Finnegan

The memorial room suddenly felt even smaller with just the two of us in it. Everyone had left, just Mother and I standing in the room while Devin’s photograph watched from the wall.

"Angel is becoming unmanageable," she scoffed, staring at her precious son’s picture.

"That whole display was disrespectful and embarrassing. You indulge her too much."

I bit back the retort building in my head. The anger that I had been managing to keep down spiked at the way she spoke about my daughter.

"What did you actually want to say? I have things to do."

Her eyes tore off Devin’s picture to look at me, a glimmer of surprise in them. She cleared her throat then and continued.

"End the merger with Dorian company. We don’t need his company to promote the cars Wolfe manufactures, and the merger won’t benefit us in the way you think it will. I want you to scrap it."

The nerve of her to ask me that after she tried to ruin my fucking life. How could she even look at me?

How could she order me around after setting me up to take the fall? Christ, was I really, really that indispensable to her?

My fists clenched tightly, my nails digging into my skin, and in a low, furious voice, I replied. "No,"

Mother blinked, her brows raised in amusement. "I beg your pardon? What do you mean, No?"

"The Dorian merger is my decision," I cleared my throat, adjusting my suit jacket.

It felt fucking unnerving having to refuse Mother, but at this rate, it had to be done. "I decide if it benefits the company or not."

"What do you know?" Her lips tightened as she turned to face me fully. "Have you even considered the complications?"

"It is my decision either way."

She scoffed dismissively and reached for her bag. "Whatever, when you’re done throwing a tantrum, send me the contract when you’ve dissolved it. I’ll want to review the terms-"

"I won’t be sending you anything." I spat out to keep the lid on my anger anymore.

Why did she never take me seriously? If she thought this was going to be like all the rest of my life, where all I wanted to do was measure up to her precious Devin, then she was wrong. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

That was over. I was done!

"The merger stands. And Mother-" I waited until she looked at me properly.

"Keep your distance from the company. Only attend the Board meetings that require your presence."

"Everything else, the decorators, the interviews you schedule on my behalf, the conversations you have with my legal team without my knowledge, all of that stops now."

Mother let out a peal of laughter, her eyes narrowing in disbelief, then widening as if she couldn’t process what was happening.

"After everything I have sacrificed," She hissed. "I should have known this would happen,"

Stop talking like you weren’t going to sacrifice me! I wanted to bellow, but that would be a fucking slip-up.

"I’m leaving," I announced, not wanting to stick around for her emotional blackmail.

"Finnegan!" She demanded behind me as I walked out of the room. "Come back here. I am not finished. I said come back here!"

I stepped out of the door and closed it behind me, breathing harshly.

River and Angel stood several feet from the door, with Angel behind River, while Victoria argued with her.

"...have every right to see my daughter, you stupid, nosy-oh, hi honey," A wide, saccharine smile slid on my wife’s face when she saw me approach.

She stepped toward me, her hand reaching for my arm. "We could all have lunch together, the four of us. There’s that place near the harbor that Angel loves-"

I removed her hand from my arm and stepped past her to Angel, taking my daughter’s hand.

"The divorce papers are all arriving any time soon, Victoria," I told her curtly. "This has gone on long enough."

The smile on her lips only widened. "It can only be over when I say it’s over."

River groaned next to me. "Oh, get over yourself, Victoria. Geez. Why are we still here, Finn? The longer I stay, the longer we’ll keep inhaling all this foul air."

Angel cackled, swinging my arm with hers, but stopped when Victoria fixed her a dirty look before strutting off.

My daughter gazed up at me, her green eyes barely hiding how hurt she was. "Can we still go to the beach?"

"Yes," I murmured, ruffling her hair. "We can still go to the beach."

***

"It’s about time someone stood up to Aunt Gina." River sipped from her Pina colada, digging her feet in the sand, watching the water.

"But Finn, if she was willing to go as far as framing you for crimes, I’m still shocked as hell about that. Who knows what she’ll do now that you’re no longer a mommy pleaser?"

"Jesus Christ, don’t call me that," I groaned, leaning back against my mat, taking in the beautiful beach scenery.

"Dad, look!" Angel screamed a few meters away, where she had built a sandcastle as tall as she was.

"I call this the fortress of doom! Come on, let’s play, you’ll be the knight, and I’ll be the dragon who wants to destroy the fortress."

I chuckled, pushing off the mat slowly. River did the same next to me.

"Shouldn’t it be the other way around?" I questioned.

"And if it’s the fortress of doom, why is the knight defending it?" River chipped in.

"Great, suddenly you two are now storytelling experts," Angel rolled her eyes. "Just for that, Aunt River, you’re the dragon and Dad’s the damsel in distress."

I barked a laugh, moving closer to the sand castle, my feet digging in the sand as my cousin trudged next to me.

"Does she know about Victoria and Angel?"

I froze mid-step at her whispered question, glancing to see if Angel heard her, but my daughter was too busy piling more sand into a bucket.

"I want the divorce finalized first." I ran my fingers through my hair, a look of anxiety creasing my face "Then I’ll tell her."