Stuff that.
“Sit down,” the biker snarls, shoving me forward to the chair.
I stumble a little but remain standing as I spin around and glare at him.
He smirks, pulling the chair out and raising one eyebrow.
“Now, now, Archer,” says Solomon almost humorlessly. “There’s no need for that. I’m sure Ivy will soon come to her senses when she realises that good behaviour will win her the right to contact her foster mother, while bad behaviour...” He shrugs expansively. “Let’s just say I know where she lives.”
Katy! I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her. Not that I believe this guy is my father at all. Either way, I’m stuck here until he figures out I’m not his daughter. I don’t move and the room soon becomes even more thick with tension.
Solomon watches me and then he turns a photo frame around on his desk. My knees feel weak as I see my mother, a young version of her with long blonde hair, a light blue dress and heels on…looking so much like her that it makes my heart pang. I don’t have many photos of her anymore and sometimes when I look at them, I can’t even remember when it was taken, making me feel guilty for forgetting. This one is new to me, and the younger man in the photo is Solomon, his arm wrapped around my mum’s waist. A bump under her dress that means I was in the photo.
Holy fuckcakes. I have a parent who is alive.
“Now take a seat. We have a lot to catch up on.” My father’s tone makes it clear he isn’t in the mood for any more rebellion, so I do as I’m told and sit.
“Good girl.” The way my father’s eyes crinkle when he smiles is like looking in a mirror. “Oh, my child. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment.”
“Really?” I raise an eyebrow. “Given that I’ve spent almost ten years bouncing from one foster home to another until Katy took me in, I find that hard to believe.”
“I am sorry about that.” It is hard to tell from his expression if he is sincere. “Perhaps if you hear the whole story, you’ll understand why I’ve done what I’ve done. Would you like some refreshments? A drink, perhaps, something to eat?”
As soon as he says it, my tummy rumbles, reminding me that I should have been sitting down to Katy’s cauliflower cheese right now.
“Okay.”
“Bring my daughter a coke and a grilled cheese sandwich,” Solomon orders.
How does he know my favourite comfort food?
Archer nods and leaves to follow orders like the good little lap dog he is. I watch him until he gets to the door and looks back. The smug expression in his eyes is something I’m desperate to smack off his face.
Bye, bye, Archer.
“When you were born, I was the proudest man alive,” Solomon sorry, dad–tells me. “I have always wanted a little girl, the first of a large family of Archaics. Sadly, your mother and I were not to be blessed with any more children, so instead, I devoted myself to you.”
I nod my head once, unsure of what to say to that.
“Not long after your second birthday, my father died, leaving me the sole heir to the Archaic fortune. Unfortunately, with great power comes great responsibility. You see, the Archaics are one of the four houses who own Kings Town. Until recently, this place was practically a war zone as the houses vied for dominance. We tried to topple the Kings who transformed this town into a slum overrun by junkies and gangsters. Then we converted it to one which is civilised and offers wealth and riches to those who are willing to work for it. The King family lives far away and their father died, therefore the town was left to its own devices. The truce between our four houses and families is everything, but I have failed as a leader of my family in the sense of having children. Around the time your mother left with you, I suffered a bad accident that left me incapable of having more children. Therefore, you are the only heir and that is a danger.” He stopped here for a moment, taking a sip of his brandy (Or water) before he continued.
“Nobody could know I had a daughter. As my sole heir, you are a prime target for kidnapping. I can’t risk my enemies getting their hands on you, but your mother and I were so much in love. There is no way she would agree to staying away from me to keep you safe, so I had no choice. I had to fake my death to take up the Archaic mantle, securing your safety.”
“Had to fake your death?” I scoffed. “You couldn’t, like, hire bodyguards? Mum wouldn’t have done anything to put me in danger. All you had to do was tell her what was going on. I’m sure you could have figured something out.”
My father stands up and lifts his shirt to reveal a nasty scar running from his belly button up to his chest. “I got that when one of the Dauphins ambushed me. And I was surrounded by bodyguards. It is thanks to them I survived the fight, but if they’d known about you, there’s no doubt in my mind you would have been taken and subjected to horrific torture. The only way I could keep you safe was if I disappeared from your lives until things had changed enough that you could join me by my side.”
Archer comes back into the room bringing my coke and a sandwich.
Opening the bottle, I take a deep swig, struggling to process everything I’m hearing. This is nuts!
“Thank you, Archer,” my father says. “Your help is much appreciated. You may leave now.”
Archer nods briskly and leaves without looking back once.
“All these years, I’ve been watching you from afar, observing your progress,” my father continues after Archer shut the door behind him. “I was devastated when I heard of your mother’s diagnosis. In fact, I went to see her, wanting to offer my help.”
“You saw my mother?” I laugh bitterly. “I bet that went well.”
Dad smiles ruefully. “Yeah. She wouldn’t forgive me for walking out, even though I explained how I was only trying to keep her safe.”
“Wonder why?” I mutter.
“I offered her money for private healthcare,” Dad continues, ignoring my remark. “But she wouldn’t accept a penny from me. She told me she had done fine without me and she didn’t need me anymore. If we’d had more time, maybe I could have talked her round, brought her to Kings Town where we have the best medics in the world. But sadly, she passed before I could get her to change her mind.”
“So why didn’t you come to get me then?”
“Because right when your mother died, a huge fight broke out between the four houses. The Kings had been forced out of the town, leaving the houses of Navarre, Knight, Dauphin and of course Archaic to battle for supremacy. I hated thinking of you going into foster care, but it was the best place for you. Now we’ve settled into an uneasy truce and the time has come for you to learn about your heritage. As my only heir, it’s crucial you learn about your true place in the world so you’re ready to take on the responsibility of leading the house when I’m no longer here.”
An awkward silence descended, as I considered everything my father had said.
“If all of this is true, why haven’t I read about it in the papers?” I ask eventually. “I mean, this seems like something out of a film, different houses fighting each other to rule the town. Surely someone would have reported on all the violence here?”