Chapter 67

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The bare trees on either side of the narrow road leading to the correctional facility blurred into an indistinct mass as I hit the gas

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The bare trees on either side of the narrow road leading to the correctional facility blurred into an indistinct mass as I hit the gas.

My eyes stayed focused on the cracked asphalt ahead of me. Clutching the steering wheel, I took a lungful of air. The razor-wire fence and the observation towers came into view shortly after, making me slow down the car.

After I identified myself at the gate, the guard let me in. I'd phoned the prison earlier using the number my father's lawyer provided in every email he sent me. I was on my father's pre-approved visitation list.

The rage I felt upon learning that my father committed yet another despicable act was still there, poisoning my blood and clouding my judgement. His hatred toward me didn't surprise me anymore. I came to accept it and learned to live with it. Some things and people never changed.

My heart hurt for Ellie. She mastered the game of pretending, hiding her physical and emotional pain to make me feel better, being strong just to spare me more heartache. It was high time I put an end to all of it. The sick game my father played needed to be over sooner rather than later.

After going through all the necessary procedures,  I sat on a hard chair in the overcrowded visitation room, waiting for the person I wished I didn't have to see.

I was studying the scratched surface of a small table in front of me when I heard the footsteps that used to make me shake in fear as I waited for the imminent blow. My eyes met my father's. He took a seat across from me and put his clasped hands on the worn-out tabletop.

"Thank you for coming, Aiden."

The unexpected words were the trigger that made my anger resurface. "It was hard not to do it after you hired someone to harm the girl I love. Beating the shit out of me wasn't enough, was it? You had to hurt her too. What point did you want to make?"

My father stared at me. "What are you talking about?"

I laughed, shaking my head. "On top of it all, you're also a coward. Don't you dare lie to me! The individual who stabbed Ellie told her that Daniel Kennedy said hello."

"I shouldn't have trusted him," my father muttered. "How is she?"

"Why do you need to know? To ask whoever it was to do it again?"

"It wasn't supposed to happen. I saw the exhibition ad in the newspaper. I only asked him to follow her and say that to her. I told him not to do anything else."

"I don't believe you. Why did you have to hurt her?" My voice cracked this time. "She did nothing to you."

"How else could I make you come here? My lawyer emailed you and tried to call you, and you changed your number. I swear I didn't know that the guy would do something like that. He's just got out of prison. It was a way for him to earn some easy money. Is the girl okay?"

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