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He lets out a bitter laugh, the sound echoing through the room. “Life happened,” he says, his voice laden with weariness. “Choices were made, mistakes were born. You shouldn’t have come here, son, you shouldn’t have broughtherhere. It isn’t safe. For either of you.”
“Odi? What do you mean?”
My father’s eyes, once fierce and commanding, now hold a glimmer of concern. He takes a step forward, his movements hesitant yet purposeful. “It’s not safe for her here,” he repeats, his voice strained with emotion. “He’s watching. And he has plans in place. As soon as the ink’s dry on the marriage certificate… He’s not something she can escape from.”
Confusion gnaws at me as I struggle to comprehend his words. We know Odi is in danger, know that Axel’s father has plans. It’s thewhythat eludes us.
I search his face for answers, the weight of our shared history hangs heavy in the air, suffocating. “I don’t understand,” I admit, my voice barely above a whisper. “What has Odi got to do with anything? What are you hiding?”
He takes a deep breath, finally breaking eye contact and shifting his gaze to the ground. Each word that leaves his lips carries an unbearable weight, as if speaking them aloud dredges up the pain and regret that have plagued him all these years.
“A long time ago,” he begins, his voice quivering with a mixture of guilt and sorrow, “I made a deal. A foolish bargain born out of desperation and greed. It was meant to bring us wealth and security, but instead...it brought darkness.”
I lean against the doorframe, my legs suddenly weak beneath me. Memories flash through my mind – memories of whispers in the night, of secret meetings and hushed conversations thatalways seemed just out of reach. My father had never spoken about this before, never hinted at the demons that haunted him.
“The Hunting Grounds,” I manage to say through clenched teeth.
My father nods. “I could never have won it on my own, none of us could, so we made a bargain with the devil to work together.”
“Abbot Senior,” I seethe.
“The agreement was always that the power of the win would be split equally between us. I was to reap the business rewards, The General would take the political, and he would build a criminal empire to rival any this country had ever seen.”
“I know this,” I spit. “You’ve never seemed unhappy with your lot.”
“There was no issue, until The Doe.” My father sighs deeply. “I loved her, but because Abbot had the most power, she was to be his. He married her, fucked her, and killed her, just because he could, and to keep me in my place. Then he gifted me your mother and forced me to wed her. Every single thing he’s done, every single person in our lives, is there because he’s placed them there. He leaves nothing to chance and there’s no such thing as coincidences.”
Fucking hell. I reel from his words but can’t let myself get distracted.
“But why is Odi in danger?” I ask, my voice trembling with the tension of the moment. “What does any of this have to do with her?”
My father’s expression hardens, the weight of his past bearing down on him like a mountain of stone. “It’s all connected,” he replies, his voice thick with emotion and booze.
“Odi?” I push, my fear, frustration and anger growing with each revelation.
“He’s trying to protect himself, to keep the secret hidden,” he answers, his gaze flicking towards the broken window. The moonlight outside casts eerie shadows across his face, highlighting the age lines that now betray him. “He needs to maintain the balance of power, and Odi is the key to that. The child is the key. It’s why he needed her pregnant, why she has to marry his son tomorrow. Once he’s dead, he’ll claim ownership over them both because she’s the missing piece in the games, the one area we could never claim ultimate control over.”
“The balance of power?” I echo, my confusion mounting. My father is clearly trying to tell me something, to warn me of what’s to come, but I just can’t connect the dots. What am I missing? Desperation and frustration cloud my mind.
“Yes,” he confirms, his voice steady despite the turmoil in his eyes. “The Hunting Grounds have been part of the Abbot’s legacy for generations, and he’s not only determined to stop it falling into the wrong hands, but he wants to claim the final piece of the power puzzle for himself. It’s why he killed her mother.”
“Axel’s dad killed Odi’s mum?”
“Yes. He needed to ensure she was completely alone and broken. So that she would come back to you all and could become The Doe. The plan was always for her to end up with Axel in the end. But that’s a bad idea,” he adds darkly.
“What do I do, dad?” I ask desperately. My heart pounds in my ears as dread washes over me. What does he mean? And why does he speak of Odi as if she holds the key to everything?
“Odi has power beyond your comprehension,” he continues, his voice laced with both awe and envy. “Power that will change the course of our world. Once she is wedded to Axel, their combined power will make his father unstoppable, and if they defy him, he’ll use the child as collateral.”
“Fuck!” I bark, scrubbing my hands through my hair. Rose is in danger? I need to tell the others. “Can’t you just tell me who Odi is? Stop speaking in riddles and help me!”
I blink and my father is advancing towards me, a gun in his hand.What the fuck is going on?I think to myself. My father’s eyes are glazed with something altogether different than before. Something sinister. He raises the gun, pointing it directly at me. Panic surges through my veins, urging me to run, to escape this nightmare, but my feet are rooted to the spot. I’m the only thing standing between my father and Odi right now.
I shouldn’t have brought a knife to a gun fight.
“Dad?” I manage to choke out, my voice barely a whisper. “What’s happening?”
A cruel smile curls upon his lips, his face contorting into an expression I’ve never seen before – even all the times he was beating the life out of me.
