Kane

Prologue/Chapter One

Prologue

7 Years Ago

My legs shook with fear as I shuffled down the large marble staircase that led to the sitting room. When I reached the bottom, everything inside me froze. I could hear him mumbling to himself about the game on the tv. I knew if I was going to do this it had to be now. Today. He was getting worse and there's no telling if I would survive another punishment.

Pulling myself together, I crept around the corner into the sitting room where he was sprawled lazily across the black leather couch. As soon as I step foot into the room, the stench of stale beer and cigarettes hits me and I almost back out right then and there. He was already drunk. I could tolerate my father when he was sober. He was cold and manipulative, but tolerable. Drunk? I couldn't get away fast enough. He wasn't always like this though, and I often wondered what brought him to this point.

It started eight years ago when my mother died. It was an accident. A careless drunk driver hit her on the way home from work. It's how my dad bought this house- an expansive eight bedroom mansion- a three hundred million dollar settlement goes a long way. Not that It matters; or anything matters really. After he bought us this house he began to spend recklessly. Buying boats, timeshares, and anything else he could get his hands on, blowing through the money in the last seven years and now we had nothing and no one.

I must have hesitated too long at the doorway because when I came out of my trance my father was looking right at me. Or I should say looking through me with the most intense hatred I've ever seen from anyone. He was wearing a grey button up shirt and I briefly wondered if the large brown stain on the front was beer or vomit. Maybe both.

"You look just like her... my precious Annabelle. You should've died that day instead of her." He swayed on his feet and shuffled a few inches in my direction, making me instantly take a step back. "Now all I have is a whore for a daughter. You don't think I hear all those boys you have in that room of yours? You moan for them the same way your momma used to moan for me." A wicked smile grew on his grimy face and the sting of vomit automatically hit the back of my throat. I pushed it down, not giving him the satisfaction of knowing my repulsion. He was delusional of course. I've never had a single boy in my room. The only man that has ever stepped foot in there is him and it wasn't moans coming from the room- it was my screams. He'd come in almost every night slamming the door behind him. Yelling about the arbitrary things I've done and how I deserved punishment for my actions. And then he'd beat me. He would beat me until I could no longer fight against him and im ashamed to say I eventually stopped trying.

He suddenly lunged across the living room coming at me fast. But I was prepared and he was drunk, he also stopped expecting me to fight back. As soon as he was close enough, I brought my knee up as hard as I could and hit him right where the sun don't shine. He dropped to the floor, cupping his manhood in agony.

"You stupid fucking bitch!" His roar echoed across the tall ceilings and I hesitated only a second.

"I'm leaving you, dad, and i'm not coming back." He swung an arm out towards my ankle but before he could reach me I jumped away and dashed for the duffle bag I had hidden in the crawlspace under the stairs. As soon as it was in my hand, I sprinted out the front door and into the awaiting taxi. I looked over my shoulder as we pulled away from the curb. He was standing in the doorway completely and utterly still- but the look in his eyes told me he was far from done with me. The entire ride to the airport felt like a dream, my heart was pounding out of my chest and never slowed until I was on a plane almost an hour later.

Chapter One

Present Day

I twirled a strand of my long ash brown hair around my finger for the tenth time in the last few minutes. It was a nervous habit I was determined to break, as it's commonly mistaken as a flirting tactic that's gotten me into trouble more times than I can count. I decided to give myself the satisfaction this last time because I deserve a distraction at the moment. I was currently sitting in the most well known building in downtown Denver. It was used as a headquarters of sorts, to over fifteen different companies. This wasn't why it was so well known. It was known for the impressive architectural work put into the design. The entire top half of the building was all slanted windows and on the inside was a very modern industrial feel- high ceilings with steel beams in neat display across each room. The room I was in was something to admire but I needed to be careful as to not get caught gawking.