BOUND BY HATRED | TOM KAULITZ

CHAPTER TWO | TOM KAULITZ |

TOM KAULITZ

Nessa's party starts in less than an hour, but I'm still holed up with my parents in my father's office. His office is one of the biggest rooms in the house, larger than the master suite or the library. Which is fitting, because business is the center of our family—the core purpose of the Kaulitz clan.

I'm fairly certain my parents only had children so they could mold us into our various roles within their empire. They certainly meant to have more of us. There's four years between me and Natasha, which makes me and Bill 19 and her 15 and two between Natasha and Nessa.

Those gaps contain five failed pregnancies, each ending in miscarriage or stillbirth. The weight of all those missing children lays on my shoulders. I'm the eldest and the only son. The work of the Kaulitz men can only be done by me or Bill. But first, I'm the one to carry on our name and legacy.

Natasha would be irritated to hear me say that. She's infuriated by any intimation that there's a difference between us because I'm older and male. She swears she'll never get married or change her name. Or bear children, either. That part really pisses my parents off.

Nessa is much more pliable. She's a people-pleaser, and she wouldn't do anything to annoy dear old Mom and Dad. Unfortunately, she lives in a fucking fantasy world. She's so sweet and tender-hearted that she doesn't have the tiniest clue what it takes to keep this family in power. So she's pretty much useless. That doesn't mean I don't care about her, though. She's so genuinely good that it's impossible not to love her.

I'm pleased to see her so happy today. She's over the moon about this party, even though it barely has anything to do with her. She's running around sampling all the desserts, admiring the decorations, without a clue that the one and only reason for this event is to secure support for my campaign to become Alderman of the 43rd Ward. The election takes place in a month.

Next to the mayorship, it's the most powerful position in the city of Tokyo. For the last twelve years, the seat was held by Patrick Ryan, until he stupidly got himself thrown into prison. Before that, his mother Saoirse Ryan served for sixteen years. She was much better at her job, and demonstrably better at not getting caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

In many ways, being an Alderman is better than being a mayor. It's like being the emperor of your district. Thanks to Aldermanic Privilege, you have the final say on zoning and property development, loans and grants, legislation, and infrastructure. You can make money on the front end, the back end, and in the middle. Everything goes through you and everybody owes you favors. It's almost impossible to get caught.

I'm going to take control of Tokyo's most wealthy and powerful district. And then I'm going to parlay that into mayorship of the whole damn city. Because that's what Kaulitz do. We grow and build. We never stop. And we never get caught. The only problem is that the Alderman position is not uncontested. Of course it isn't—it's the crown jewel of power in this city. The two other main candidates are Kelly Hopkins and Bobby La Spata.

This is what I'm discussing with my parents. My father is leaning up against his desk, arms crossed over his chest. He's tall, fit, black hair cut stylishly, horn-rimmed glasses giving him an intellectual look. You'd never guess that he came up as a bruiser, smashing kneecaps at the Horseshoe when people failed to pay their debts.

My mother is slim and petite, with a sleek blonde bob. She's over by the window, watching the caterers set up on the lawn. I know she's anxious to get out there as quickly as possible, though she won't say anything about it until our meeting is over. She may look like the consummate socialite, but she's as deeply invested in the nuts and bolts of our business as I am.