Family Ties [Sequel to She Belongs To Me]

The Ride Home (Part Two)

Vincent:

I stared ahead at the dark road with a scowl on my face while Cora sobbed uncontrollably in the back seat.  This whole thing was Emily's fault.  If she would have just listened to me in the first place I would not have had to take my daughter by force. Now, thanks to her disobedience, the poor girl was scared to death of her own father.

My fingers tightened around the steering wheel and my scowl deepened. Emily had gone too far this time.  She was going to have to learn the hard way that I would no longer tolerate her disobedience. 

One way or another she would submit to me.

I glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure Stella was still close behind before turning my head back to Cora.  Her beautiful mahogany eyes were filled with tears and she stared at me like I was an inhuman monster. 

My heart crumbled inside of my chest and I offered her a warm smile, reaching back and gently stroking her cheek.  "You do not have to be afraid of me, Cora." I whispered, "I promise that I would never hurt you."

She continued to sob and I sighed.  There had to be some way I could show her that I was not the monster she thought I was. 

I checked the road once more to make sure my driving was steady before turning back to her with an insecure smile.  "You are such a beautiful little girl, Cora." I said, returning my hand back to her soft cheek.  She flinched and averted her eyes away from mine. 

I drew my hand back and sighed again.  "I know you don't understand all of this now, but one day you will thank me for saving you from the lie you were living."

Her head tilted to the side and the fear in her eyes was replaced with confusion. I nodded with understanding. "I know you must have a few questions for me. If I take the tape off will you promise to be a good girl and not scream?"

She hesitated before nodding her head.

I carefully removed the tape and braced myself for a scream, but instead she just whimpered. "I...I wanna go home."

"Oh, sweetheart-" I felt the car jerk towards the side of the road and swiftly turned back around to pay attention to my driving. When I steadied the car back in the lane I glanced at her through the rear view mirror. "You and mommy are going to live with me now."

"N-no...we can't." She whined, her eyes filling with despair. "What about my daddy?"

"Oh, Cora." I sighed, shaking my head and gripping the steering wheel. There was no easy way to break this to her. "You have to understand that I love you very much and I will take care of you. No matter what."

"But you're a stranger." She said softly. "How can you love somebody you don't know?"

"I'm not a stranger. Your mommy and I have known each other for a long time."

"Where is my mommy?"

"She's riding in the car with the nice lady driving behind us."

She remained silent for a moment before asking, "Won't mommy be sad without daddy?"

I captured her eyes in the mirror and shook my head. "No, baby. Your mommy and I have something very special that she did not have with your....daddy. She does not love him like she loves me."