As Chang raised his cup to his lips, he paused and said, “You should really have a biscuit and tea. It might wash away all the bitterness I can see flowing through you. Maybe it’s good. You can take that emotion and use it. It’ll come in handy when you’re forced to make tough decisions.”
Instead, Gina pushed her plate away and sat back in her chair. She folded her arms across her chest as she stared at him. “I am my father’s daughter.”
“Excuse me?”
Her voice turned sinister. “I hope you’re enjoying your tea and biscuits.” She reached over and grabbed the decanter full of apple juice and poured herself a glass. “Since I might have put just a wee bit of something in it. You know the kind of something that will mimic a heart-attack but is also medically undetectable.” She leaned over and looked into his cup; it was just about empty. “I was told one cup is all it would take to do the trick.” Gina looked at her watch. “You’ve got maybe another couple of minutes before you start to feel the effects.”
The color drained from Chang’s face. He was horrified. Immediately, he tried to stand but quickly sat back down as he began to clutch his chest.
“I guess my timing was off. It looks like the show starts now.”
Somehow Chang managed to croak out. “You would do this to your father?”
She hissed, “I’ve been waiting more than half my life for this moment.”
Chang fell out of his chair gasping for breath still clutching his chest.
Gina took a biscuit out of the dish and buttered it. She took a small bite as she continued to watch him writhe around on the floor. Then, placed it back on the plate. “You killed my mother. You planned to kill your granddaughter – Nina’s child, and now I find out that you killed Nina! There is no question you would have killed me too. I hope both you and Joseph rot in hell.” She feigned ignorance. “Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you. I took care of him last night. See father, I will do what is necessary to remove a threat.”
Gina crossed her legs and looked at her boots while she took a sip of her juice. “Remember when I was twenty-three and you tried to teach me a lesson about secrets? I kept the fact I was dating my horse trainer from you. Somehow you found out and met us at the stables. You had your people beat him in front of me mercilessly. They got his blood all over these boots.” She extended her foot as her father lay dying on the floor. “Blood and mud are so hard to get off.” Gina took another sip of her drink. “Anyway, I kept these boots as a reminder of your cold-hearted ruthlessness. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to die at the hands of family. In some circles, I bet that would be considered ruthless. You should be proud of me with all the lessons I’ve learned from you.”
She watched her father take his last breaths. Twenty minutes after he’d stopped moving, Gina got up, stepped over her father’s body, then picked up the phone on the accent table to call one of their servants.
“Can you please bring the car around? I have some shopping I need to do.” Without a backward glance, she walked out of the room.
Chapter 24
Braylee drove up to the curb of Stephanie’s apartment. Surprisingly, she had been waiting downstairs and walked right out of her building when Braylee arrived. She opened the door and slid inside.
“Heeey girl. Ohhh…this car sweet. Is it yours or Alex’s?”
Braylee smiled. “It’s mine. It was delivered yesterday.”
“I expected you to get another truck, not a car.”
Braylee pulled away and merged into traffic. “After these last couple of weeks, I just wanted to keep things simple. You talked to daddy?”
“Yeah. He’s ready to go and is just watching the clock. He doesn’t care that the facility doesn’t open until ten. He is ready to go now. I told him we’d be there as soon as the doors opened.”
“I’m excited to see him. The last time I went to visit, he looked good and healthy. I just hope he can stay this way.”
“What you’re trying to say is you hope Mama doesn’t drive him back to the bottle and back to rehab.” Stephanie laughed. “She could make Jesus sleep with that woman at the well.”
Braylee didn’t laugh.
“Oh come on, Braylee that was funny. You’re going to have to lighten up a bit before Daddy gets in the car.”
“What? I’m not uptight.”
“You’re always tense, just more so today.” Stephanie softened her voice. “How have you been?”
Braylee answered much too quickly. “I'm okay. You call me every day ten times a day, so you already know.”
“I call you all the time because I know you. You always pretend like everything is fine when it’s not. But, when you get that little hitch in your voice, I know you’re lying. And, then I’ll jump in my little raggedy car to try and make you laugh.”
Braylee kept her eyes on the road. “What hitch? I don’t have a hitch in my voice. You imagine things.”
“Just because you have that fancy schmancy law degree doesn’t mean I can’t read people as well as you. Like now. You just did it.
