REESE

chapter fifty two.

Taking a long sip of his Scotch, he shook his head disappointingly. This inner turmoil that swarmed his heart and head wasn't new. The fear of failing as a father was one he was well versed with. He didn't want to end up like his dad, he couldn't, wouldn't let that happen with him and Reese.

Pushing his eyebrows together, a thought came to his mind. Remembering his daughter wasn't the only one to rebel against orders and recklessly put her life on the line, he turned towards the English Don.

"How are you not furious at Carver?" He asked Stephen, genuine confusion lacing his tone. "They took no soldiers with them to Import Lane. They had no backup, no plan and no regard for the people they left behind. A mere week later we experienced first hand just how wrong a mission on Baudelaire territory could go."

Fear and pain ran their swift course down his spine just like the dozens of times they had before at the reminder of what happened to Reese and Carver. "What happened on the Port of Paris was no one's fault but if something happened to them that night on Import lane, it would have been because of their own doing."

He watched as Stephen winced at the memory. The heaviness of the conversation that was about to occur, evident in his expression. "I was furious." He replied with a somber tone. "But my son is no child, neither is your daughter. They are our first-borns, our heirs. They are independent from us now. They need to learn by making mistakes and they need to learn from their failures and successes, even if they prove to be fatal."

"That's bullshit." Jonathon scoffed. "Absolute bullshit. Our livelihood is one of constant politics, bloodshed and fatality. I am well aware."

Mouth pinched, he struggled against his rising anger.

"I am also well aware that my daughter is my heir. She is to inherit everything from me and expand it tenfold, but do not sit in front of me and tell me an eighteen-year-old and a nineteen-year-old aren't children, they are. Despite what they have been through in the last decade, they are still children, not yet fully grown. The day I start regarding my daughter as an entity completely independent from me is the day I turn as cold and cruel as my father and I will not let that happen."

"Jonathon." Stephen began, his tone turning more soft. "I didn't mean to imply—"

"I know." Jonathon interrupted the English Don before an unwanted apology could be made. "You weren't implying anything, I'm just angry." He admitted ruefully. "I apologize for that but that particular line of thinking was what I grew up with and I hate it. When did we as a society start viewing teenagers as adults? If I am a terrible father because I want to shelter my kid and have her safe under my care for as long as possible then so be it."

He shrugged, a self-protecting movement. He couldn't gauge the reactions of those around him just yet. He didn't know if they thought he was simply crazy or they sympathized with his passion.

"Reese and Carver have already been through hell. Am I wrong to not want them to experience any more? I want my daughter to experience life on her own, I want her to flourish, I want her to make mistakes but if she is making ones that could cost her her life then it is my duty as her father to reprimand her. I don't give a fuck if anyone thinks I'm wrong for it, nor do I care if she hates me for it."

He knew that last part was a flat out lie but circumstances called for extremities so extremities he would bring.

Silence immersed the room in discomfort.