Wife's Bitter Revenge Against Neglectful CEO Husband-Chapter 119: Facing Eugene

Eugene said, "If it were me, I would have taken over Estelle’s business and used it as a stepping stone to build an empire."

"And if my ambitions aren’t so grand?"

"I’d still take her down. Contracts are meant to be broken. And your type of blackmail is the kind of thing that starts wars."

I said, "You say that as if she means nothing to you."

"On the contrary! I love Estelle. I would have married her years ago if she would had me. But business is business."

"I see."

"So, now will you back down?"

"No, but I suggest you might want to."

"Oh, you think you’re strong enough to take me down?"

"I don’t know. Maybe. I’d prefer not to. I like Alec a lot. If you and I went to war, he would be the first casualty. Then again, I did take down Daniel Heavenly, and Lettie if she recovers. I could be a bigger threat than I give myself credit. Do you really want to find out? Or do you want to make peace so the man we both love doesn’t have to mourn my untimely demise or possibly his father’s imprisonment for the rest of his life—or both? Did I mention we are pre-engaged?"

Estelle smiled, "Really? Our little Alec is ready to settle down? Eugene, isn’t that the best news?"

"My son will never marry a woman I don’t approve of," Eugene said, sitting back with his arms crossed over his chest.

"And what kind of woman would you rather be with our son? One who stands by her principles or one who cowers under duress? Because I know which one I would pick," I asked.

Alec asked, "Does the son have any say in this discussion? Because I do have an opinion."

"No." Eugene and I chimed.

"You’ve got to be joking," Alec left the room.

Eugene and I settled into a stare-off that lasted long after Estelle left the room to check on Alec, which was what I really wanted to be doing. Instead, I was stuck in a battle of wills with his father.

Eugene broke the silence. "If you weren’t a strong woman with strong principles, Alec wouldn’t be interested in you. A weak woman wouldn’t last a week with him."

"Then why would you expect me to give in to your strong-arm techniques? I played fair with Estelle, who is also a strong woman. I suspect she doesn’t back down from you much either."

"That’s for sure."

"Estelle and I are both adults, and we worked out a reasonable compromise that kept her out of prison and allowed me to sleep nights. Why not leave well enough alone? Even better, use this as the catalyst to urge her into a legal profession so you don’t have to worry about when another disgruntled customer is going to confront her."

Eugene rubbed his eyes. "To be honest, I hate my job. I’d like to go legit, but if I give way, I know a worse element will come in to take my place. At least this way, I can protect my people and my city. But, yeah, I’d like to see Estelle keep her hands clean just like I’ve always supported Alec keeping his hands clean."

"So, then I’m forgiven?"

"Teela, can’t you give an old man some face? I let you when the last battle. Give me something this time."

"I won’t back down on the contract. Do you have something else in mind?"

"I need help with a special project. Alec tells me you are good at investigations. I have someone I’ve been looking for someone for a couple of decades now. Maybe you can agree to help me locate them."

"Excuse me if I won’t just blindly agree, but why are you looking for them?"

"When I started my business, I had a partner. He disappeared one day. I’d like to know what happened to him. I’d also like to know what happened to his wife and daughter. They disappeared around the same time he did. It’s time I pass on his share of the profits to my partner or his family."

"I could add it as a love list project, but Eugene, be ready for me to dig deep into your background. I won’t act as a tracking service for illegal activities."

"I trust you can show discretion."

"I can."

"Tell me about this love list."

"My associates and I have a list of projects we do for altruistic reasons, such as finding missing children or extracting revenge from individuals who have avoided legal ramifications. For example, I approached Estelle to find out who orchestrated a traffic accident that injured three people I consider family."

"How long is this list? I’m an old man, and there is a lot of injustice in this world. I can’t see waiting indefinitely."

"A child was kidnapped from his home three years ago. To date, we’ve not found any solid leads as to what happened to him."

"Is that how you got into investigating the Heavenly operation?"

"It is, and we were able to rescue many children, but not this one."

"Estelle is active in child and women-related charities and foundations. You should speak with her. She may have some leads that you’ve not considered. If you will send me what information you have on this child, I can also reach out to my sources."

"You would do that?"

"I like the idea of this love list. Plus, if this finding the kid moves my project to the top of the list, it is in my best interest to help."

"I’ll talk to the boy’s brother. I can’t hand his information over to a—um, how do you prefer to be labeled?"

Eugene smiled. "Mobster is fine. It’s simple. The sting of being labeled a criminal faded a long time ago under piles of money and security for my family."

"You’re nothing like I thought."

"So, you’ve heard the rumors that I eat babies."

"Something like that."

"Good. As long as people fear me, they will think twice before opposing me. At least most people."

It was my turn to smile. I could see why someone like Alec would keep his father in his life. Eugene Crest was charismatic. I didn’t totally trust him, but I wanted to. We would see what the research turned up.

I asked, "Should we go see if our significant others are still speaking to us?"

"I’ll take Estelle home. If I know my son at all, you will have to work for forgiveness. Estelle forgave me as soon as she found out Alec was serious about you. She worries about him."

He was right. After seeing Eugene and Estelle to the door, Alec disappeared into his office and shut the door.

I knocked at the door, but I didn’t get an answer. Yeah, he was pissed. I could totally understand why, but I had been in a battle of wills with his dad. I had to play with the tools I’d been given.

"I’m sorry," I called through the door. "I didn’t mean to dismiss you. That conversation had nothing to do with us. It was me trying to manage your father without putting you in the middle any more than I had to."

No answer.

He’d never shut me out like this before. I wasn’t sure why. Granted, it doesn’t feel good to have people talk about you as if you’re not in the room, but it shouldn’t be so bad that he was ignoring me now.

"Alec, please talk to me."

"Go home, Teela. We’ll talk tomorrow."

But in my heart, I was home! My home was where Alec was.

"I am home, Alec. You’re my home. If you don’t want to talk, fine, but I’m not leaving. I’ll be right here."

I stood outside the door for the longest time, straining to hear anything inside, but I might as well have been in the apartment alone. This would be a long night, and I knew going to bed alone wouldn’t make it any better. I’d just lay there waiting, so I might as well stay where I was. I sat down outside the door and leaned against the door.

"I’m still here, Alec. I’m not going anywhere. Take your time. I’m here when you are ready."

It was hard sitting there in the silence. I wasn’t used to being so still for so long, especially without music or a computer or people around to make me feel like a part of something. I had too much time to consider my actions and where exactly I screwed up.

Maybe it was in dealing with his dad without first talking to Alec about how he wanted me to interact with him. It couldn’t have been easy growing up with someone with Eugene’s reputation and responsibilities. There were probably a lot of unwritten rules between the two men. I may have fucked that up. I hoped not.

Even more so, I hoped I didn’t destroy anything between me and Alec that couldn’t be repaired.

Oh, geez, this was way too much like the reflection room. I hated it.