Chapter 9

Chapter

Nine

DAPHNE

I know something is wrong when I see Troy storming in my direction. I know something is really wrong, when I notice Apollo is crossing the room just as fast to intercept whatever it is Troy is about to do.

Without saying a single word, Troy takes me by the arm and forcibly pulls me into the coatroom. No one is in the room until Apollo’s brother, Phoenix enters, followed closely by Apollo.

“What’s going on?” Apollo demands. He clears the distance to where Troy is bruising my arm with his grip. He snatches me away from his father and adds, “What are you doing?”

I’ve never seen Apollo stand up to his father, speak in any tone that isn’t respectful, nor ever defend me. But at the same time, I’ve never seen his father so angry with me. There’s fury in his eyes, and as I glance over at Phoenix, I notice the same rage is in his. I cower behind Apollo, not sure what I’ve done to deserve this animosity, but also not sure I have the strength to stand up to them. I’m outnumbered.

“Ask your wife,” Troy says between clenched teeth.

Apollo turns to look down at me. I can see he’s as confused as I am.

When Apollo doesn’t do as Troy demands, he takes a step toward me, but Apollo only pushes me further back behind him in protection. “How rude of me, Daphne. You’ve never met my other son, Phoenix. He oversees the security at Medusa Enterprises. He’s the son who likes to watch all. And when I say all … I mean all .”

My heart drops. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck .

Apollo must notice the fear I’m feeling in my facial expression, because he takes a step away from me so he can get a better look at me. He’s still says nothing, but I see question in his eyes.

“Phoenix just informed me of some information. He reviewed the security footage of the night Apollo killed Jenson in the boardroom. It’s shadowed, and it’s very hard to see. So hard that we had given up hope of ever being able to make out who was the one who ratted out Apollo to the authorities by giving them video that they recorded. We saw a body. But we couldn’t put it together.” He pauses to make sure that Apollo is paying attention. “We had watched all the footage of the elevator, other areas of the tenth floor. Every person was accounted for. And we had noticed that Apollo’s darling wife was also on that floor. There was no reason for Phoenix to believe that was out of the ordinary. Why wouldn’t she be on the floor where her husband’s office was?”

I can’t breathe. I can’t swallow. I can’t move.

“Except Phoenix could finally work the video through programs to ultimately make out the shadowed figure. And guess what he saw, Daphne? Guess.”

I say nothing. Do I need to?

“He saw Apollo’s darling wife, with her phone out, videoing the boardroom.” Troy crosses his arms against his chest. “Funny. Don’t you think?”

Apollo takes another step away from me as I see him processing the words his father just spoke.

“And,” Troy adds, “Phoenix was able to get hold of the actual footage of what the authorities had. And guess what? That footage was taken at the exact angle you stood at. Weird right? Weird, because no way in hell would a Godwin, a wife of Apollo, dare betray this family. No way would anyone be so foolish.”

“I’m going to fucking kill you,” I hear Athena say as she emerges from the shadows of the room, clearly hearing everything. “I’m going to cut off your legs, throw you on top of Ares’s coffin, and bury you alive.”

She doesn’t charge me, but I expect her to. I expect them all to. I back up until I’m up against the wall of the coatroom. I look at Apollo and tears begin to fall. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I…”

“It was you?” Apollo asks. “You went to the cops?”

The way he looks at me …

Oh God…the way he looks at me. The pain in my heart is as if he’s already stabbed me.

“I acted out in desperation.” I look at Troy, Athena, Phoenix, and then back to Apollo. “I wanted out of the marriage, and I thought this was the way. But if I could take it all back?—”

“Ares was going to go to jail for the rest of his life because of you,” Athena hisses.

“Do you know what the punishment is for betraying a Godwin?” Troy asks with a devilish grin. He doesn’t look angry. He actually appears amused. Like this is all fun and games for him.

“I’m sorry,” I say again, noticing that all four of them block the only way out of the room. I consider screaming for help, but by now, most of the guests will have left, and even if they heard me, would they even dare go against Troy Godwin? Plus, making a scene could just make this situation worse.

“We’re leaving,” Apollo announces, surprising me by grabbing my hand and tugging me to him.

“ Apollo , she did this to you !” Troy booms. “She videoed you and then it snowballed to the point where your brother was going to go to jail forever. All because of what your wife did to you.”

It’s clear that Troy, Phoenix, and Athena aren’t going to get out of the way of the door. But I hold on to Apollo’s hand as if it’s my lifeline, and truthfully, it is. The fact I’m still alive and he hasn’t killed me says a lot. But then again, it was Ares who was the killer in the family. I suppose I should be grateful he’s in the coffin right now.

“She needs to die,” Athena says as Phoenix nods. “Either you kill your wife, Apollo, or I will.”

Apollo takes a deep breath and then says. “We aren’t going to do anything right now in a coatroom. In a church . I’m going to handle this my way. My way . She’s my wife, this is my situation , and I need you all to back the fuck off.”

I’ve never heard Apollo speak so firmly before. Never. And clearly, by the way that Troy, Phoenix, and Athena stare back with mouths open, they’ve never heard it either.

“She needs to be punished,” Troy says, his eyes narrowing in on me as he no doubt is thinking of all the ways to make that happen.

“And she will,” Apollo says. He then glares at me and orders, “You go home. Now. You wait for me there.” He then turns toward his family and says, “We are going to go bury my brother. He deserves to be put to rest before we do anything else. The priest is ready, and we aren’t going to keep him waiting.” He pulls me through the sea of hate until I’m outside the coatroom. “Go home, Daphne.”

Fury. I can hear it, feel it, taste it in every syllable of his words. But I also see…reason. Apollo has always been the reasonable one.

I’ve never been so relieved but also terrified in my life. What happens now? What do I do? Where do I go? Do I listen to my husband? Or is he the one who’s going to kill me?