the back seat without a word.

The leather was cool against my skin. The air conditioning was set to exactly sixty-eight degrees—the way I preferred it. Everything in my world operated precisely how I dictated it.

My phone rang before we’d even pulled out of the driveway.

Dr. Beaumont.

I answered on the second ring.

“Dr. Beaumont. This better be?—”

“Mr. Landry!” Her voice was high-pitched, panicked, the careful professional tone completely shattered. “Mr. Landry, there’s been an incident at the clinic and I—oh my God, I don’t even know where to start!”

“Calm the fuck down,” I said flatly. “And speak clearly.”

She took a shaky breath. When she spoke again, her voice had shifted—that code-switching thing she did when she was stressed, suddenly all white-girl panic instead of the measured professional she usually was.

“Amai came to the clinic. He just showed up. And Kaisen was in the lobby with Truth and they—they got into a fight. A really bad fight. And Amai had a knife and?—”

My fingers tightened around the phone before I could stop them.