I stared at the man I knew for my entire life.
My chest was heaving in and out as my heart raced and my mind tried to piece things together.
My dead father was standing in front of me.
He looked the same, just a little older. I noticed he had bright white rigid scar right above his eye, the skin puckering slightly around it.
"Ah, my sweet Juliana." He hummed as tears filled my eyes. "You're supposed to be dead." I whispered shakily, disbelief in my tone.
"Disappointed?" He asked as I stared at him in disbelief. I didn't know how I was supposed to feel.
I was sad for my siblings who thought they had lost their father years ago.
I felt shock, seeing him standing in front of me after thinking he had met his demise years ago.
I was angry that he had me here and that he ran a business like this.
It made me sick to my stomach.
"Don't look so scared, Jule. Come give me a hug." He said as I shook my head, taking a step back.
"How could you?" I whispered. "How could I what?" He asked nonchalantly, raising his brows and dropping his arms.
"You have daughters. How could you run a place like this?" I asked, my voice cracking. "I have two daughters that don't even know I still exist." He hummed.
"One may not even know I ever existed." He said with such little care that I wanted to scream at him.
Juniper and Jenna deserved better.
"And what about your third daughter?" I asked as he shook his head. "I only have two." He said as my heart broke.
I hated that it hurt me so badly to hear him say that. I've despised him for what he did to me all those years ago.
I mourned him when I thought he was dead.
I would cry from time to time, wishing he would come and give me a hug. I craved the feeling of love from anyone.
When I was a child, I felt the same way. Isolated and scared of my mother. I would crave just one moment where I felt unconditional love and comfort.
When dad would come home from work he would give me the love I had needed all day.
He'd scoop me up in his arms and say, "how is my sweet Jule today?" then would sit and talk to me as if I was the only person in the world.
Everything changed when I learned what he was doing for work.
He betrayed me but deep down I still loved him.
"Anyways. Your rate will be $600 a night. You'll wrack in at least a hundred thousand in the first month." He said and sat down, looking at the book on his table.
"You're really gonna do this?" I asked in disbelief. "Of course. Gotta pay the bills somehow." He said with a shrug and wrote down numbers in the book in front of him.
"We'll start you with six appointments a day, since you've got a pretty long list." He said as my eyes watered.
"Dad." I choked out, tears slipping down my cheeks.
"Don't, Juliana. If you know what's good for you don't speak out of turn again." He said then glance up at me again.
"And wipe that look off of your face. You made a choice when you chose to save a man you just met over your father." He said blandly.
"He loves me." I said as he chuckled. "Not for long." He said then pressed a button on his desk. "Oliver, come get her." He said as I shook my head.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked as hot tears trickled down my cheeks. "What did I say about speaking out of turn?!" He asked and bolted up, pulling a gun on me.
I held my breath, praying that he would just do it.
I couldn't be in any more pain than I was in now and I was ready for it to stop. I was ready to go now.
"Do it." I whispered, intensity in my tone. I saw something flicker behind his intense eyes, possibly regret, but it went away when the door opened.
"Come on, princess." Oliver said and started to pull me away. I kept my eyes locked on my father as I was pulled out of the room.
I was in utter disbelief that he would do anything like this to me.
He didn't even consider me to be his daughter anymore.
"Watch yourself. I wouldn't mess with him." Oliver said as he dragged me down the hall.
"I don't give a fuck about him." I said as Oliver groaned and turned to push me against the wall by my neck.
"You're a pretty thing but you won't get away with talking to people like that." He said as the air left my lungs.
I didn't fight or struggle, I almost wished he would just kill me right here and now.
Take me out of my misery.
"You like that, don't you?" He asked with a glint of amusement behind his eyes.
"Now if only you didn't act out." He said then let go and started dragging me down the hall.
When we got to my room, he pushed me into the room causing me to stumble and fall on my knees.
"Get some rest. You've got a big day tomorrow." He said then closed the door and locked it.
As soon as I was alone I started sobbing, my chest aching so deeply it felt like my heart was breaking out of it.
I held myself tightly, sobbing loudly. I couldn't believe that my father was not only alive, but was in charge of all of this.
I knew he was a sick and fucked up man but this was next level.
The fact he would subject me to this sort of thing without a single regard was fucked up.
The fact he didn't consider me to be is daughter was fucked up.
How was I supposed to react to him trying to kill my boyfriend? I didn't tell Colby to kill my dad, he did it on his own merrit.
Well, he thought he did.
I could imagine he wasn't concerned about the well-being of my father when I was dying on the floor in front of him.
It was obviously chaotic and I remember him giving me his full attention.
I began to worry that he was actually going to come and find me.
Knowing my dad was in charge of this meant he would kill Colby with no hesitation. He would do it right in front of me, too.
Colby couldn't come here and he couldn't save me from this.
I sobbed for a long time before the door opened, revealing Will.
"Julia..." He said timidly as I flinched away from him.
"You knew." I cried out as he started walking over to me. "I'm sorry." He said as I shook my head and scooted away from him until I was hidden under the desk in the corner of the room.
"You don't understand." He said with a sigh. I shook my head, bringing my knees to my chest in an attempt to hide from him even more.
"You can't act like this, Julia. It will only get worse for you." He said and crouched down so he could see me.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked and sniffled, my chest aching even more.
"Because I made an oath to your father and I've been working with and for him since you were a kid." He explained.
"Why didn't you kill Colby sooner? When I hated him?" I asked and hugged my legs tighter.
"Because that would just be too convenient for you, Julia. He wanted you to hurt, too." Will explained.
"All I did was fall in love with s-someone." I cried out, trembling at the fact that I was brought into this shit for things I couldn't control.
"It's just more complex than you think. I'm sorry it has to be like this. I really am." He said then stood up straight.
"Please don't let him kill Colby." I said before he could leave the room.
"I can't control him." He said as another sob jerked through my body. "Please! I-I'll do anything. Just don't let him hurt Colby." I begged as I heard him sigh.
"Goodnight, Julia." He said then left the room. "Please don't kill him." I whispered to the empty room.
All I could think about was how well thought out this plan was and how we all fell for it.
Colby was going to walk right into his death and it was all my fault.
I wished there was a way I could communicate with him so I could warn him and tell him not to come.
It felt like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place though.
Choosing between giving my life up to be imprisoned forever, or letting the love of my life be killed by my doing.