“You’re marrying Sean Donnelly,” he announced with a cruel smirk plastered on his face.
“No, I’m not.”
He leaned forward, his elbows on the desk. “Yes. You. Are.”
I shook my head. “No way. Do you have any idea what that psycho did to me when we were younger? He’s deranged—a complete lunatic. I can’t marry him. I won’t. I refuse to go anywhere near him.”
“This is not a negotiation, Rhiannon. I’m in talks with his father. The marriage is a solid plan to unify our families’ power. With the Donnellys’ help, we won’t need the Salvatores or the Cormacs anymore.”
“Don’t you have enough power on your own? What kind of crime boss needs the help of everyone else?”
He sneered at me. “You better watch your tongue, girl. I let you live abroad for the past five years. It is because I allowed it. Not because you got over on me. I knew about your every movement, every friend you made. So don’t fill your head with any ideas. You will obey me. That is final.”
“Sean is a monster.”
“What do you think I am? We’re no different. The Donnellys are just like us. Get the chip off your shoulder, Rhiannon. You may have everything you’ve ever wanted, but you’re not some fairytale princess. If you want to maintain your lifestyle, you will do as I say. No flack. No questions. I am the boss in this house.”
“I don’t need to live here. I can get my old job back at The Ink Yard.”
“Is that so?” Dad tilted his head to the side, his grin terrifying. “It would only take one phone call for your old boss to forget your name. After that, no one will hire you. Not in this town or any other. I will make sure of it.”
“How can you do this to me?” I shoved down the tears that burned my eyes, threatening to spill down my face. “I’m your only daughter.”
“Shame I didn’t have more of you. I could make more alliances.”
I scoffed at his disgusting comment.
Women were nothing more than pawns to men like him. Chess pieces on a board to move around as he pleased. The sad thing was he meant every word. He would have loved to have more daughters to sell off to the highest bidder.
“Sean Donnelly will be here at the end of the month to collect you.”
“No one is collecting me,” I shot back as I rose from the chair. “I’m not one of your fancy cars you can trade whenever you see fit.”
Dad’s nostrils flared. “I can do whatever I want with you. I own you, Rhiannon. You’re mine to control.”
He treated my mother like his property when she was alive. I wondered if she’d felt like a prisoner trapped inside her ivory tower. Weighing my options, I decided I would play the part of the dutiful daughter. I would never leave this house without an escort if I didn’t comply. I only had to make it look like I was coming to terms with the arrangement.
So I held my head high and plastered on a fake smile, trying not to cry. “I don’t like him, but I will marry Sean… if that’s what you need me to do.”
“You don’t have to like someone to marry them. And you sure as hell don’t have to like someone to fuck them.”
I cringed at his words. “Why is the alliance so important to his family?”
“I’ve run into a few complications overseas that require their help. They have the contacts I need—”
“The Donnellys helped in the past without getting something in return.”
“This is how the world works.”
Bottling up my rage, I clutched the arm of the chair, my fingers turning white from squeezing so hard. I wanted to punch him in the face. He was so damn smug and matter-of-fact, it pissed me off.
What kind of man sells his only child?
He would never call it that. Arranged marriages were common among the crime families—a tactic used to align those with all the power, so they could dominate the small fish. Over the years, my dad had slowly been losing his grip on the business. We had fewer men guarding the property than before. It was apparent he let the weekly landscaping lapse. Even the exterior of the old brick mansion was falling victim to its owner’s negligence.
“You have until the end of the month to enjoy your freedom.” He waved his hand in the air to dismiss me.
“I want to work at The Ink Yard until then.”
“As long as you stay put, I won’t stop you.”
I nodded, then stormed out of his office. His guards stepped to the sides, allowing me to pass like obedient dogs.
I grabbed car keys from the dish on the entryway table and flung open the front door. None of the guards out front stopped me as I rushed over to the ten-car garage on the west side of the house. My dad collected imports like they were cheap Matchbox cars. Maybe if he sold a few of his precious vehicles, he wouldn’t have to barter his daughter like cattle.