“Hello, my wonderful daughters. Did you miss me?”
Wonderful daughters?
Miss him?
Is he fucking serious right now?
The three gazed at him in disbelief, disgust, and anger. This was the man who had made them go through hell and sat by, watching.
The burn scar on the right side of his face that disfigured him made the girls wonder where he got it. They couldn’t deny the fact that the man looked even scarier than he did years ago.
“That was quite a holiday for you three, wasn’t it?” Maximus grinned as he stepped closer, his gaze unreadable.
“Where’s my baby?!” Issabella, who was behind her older sisters, spoke first.
Maximus looked at her. “My granddaughter is fine, sweetie. I’m not going to hurt her.”
“Give her back! She is not your granddaughter!” Issabella spat.
“And you don’t know her father,” Maximus mocked with a gentle laugh.
“Haven’t you done enough?” Maya spoke this time. She was at the front, Tatiana was behind her, trying to manage herself, and Issabella’s eyes welled up with tears, her breath ragged with anger.
“Are you even human? Why did you fake Issabella’s death? Why?! Why can’t you just let us be?!”
“Let you be? You’re a Wallington…”
“I’m married, remember? You sold me off to a bastard named Mason Jones who took pleasure in torturing me. The man gave me nine miscarriages and internal bleeding. Why am I even telling you this? You fucking know what’s going on with me, and you just sat your fucking ass doing nothing!” Maya yelled, tears streaming down her face as she tried to catch her breath.
“Mason was an asshole. But hey, come to think of it… it made you stronger, and I got the empire I wanted from him,” Maximus spoke calmly.
“You son of a bitch!” Maya made to step forward, but the men behind Maximus aimed their guns at them.
“Mason Jones was a temperamental person, just like his father. You shouldn’t have angered him,” Maximus said.
Maya’s face contorted in disbelief. Her voice trembled. “You knew?” The man didn’t reply. “You knew what kind of man Mason Jones was, and yet you married me off to him.”
“I did what was best for the family,” Maximus said, his voice devoid of emotion. “You were just a pawn in a larger game, Maya. And pawns are meant to be sacrificed.”
Maya’s eyes widened in horror, and she became speechless.
Maximus’s gaze went to Issabella’s angry eyes.
“I told you I was going to give you a surprise. Well, this is it,” he raised his arm in the air. “A lovely reunion with your sisters and father. Don’t you like it?” Maximus gave off a dark chuckle.
He is insane!
“We’re not your daughters. No sane man would treat his own blood like this!” Maya uttered through gritted teeth.
Maximus brushed his tongue over his lower lip. The scar on his face made him look even more terrifying.
“Not my daughter? Sorry to break this to you, but the night you were created inside Yara’s womb, I was the one pinning her to the bed while slamming my cock behind her,” Maximus smirked.
“You don’t talk shit about my mother!” Tatiana snapped and stepped forward, forgetting the sting in her stomach.
The men aimed their guns, but Tatiana didn’t waver.
Yara was the three girls’ late mother, Maximus’s first wife, who died on her sickbed years ago.
The grin on Maximus’s face widened, as if he had been waiting for Tatiana to speak the whole time.
With a cold gaze, Tatiana bellowed, “I can’t believe she fell in love with a monster like you, or maybe you deceived her. Don’t you think I know the story? Of how you fell in love with a tycoon’s heiress-my mother. You were nothing, Maximus, you were just a rat on the street… It makes me wonder if my mother, Yara, really died on her sickbed. It’s quite mysterious how you immediately gripped every single thing she owned and…”
Maximus gripped Tatiana’s throat like a vice, and her words went back in as she choked. He slammed her back against the nearest wall, his eyes cold as they bore into Tatiana’s.
Tatiana’s lips slowly curled up. She got the answer she needed. Her smile disappeared when he tightened his grip on her neck.
He looked at the men behind him. He ordered, “Take the other girls out. I’d like to be alone with her.”
“No!” Maya stepped forward, but one of the men blocked her path.
“Tatie!” Issabella called worriedly, tears dripping down her face.
“Don’t hurt her, you’ve done enough!” Maya yelled.
“Do I have to gun you all down before you obey my fucking order?!” Maximus roared at his men, and they immediately began to drag Maya and Issabella out.
“No!”
“Let go of me, asshole!”
“Tatie!”
Maya and Issabella struggled, but their strength was no match for the men. Their voices trailed off as the door shut.
Maximus turned his gaze back to Tatiana, who was struggling to get some air. He loosened his grip just enough for her to catch her breath. As soon as she did, Tatiana spat on his face.
“Bastard,” she muttered with a hateful glare.
Maximus sighed, his face contorting with anger.
Tatiana added, “I’ll be the one to kill you, I promise you that.”
He suddenly hit her hard in the stomach, the area where her wound was located. A loud cry left her lips as she slowly slid to the floor. The pain hit her core, but she tried to bear it in order not to satisfy the man before her.
She looked at her wound and saw it was bleeding again.
‘Fuck,’ she cursed inwardly and slowly looked up at the man-monster wiping her saliva off his face.
“How did you find out about your mother?” He pulled out a small bottle of alcohol and took a drink from it.
When she didn’t reply, he turned to look at her. “Did Catelyn tell you all of this?”
Tatiana rested her back against the wall and smiled, even though she was in pain.
“No, I found out myself.”
Maximus smiled, one that seemed almost proud. “You’ve always been a pain in the ass. I’ve always loved your potential ever since you were little. You’ve got my blood thick in you…”
“I’m not like you. I care about my people; I care about my family.”
“I am your family. Your father.”
“You’re not. Stop saying that, it sounds so disgusting!” she yelled. “You’re disgusting!”
“It’s a truth you can’t change, Tatiana,” he said, drinking more of his alcohol. “You’re a Wallington… or should I say, a King?”
Tatiana stayed quiet for a while. He knew? She wasn’t surprised, but still, she wanted to know how he knew.
“Are you surprised that I know your little secret, Mrs. King?” he said lightly. “I saw how you fought your way up; it was really impressive, if you ask me. You have talent, but you’re wasting it on the wrong side. Little Rebel.”
This time, Tatiana frowned slightly.
Maximus continued, “That’s what he usually calls you, right?” His smile widened. “I’ve got a little bird that follows you around, Tatiana, don’t be surprised.”
Little bird?
He approached and stopped close to her. “Now, I’ve got a proposal for you. Wasting you would be such a dumb thing to do.”
“If you’re about to ask me to join your sick empire, don’t waste your time,” Tatiana cut in.
“It’s not a request. Unless, of course, you want to watch every single thing you love burn to the ground,” he said coldly.
Tatiana chuckled at his words. “Speaking of burns, that scar looks so lovely on your face. Where did you get it?”
Maximus’s face suddenly turned cold. His menacing aura intensified, and his eyes darkened as he stared down at her.
“Someone you’re scared of?” Tatiana smirked, but it dropped when Maximus replied.
“Mr. King did it.”