Useless.

I was surrounded by incompetent, mindless idiots. Even my own daughter, my flesh and blood, the little bitch I trusted to have my back turned on me when I needed her most. I don’t know why I was surprised. She was, after all, nothing more than a cunt who believed herself worthy of something more than some whore.

Well, I didn’t need her. I didn’t need any of them. They’d all outlived their purpose. I should have rid myself of them years ago.

“Father!”

Cordelia’s incessant shrieking splintered sound barriers. It punctured a hole in my eardrums, making my eyeballs rattle.

It reminded me of her mother. That was another useless twat who never could keep her hysterics under control. That high pitched whining was apparently hereditary. On any other day, I would have happily indulged the little bitch, given her what she wanted to make her stop, but I was in no place to pacify her antics. Not today.

“Shut your fucking mouth.”

I hadn’t realized I’d spoken until the sound stopped. Cordelia, my angel, my reason for putting up with the useless gash upstairs, gaped at me, her mouth wide as if expecting a cock.

“What...?” she choked out, as if not trusting her own hearing.

So, I turned to her and repeated myself very slowly so the empty space between her ears fully registered every word.

“Shut the fuck up.”

Oh, it felt like heaven to finally render her silent. For years, I imagined doing it in various manners, most of them ending with my fingers locked around her throat, squeezing until her tongue swelled and her eyes bulged.

Useless whore.

Christ, I loathed them all.

I almost loved Cordelia. Maybe not loved, but appreciated her. She was supposed to be my meal ticket, my fucking stool into the Prime Minister seat. All the little bitch had to do was shut her fucking mouth, open her legs, and do what she was put on this earth to do. She couldn’t even do that properly. What the fuck did I need her for now? Just another flapping hole. Like I didn’t have enough of those sucking off me. Vile leeches draining me of my hard earned money while they ruined everything.

“You had one job,” I raised a finger in emphasis. “Just one and you monumentally fucked that up.”

“Daddy...?”

“I told you!” The sweet crack of my hand making contact with that delicate line of her pretty jaw sent a thrilling hum coursing up my arm. My whole body sang with it, sang with the sheer power of watching her fly sideways into the sofa. She bounced once and nearly slid to the floor. “Shut your mouth, Cordelia.” I rubbed my palms together, the beautiful sting making me want to pull her back up and go for another. But I resisted. “You have failed me. I no longer have any use for you.”

Hand clutching the brilliant welt blooming beneath her whore paint, she stared up at me from her huddled horror. Her blue eyes shone with tears, confusion, fear, but it was the disbelief that made me want to hit her again.

Was she really that stupid? Did she honestly believe I cared about her?

“Christ, you’re fucking stupid,” I muttered, mostly to myself. “Got that from your mother, I imagine. Two, stupid whores.” I pinched the bridge of my nose where a headache had begun. The tension pulled at the backs of my eyes, making them feel gritty. “I can’t believe I ever thought you were the one least likely to fuck up. Maybe I should have chosen your brother. He’s a cocksucking moron, but at least I wouldn’t be leaving my company to a whore.”

“I ... I don’t understand...” she squeaked, bottom lip trembling.

Her lipstick had smudged, the red mixing with the blood staining her teeth. The sight of it made my own blood hum; how I loved the sight of a woman’s bloody mouth. There was just something so erotic about it, so right. Not just their mouths, everywhere, ribbons of it trailing down torn and ruined flesh. I loved the sight of it on the sheets, on my hands, staining the floors and walls. Blood was such a beautiful substance to paint with. It reminded me that I hadn’t had a release in weeks, weeks where I’d been building myself up for when I finally had Gabrielle, for when I could finally lose myself in everything she’d been taunting me with for six years. I’d been so fucking close.

“Please talk to me.” She was openly crying now, deep, ugly sobs that turned her face into a deformed vagina. “What have I done?”

“You were born.”

How much more obvious could it be?

But I had no more stomach for her. She was of no more use to me. If anything, she was the one who had ruined everything.

“Stop crying.” My snarl only seemed to make her weep harder. “You disgust me. What good are you? I practically handed Kincaid to you on a silver platter and you couldn’t even finish the job. Pathetic. But you can’t blame him, can you? No man wants a whore.” I turned away from her, the sight of her fanning the urge to break her face until her tears were blood and every bone was a sharp shard jutting from flesh. “Pathetic.”

I left her there, needing space to coordinate the dilemma ahead. Kieran wanted Gabrielle within the hour. I wasn’t ready to hand her over, not until I’d had my taste of her, and that was a problem, especially when I knew for a fact Kieran was full of shit.

He could claim whatever he wanted about having damaging information about me, but I knew the truth — he had nothing. How could he when I already bought my folder back from Walter? I had it nestled away somewhere nice and safe. As if I would ever allow some asshole to hold something that important over my head. The way I saw it, I had the bigger bargaining chip. I had the thing he wanted, and there were ways of enjoying myself with her that wouldn’t leave a scratch on her physically. I’d had years to hone my craft, to perfect the art of torture. I could make her scream in pain even while her body shuddered in orgasm. I would make her hate being touched. I would make the very idea of coming ever again a nightmare. The act of fucking would forever be marred with images of me. I would have liked to see Kieran want her then, a damaged, dirty doll all used up.

The idea made me snicker as I walked to my office, especially since he’d given me a whole hour to play with her.