"Why are you dressed so formal?" Kayden asks as I walk out of the bathroom

"I don't feel like being scolded about not fitting into his lifestyle" I say with an eye roll as I remember the memory.


I'm wearing a silk black camisole that's tucked into my black skinny jeans. I chose a burgundy business jacket to throw over it.

I paired that with black stilettos and a black purse.

Since my dad obviously has his gang and drug business he's always dressed in business attire.


He thinks that it makes him powerful.

One time I met him in public while wearing pajamas and he scolded me for a year straight.


I'm not going through that shit again.

"You guys barely seem like family" he says as I clasp a gold necklace around my neck

"He wanted other things while I wanted to live a normal life" is all I reply as I part my hair in the middle and brush it into a low ponytail

He nods his head but looks like he wants to ask more.

I sigh as I turn to face him and lean against my wall.

"What do you want to know?" I ask seriously

"You seem so annoyed whenever you mention him as your father, is there a reason?" He questions which makes my breath hitch

I didn't expect him to ask that question.

"Yes," I say as I walk into my bathroom and open one of my drawers. I grab the 'Kay Jewelers' box and close the drawer.

I walk up to him and place the box in his hands before grabbing my makeup bag so that I could cover up the fact that I've barely been sleeping.

He opens it and gasps when he sees the necklace.

Beautiful isn't it?

It's a family heirloom.

Apparently it used to be his mother's necklace.

He never gave it to my mom because she's always busy with her baking business.

"That used to be my grandmothers," I start off as I do my makeup

"I love my grandmother but she moved away years ago for reasons we're not going to talk about" I say as I feel my eyes start to tear up up but I push them down

"Anyways, Henry gave that to me as a bribe" I say which causes Kayden to look at me in confusion

"Why would he bribe his only daughter with a family heirloom?" He asks

"He is involved with some serious shit, at one point he came really close to death" I say and turn to face Kayden since I'm finished with my makeup

"He gave me that necklace to persuade me not to tell my mom," I say which makes his eyes widen as he listens to me intently

"He told me that if he were to die then I'd have to take over his businesses since I'm his only child," I say with an emotionless tone

"The best part was that I was only six" I say sarcastically

If anything that was the worst part of the whole ordeal.

"Aspen, I'm so sorry" he says but I wave my hand

"Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault" I say before I walk up to him and grab the necklace

This necklace is the only thing I have left of my grandmother.

I place it back in its drawer before grabbing my purse and stuffing it with random essentials.

"Let's go, he's probably already there" I say as I look at my phone

"It's only been fifty minutes" he says with a confused tone

"A true business person is never late, only early" I say quoting my father.

"Aspen" Kayden stops me on the stairs which makes me turn around to face him

"Yeah?" I respond

"If you ever need someone to talk to I'll always be ready to listen" he says with a sweet smile

I smile at him and give him a hug.

"Thanks, Kayden, I appreciate it" I say before continuing to go down the stairs.

As we make our way to our cars I can't help but think...

Am I doing the right thing by meeting him.

"Remember to at least stay four feet away" I command to Kayden

If my dad actually spills something useful to me I need Kayden to be within hearing distance.

"Yeah, and record everything" he says mockingly as he holds up his phone

"Okay, lets do this" I say as my heart rate starts to increase from nervousness and my palms start to sweat.

Remember, Aspen, show no emotion.

I fix my posture and walk confidently into the museum.

I quickly spot my father standing near an old airplane model.

I walk up beside him and he greets me without even looking at me.

"Aspen, you're late" he says as he continues to admire the aircraft

"Technically I am right on time, Henry" I say in a mature tone so that he knows I mean business

He turns to look at me and smirks.

"You look nice, shall we walk?" He gestures his hand towards a dimly lit tunnel that displays a multitude of historical artifacts

"Please" I say as I lead the way to the tunnel.

"What did you want to talk about?" He asks as we enter the tunnel

"Getting straight to the point, are we?" I question as I thoroughly pretend to admire the artifacts so that he can't see my tired facial expression

"Answer the question, Aspen" he demands in a fatherly voice

"Did you actually send someone to look over me?" I ask him with an amused tone as I smirk at his baffled expression

Anyone else would think that he isn't phased, but I'm not anyone else.

He swallows nervously before responding.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, are you okay?" He asks carefully but I slightly chuckle which causes him to look at me in confusion

"You didn't answer the question and asked me a question to get the attention off yourself" I say which makes him stop in his spot

I stop too and turn to face him.

"It's a yes or no question, Henry" I say with my smirk unwavering

He suddenly smiles and chuckles amusedly.

"You probably think that you're being so intelligent right now," he says with a mocking smile

Does he really think that I don't know what he's doing?!

"Where did you learn these useless things, school?" He questions which makes me roll my eyes as my smirk falls

Is that seriously the best he has?

"Where did you learn to avoid questions, by avoiding my mother's?" I question emotionlessly as I place my hand on my hip

I see his facade fall as sadness and regret flash in his eyes.

"Yes, I sent someone to look over you" he finally responds

Took him long enough to admit it.

"Why?" I ask him in a demanding tone

"Because I know nothing about you anymore" he says but shows no sense of sadness or emotion

I can't believe he's lying to me right now.

Wait, why am I even surprised?

I decide to play along and see how far I get.

"So you think that sending someone to follow me, in a black van, is a better idea than talking to me?" I question him

"I tried talking to you when I invited you to talk at that restaurant but you just got up and left" he says

"Yeah, because I was about to strangle you for asking me such a stupid question" I say remembering that day when I saw Charlotte drive up

I guess I show some type of emotion because he suddenly smirks.

"You know that girl that picked you up was very beautiful" he says casually which makes my eye twitch

What the hell is he doing?!

That's not what I came here to talk about!

"I didn't know you were into blondes" he says which makes me ball my hands into fists behind my back

Relax, Aspen.

Don't show any emotions.

I take a deep breath before relaxing.

"She and I are not dating" I say with an emotionless tone so he doesn't target her

"Just admit that you're spying on me so that you can find something to threaten me with" I say

"And why would I do that?" He asks with a smirk

"Because you seem pretty desperate to have me come work for you" I say which makes him freeze

He doesn't talk to me for ten years.

But weirdly enters my life as soon as Charlotte and I make improvement in our relationship.

"You don't talk to me for ten whole years, but as soon as you do you're asking me for something," I say as he looks away from me

"When you lived with Mother and I you always said how incompetent I was and how I'd never get anywhere in life without you," I say remembering all the times he'd tell me these awful things

"Yet, when you need my help you expect me to drop everything and help you with whatever you need like a little bitch" I say with a hard tone

"So don't tell me that you weren't furious about your only daughter rejecting your offer to join one of the most deadliest gangs in America" I say.

I decide to take a break and take a deep breath.

"But it doesn't stop there" I say as he continues to look everywhere else but my eyes

"You decided to spy on me and find something, or in this case someone, that I cared about the most and take them away from me so that you could force me to do whatever you wanted in hopes of letting them go" I rant

I guess I struck something inside of him because he quickly turns to face me and glares at me.

"I guess you're not as stupid as you were back then" he declares but I just look at him with a bored expression

"But I did find out that you and that blonde girl dated," he says with a evil smirk when my breath hitches

Shit, that's a dead give away.

"You might want to ask her about her life, she isn't who she says she is" he says

Is it possible that what he's telling me is true?

Wait, what am I thinking?

Of course it's not.

Charlotte would never lie to me.

But she revealed that she lied to me before we broke up.

"What are you talking about, Henry?" I ask him with an emotionless tone but I feel tears build up in my eyes as I think about Charlotte and I's breakup

He pulls a folded paper out of his pocket and hands it to me.

"When I saw you get into a car with her I did my research" he says casually

"And damn were the results interesting" he says with an entertained voice

I look at him with a confused expression before unfolding the paper only to freeze in my spot.

It's a photo of Charlotte with her full name at the bottom.

But that's not what caught my attention.

The name 'Thunder' was written in red ink at the top right corner of the paper with a question mark.

I laugh as I fold the paper back up and hand it to him.

"Who wrote that, you?" I question with an amused tone

"Choose not to believe me all you want, but all secrets will be revealed soon" he says before walking out of the tunnel

Wait, why does that sound so familiar?

I think back to when Hayden threatened me and said that.

Come to think of it I haven't seen him recently.

"Wow" is all Kayden says as he approaches me

"I swear, he gives me a headache" I say as I rub my temples

"Want to get some ice cream?" He asks

"Please" I reply as we walk out of the tunnel.