Chapter 8 - Play By The Devil's Chip

• Kieran
• “You f**ked some random woman and began spilling this family’s secrets to her?” Dad barked outrageously.
• “Riele isn’t some ‘rando woman,’ she is the woman I was seeing for eight fucking years!” my fury matched his own.
• “And now she has you by the balls,” he stated precisely. The words tasted unpleasant.
• “Your own balls included. Let’s see, if she goes to the press with the information she has, whose balls get pulled on the most, YOU. YOUR NAME. YOUR BUSINESS.” I emphasized each of those words and relished the tortured look on his face.
• Dad put everything into J&K Glamor Empire. The hotel, construction, and production companies were more important to him than anyone else, even his family. Oh, maybe with one exception. But unfortunately, the only other person he cared about was dead—my brother, Eamon. And Dad made sure to remind me every single chance he got how much he wished it was me who had died in that accident.
• So, pardon me for enjoying seeing him this rattled because if Jasper Vasques was worried if he was even slightly on edge about a situation, then he was very likely to help me fix it.
• “Are you going to help me or not?” I crossed my hand on my chest and leaned my shoulders on the wall.
• I was standing across from him in his almost cathedral-like office. He had ensured the architect built this room like a monument to his ego. Vast and open, with floor-to-ceiling windows that bathed the space in natural light, the place seemed to stretch forever. Like his home office, this one had several rooms attached to it—meeting rooms, lounges, and even a private library. But it was the conference room where our conversation was taking place now, sealed off from the rest of the world.
• The walls were thick and padded for soundproofing, ensuring no one outside could hear a word of what we said. This room was designed for private, high-stakes conversations like this one—cold, calculated, and impenetrable.
• I shifted slightly against the wall, watching my father stand behind his desk—this enormous, almost throne-like structure carved from dark wood.
• The office was massive, the kind that made you feel small, even if you weren’t. It was lined with towering bookshelves, heavy with volumes that probably hadn’t been touched in years, and those oversized leather chairs that no one ever sat in. Every inch of the place screamed power and control, from the polished floors to the large windows letting in narrow beams of sunlight.
• My father stood there, framed by the light like some sort of god in his domain. I could feel the tension in the room, a suffocating weight between us. The rage pumping out from him and making me uncomfortable.
• “Damn you, Kieran! You just know how to get under my skin!” Dad’s voice was low but venomous, like a snake coiling before a strike.
• “That’s me, the expert at unsettling your carefully constructed facade.”
• “You think this is funny? You bloody think it is a joke?” He thundered, slamming his desk with both hands.
• “You think I planned this,” I shot back, pushing off the wall and taking a step forward. “You think I wanted any of this to happen and I am here asking for your help. Blast it, Dad; the deed is already done. Stop dwelling on my mistakes, and let’s start figuring a way out of this.”
• Dad's jaw clenched as he tried to maintain control. His shoulders relaxed a bit, and he plopped into his chair. “How much information does she have?”
• “I don’t know.”
• “You don’t know… you don’t know…?” He glared at me like I was stupid.
• “I don’t know, Dad. I spill a lot when I am drunk. I don’t know the extent of what I must have told Riele, but she made mention of knowing what goes on in the Glamor Hotel… I have reasons to believe that didn’t come from me,” I added quickly when Dad’s face reddened. “I am yet to find out if the rumors are true, Dad. About you, about the Glamor Hotel. Are they? Are the rumors true?”
• His countenance hardened even more. “People cook up things all the time to ruin your name, son. What you believe is what others will believe.” He paused and regarded me coldly. “What do you believe, son?”
• “I don’t know what to believe. I want to know the truth, Dad. Did you or did you not have a hand in the death of those girls?”
• I saw his fist balled, and he hit his right one on the desk again. “Dammit, Kieran. You’re a member of this family! Start acting like one.”
• Our gazes locked and held for several discomforting seconds before I gave in and looked away. His reply was as good an answer as I would get there was no need to try harder. I looked away.
• “What do we do?” Something Riele said popped into my head. “Riele thinks my marriage is a sham; if she believes that even in the most insignificant way, she won’t stop until it is proven. And if that happens… if the media gets wind that this wedding is fake, you know how that’s gonna go.”
• “Then, you make sure they don’t find out.”
• “How do you suggest I do that?”
• “Goddammit, Kieran, be married. Act like it. Pretend you’re the happiest husband alive if you have to.”
• “What are you saying?”
• Dad sighed in exasperation.
• “Make it look like a real marriage. I’m sure the Press are curious, why not take your wife out? Be seen public together doing what couples do, make the world believe you two are madly in love.”
• “Hell, no. That’s deceit, and I am not going to be lying to the entire world.” I echoed firmly.
• “You’re already lying to the entire world, Kieran. Don’t be delusional, thinking you’re a saint in this matter.”
• “What about Andrea?
• “You don’t care about her, Kieran. And I am sure the girl’s not stupid. She already knew what she was getting herself into. Her father wanted something from me, they have to play by my rules.”
• It was then it hit me that Sophia might have been right; Andrea might be completely unaware of the truth behind our marriage. The thought unsettled me. Could she really be innocent in this?
• “Are you saying she had no idea what she was getting into?” I asked, my voice laced with disbelief.
• “I wouldn’t put it past her to play along,” Dad replied, his tone dismissive. “But don’t underestimate her. She may have her own motives.”
• I felt a pang of guilt wash over me. If Andrea was just a pawn, then that could change everything. I had to figure out where she truly stood in all this. Like Dad said, she could have a motive of her own.
• “Whether she knew what she was getting into or not is not important, Kieran. What is important is that you get her on your side. Is that clear?” Dad’s scrutinizing and firm gaze drank me up.
• I snorted. This was what made him tick; being able to control me and have a say in my life was all Dad ever wanted. Now, he got his chance.
• “What about Riele? What are you going to do about her?” I asked, bringing the topic back to its original roots.
• “Leave your little vicious lover to me. I’ll handle her and fix this mess you created.”
• “What about the child Riele is carrying? You’re not going to hurt them, are you?”
• “I’m not a monster, Kieran.” Dad’s voice was sharp, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he meant every word.
• “Then what does ‘finding a way around it’ even mean?” I pressed, narrowing my eyes. The uncertainty gnawed at my stomach.
• “If that child is really yours, we need to tread carefully,” he replied, his tone almost clinical.
• “Carefully?” I echoed, the word hanging in the air. “What does that even look like? You can’t just decide the fate of a life like it’s some business deal!”
• He leaned forward, intensity radiating from him. “Kieran, I’m trying to protect our family. The last thing we need is a scandal, especially not one that could ruin our future.”
• His mention of the future made my chest tighten. “So, what? You think I’m just going to let you manipulate everything, including a child’s life?”
• Dad’s shoulders clenched as he rose to his feet and leaned over the desk to stare at me,
• “You came to me, Kieran, knowing I can make this trouble go away. I want what’s best for our family. For the legacy I’ve built. But sometimes, that means making hard choices. If you’d shut up, do only what I tell you, and leave the rest to me, things would be fine.”
• I shook my head, frustration bubbling over.
• “You think I care about your legacy more than a child’s well-being? What if Riele is telling the truth?”
• “Then we find a way to ensure that truth doesn’t become a weapon against us,” he replied, his gaze unwavering.
• “Not if it means hurting them,” I stated firmly, the resolve in my voice echoing the seriousness of the situation.
• “No one said anything about hurting anyone.” We treaded gaze. “If you weren’t so stubborn and hard-headed, maybe it wouldn’t have come to this. Everything I’ve built, I’ve worked hard for. Who’s going to take over when I’m gone if my only other son, who’s alive, is hell-bent on ruining me? So, play your part with your little wife, and let me play mine.”
• His words hit me like a punch to the gut.
• Hearing him refer to me as his "only other son who’s alive" felt like a reminder of the brother I lost—a shadow that loomed over our relationship.
• Did I mean anything to this man beyond his legacy?
• My father's disdain wasn’t new to me, but it hurt just as much every damned time. I clenched my fist as I regarded him in the same spite I saw in his eyes.
• “This deal between us is only happening because I need your help. When all this is over, I will make sure you understand the consequences of your actions.” I glared at him one more time before walking to the door.
• “Kieran,” Dad’s cold voice called me back.
• I paused and waited.
• “Don’t do any stupid you’d regret,” his cold voice was laced with warning.
• It was like he knew I was planning something. Like he was aware I was coming after him and everything he stood for. This empire was going to be mine, and I would run it my way without his reference. When that was going to happen, I simply had no idea. But soon, maybe a little more time.
• Without saying another word to him, I let myself out.