Chapter 284: Father (1)
Elsewhere in town, Cassius arrived home after a morning filled with meetings with men Quinn wanted him to be well-acquainted with.
Cassius was yet to receive a visit from Harper’s father, so he was worried that Quinn would be upset that his plans weren’t going anywhere.
Cassius stopped before the door of Quinn’s study and tidied his appearance. He was curious about Quinn’s visit with the brothel owner and what his plans were for going there.
’Be careful,’ Cassius said in his head.
Now was not the time to upset Quinn.
Cassius knocked on the door twice and waited for Quinn’s response.
Only when Cassius heard his brother’s voice did he open the door and enter the study.
Cassius kept his gaze on the floor.
Nothing about Quinn’s room terrified Cassius by now, but he never liked entering Quinn’s private quarters.
"Have you done what I told you?" Quinn asked, closing a box and setting it aside.
"I did. I am becoming well acquainted with many of the nobles around the town. They are curious about our business and have offered invitations to their gatherings in the future. I have dangled what we could offer them, and a few of them might soon bite," said Cassius.
"Well done," Quinn showered Cassius with a rare but welcome compliment. "Keep getting close to them. What a shame that the king has disbanded his court. We were close to getting many of them on our side."
"Is it not good that they were killed before we got close? What if they spoke of our names?" Cassius asked.
"You hold onto something they love so they stay quiet. I thought you would have learned by now. I hope that any day now you will bring me news that you have killed that woman. Do not let her speak of your interest in proposing to her," said Quinn.
With the prince lurking around, now was not the time for Harper to be mentioning Cassius’s name.
Cassius did not understand Quinn. Why wasn’t he ordered to kill Harper instead of being made to go to her home and show his face as a suitor?
"Do it all carefully as you have done with the others. Don’t leave a trace for us to be caught. You will be killed long before I am ever caught," Quinn reminded Cassius.
"I know. When will you reveal the home you intend to stay in forever? The prince continues to search-"
"All because you kept approaching his wife, though I told you to stop. You wouldn’t have caught his attention if you had listened to me!" Quinn yelled, his voice bouncing off the walls.
Cassius kept his gaze on the floor.
Should Quinn be angry to the point of throwing something at him, Cassius wouldn’t be able to dodge it. He wouldn’t dodge it even if he saw it coming his way.
Quinn pinched the bridge of his nose. He settled himself since he didn’t want to ruin what was starting off to be a good day.
"Raise your head, Cassius. I will not hit you," Quinn said.
Cassius didn’t believe Quinn.
Quinn always lied, but still, Cassius raised his head to look at Quinn.
Cassius tried to focus on Quinn instead of all the boxes in the room. Each box contained something Quinn took from his victims to remind him of them.
The boxes dated back to more than a decade ago, to when Quinn first killed someone and found joy in it.
"You have made a mistake, and as a good older brother, I have forgiven you. Still, so you don’t make a second mistake, I have made something for you," Quinn said, tapping his fingers on a newly made box. "This one is for you."
Cassius stared at the box Quinn once described before. He was unfortunate to share a small room at one point in his life with a brother who detailed the look of a box he wanted to place him in.
"I am not going to fail you again, Quinn. I am going to make use of one of the men who owes you and have them court Penelope so the prince’s attention shifts from us," said Cassius.
"You may try your best, but the prince is too interested in who you are. You have gotten his attention, and there is nothing you can do to get rid of it. It will be short, but distracting him with someone else will be good for you," Quinn said.
Quinn walked to the window to look at the view, "It seems I don’t have any uses for the box since you are still so useful. Come closer, Cassius. You stand like you are afraid of me."
"I am not-"
"You should be. I almost gutted you when we were younger, but our mother said it was wrong. I have made up for my treatment of you by caring for you. You have come a long way thanks to my hard work," Quinn said.
"Thank you, brother," Cassius replied.
"We are still a long way from placing ourselves at the top. In no time, we shall have the brothel owners in our hands. I am starting to grow curious about the prince’s wife since there are so many infatuated with her," Quinn said, his mind starting to be filled with thoughts of Penelope.
Quinn continued to say, "The brothel owner made mention of her. He wants her, and even stranger, her cousin was willing to hand her over. Perhaps it is time I see why she is so wanted and make use of her."
Quinn paid careful attention to Cassius’s expression. "Does it pain you that I might want her? For all that I have done for you, you could let me have her. I have sold my body and soul to get us all of this. Am I not to be rewarded?"
Cassius nodded his head. "You are."
"We have come so far," Quinn said, thinking back to the old days.
There was once a time when Quinn wasn’t as wealthy as he was now. He had to join his mother in her work, where she sold her body to survive.
Quinn was young, yet no one spared him. Not men or women who knew better.
Tired of being used, Quinn wanted other ways than his body to make a living, and he found it after his first kill.
Others might frown upon what Quinn did to get where he was now, but Quinn didn’t care about their opinions. He did what he needed to do to survive this cruel world alongside his mother and placed himself where he belonged.