“How’d he convince her to stay?” My voice came out rough.
“He stood between her and the world.”
“Still does,” I murmured, realigning every interaction between my parents for my entire life.
The sound of a train whistle carried through the phone. Cedric must have been catching the subway home. “Look, I gotta go. But think about what kind of man you want to be. The kind who takes what he wants? Or the kind who protects what he loves?”
“Sounds like Dad did both.”
He hummed softly. “What’s your plan, then?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
“Figure it out. And Tris?” His voice dropped lower. “When you do, remember—true submission comes from trust, not manipulation.”
11
INTERLUDE
Dmitri
Carter owns all of Jackson’s debt.
Aleksandr
ok
Dmitri
She’s going to owe another 150k for this hospital stay.
Aleksandr
ok
Aleksandr
I need you to liquidate $150k of stock.
Stock Broker
Why?
Aleksandr
I don’t pay you to ask stupid fucking questions.
12
EVA
Tristan followedus the whole way home, and I hated how I couldn’t stop looking at the passenger side mirror to see if he was okay, driving through the winter weather in Cole’s ridiculous sports car.
Stop caring about him, Eva. He doesn’t deserve it.
Dad drove in silence, his knuckles white on the steering wheel, glancing over at me from time to time, as if to make sure I wasn’t going to shatter into pieces.
I was angry. Rageful. My chest burned with it, fury at Jed fucking Carter coursing through my veins like poison. I’d get my revenge, no matter what it took, no matter who I had to destroy.