Chapter 13
Anton returned home that night glowing. After making love to Hannah—twice—and telling her he loved her, little could go wrong in his world. His driver pulled into his three-car garage and parked.
He entered the house through the garage’s interior door. The door was located just off the living room in the main hall. When he walked in, he planned to go right up the stairs and get ready for bed. But instead, a man sat in dim light in the living room. When Anton walked in, he jumped at the sight.
When he calmed enough to see who it was, he walked over. “What are you doing here, sitting in the dark?”
“Waiting for my grandson to grow up. Doesn’t seem to be happening.”
“Well, I’ve just been with my daughter and hopefully future wife, so I think I’ve actually done quite a lot of growing up recently.”
Grandfather steepled his fingers. “Ah yes. The old flame. The blast from the past. She’s actually the reason I’m here.”
Anton gave him a confused look and took a seat across from him. They hadn’t discussed Hannah since that first day he’d seen her and he wasn’t sure why his grandfather wasn’t surprised he’d been with her. Or that he’d just said he had a daughter.
“What does Hannah have to do with anything?”
“Did you check the books today?”
Anton swallowed hard and felt the heat rise to his face. “I haven’t yet. I was going to review it before going to bed,” he lied.
“And did you check them yesterday? Or answer emails or phone calls?”
“I… answered an email from payroll.”
Grandfather waited. “Over the last month, you’ve barely been in the office and your attention to the business has dropped severely. This is something of a problem, you see.”
“I’m sorry. This thing with Hannah is so new. And finding out I was a father was a huge shock. I’m trying to adjust and fit into my new roles.”
“And where does the family business fall into that? This little girlfriend of yours is a problem. She’s taking all your time and attention, and I can’t have this.”
“She’s not and she won’t. I’ll refocus and get back on track, I swear.”
“Really?” He stared at Anton, waiting. “And this child of yours. You plan to abandon her?”
“No, of course not.”
“So you plan to endanger her.”
“What? No! I’m going to protect her at all costs.”
“If that’s your desire,” grandfather said, “then perhaps you should have stayed in obscurity where you’ve been. I’ve done all I could to make sure you never found out about that girl. Now my fears are all coming true.”
“What!” Anton was on his feet, doing his best to hold back his rage. “You knew? You knew this whole time I had a daughter and you didn’t tell me?”
“Of course I knew. I’ve been having Hannah followed for years, making sure she stayed far away from you. The guy who slipped up the day you saw her at the restaurant is now sitting at home with a broken leg.”
“Wha—” He didn’t even know what to say to that. “Why?”
“I didn’t want you distracted. Like you are now.”
“That is completely unacceptable. How could you do this to me?” Anton sat back down, the shock soaking in and making him numb. This was too much for his brain to comprehend.
His grandfather moved to the edge of his chair. “If you don’t shape up and start doing what’s required of you for the family business, there will be consequences.”
Anton glared. “And what exactly would those be?”
“Let me ask you something. Does Hannah know what you do? Does she know the types of decisions you have to make on a regular basis? Is this the kind of life you want to bring a child into? How do you think your daughter would feel knowing that her daddy kills people for a living?”
“That’s not what I do.”
“Isn’t it?” Grandfather sat back and crossed his fingers.
“You stay away from them,” Anton growled.
“I have no reason to harm them. That’s not my desire. But I have a business to run and a family to protect. If your family gets in the way of our family, changes will have to be made. I’m guessing I could send Hannah packing her things quite fast if she knew some of the things you’d done.”
Anton swallowed hard again. There were a lot of things he didn’t want anyone knowing, let alone Hannah or Melody. He’d never be able to regain their respect if they knew the truth. He might not technically kill people for a living as his grandfather had said, but it wasn’t far from the truth. Killings, beatings, theft, lying. All these things were part of his everyday work life. The part he didn’t like, but that didn’t mean he didn’t still do what was required.
Grandfather stood. “I trust you’ll make the correct decision.”