“Yes.”
“We’re going to have a long conversation about your attitude when you come home, young lady.”
I couldn’t help but scowl when she said that.
“Just please tell me what’s really happening,” Addie said, her voice even. “I think I deserve to know.”
There was a loud, exasperated sigh on the phone. “Fine, I suppose you’re right. Your father and I both needed some more campaign money. You know how tedious fundraising is nowadays. Then out of nowhere comes an organization who were willing to give us a lot of money. All we had to do was back off on criticizing bikers for a while. Those donations helped a lot. They kept giving more and more. But the demands grew higher. Until they just wanted a few minutes alone with you on a deserted road. So we decided to stage a kidnapping. It was a win-win for everyone. They could be alone with you and we would get sympathy in the polls.”
I felt sick to my stomach. Her parents had sold her to the Demons for donations? It felt horrific.
“Mom, do you know who those people are? They run brothels and deal drugs. There’s only one reason why they would have wanted me alone.”
“I’m sure you’re exaggerating.”
Addie swallowed. “I need you to stop vilifying Luke in the media.”
“Is that the man who ruined everything?”
“He’s the one who protected me and kept me safe, yes.”
“You’ve slept with him, haven’t you? I knew you were just waiting to be a little whore.” She scoffed. “You always were a disgrace to the family.”
I wished I was in the same room as her parents. I would love to be able to tell them exactly what I thought about their ‘family’.
“I’m not done.” Addie’s voice was calm but a tear fell down her cheek, betraying her sadness. “I don’t ever want to talk to you against after this call. I don’t want any part of this charade anymore. You’ll leave me alone after this. Or I’ll tell everyone what you did.”
“No one would believe you. You don’t have any evidence.”
“We both know I don’t need evidence. I just need to spread doubt about you. And the donations from the Demons will dry up because they weren’t able to kidnap me.”
There was a beat of silence on the other end before the mother spoke. “So that’s it, huh? You’re just going to abandon us? After everything we’ve done for you?”
“You haven’t done anything for me,” she said. “All of the fancy clothes, the parties, and the education were all for you. Not me. All I wanted was to celebrate my birthday by driving down the road by myself and you wouldn’t even let me do that. It was my birthday, Mom!”
“It’s only the day after your birthday.”
“Yes, but it’s the one that counted for me and you know that. So from now on, I need you to back off. I’m not coming home. And you need to stop vilifying Luke. Or I’ll tell everyone who will listen and we both know a lot of people will listen.”
“Well, what am I supposed to tell the press? Our own daughter abandoned us to live with some dirty biker she just met?”
Addie clenched her jaw. “Tell them I died for all I care. If you don’t fix this by tonight, then I’ll be holding a press conference of my own.” She hung up and tossed her phone to the side before her mother could respond.
“Jesus,” I said. “That was amazing. You were merciless.”
“I learned from the best,” she said. Then her face crumpled as she started to sob.
I held her tight against my chest as she cried. I rubbed her back, wishing I could do more to comfort her. I wanted to take away all of her pain and sadness, but I knew that was possible. But the first step was standing up to her parents. Now she could begin to heal. And I would help her with that for as long as she let me. “I’m so proud of you, little one,” I said.
“Thank you, Daddy,” she said. She looked up at me, her face tear-stained. “I’m really sleepy now. I think I want to take a nap.”
I brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Of course, little one. You’ve had a long day.” I stood up and picked her up. She wrapped her arms around my neck as I carried her out of the living room and down the hall.
I tucked her into bed in the bedroom. She curled up and almost immediately went to sleep. I smiled a little, happy she would at least sleep peacefully.
She had a long road ahead of her. If she wasn’t living with her parents, then that meant she had to find a new place to live and figure out the rest of her future. I would be happy to help her, of course, but it would still be difficult. But maybe in the meantime, I could make it a little brighter.