The heavy iron door slammed shut behind Genevieve as two of her father's guards practically dragged her into her father's private office in a discreet part of the house.
Following the scandal of the viral sex tapes, Ryan Harris had asked his men to pull Genevieve out of the birthday party and bring her back to him.
The room was dark, lit only by the dim overhead light and the faint glow of a reading light on the desk.
Dressed in a tailored suit, Ryan Harris stood by his massive mahogany desk, his face twisted in fury as raw anger radiated from him.
The guards roughly pushed her forward before stepping out of the office, leaving her alone with her father.
Before Genevieve could even steady herself, the slap came. It was so sudden and hard that her head snapped to the side.
A burning sting spread across her cheek, and the room seemed to tilt for a moment. She slowly straightened, her hand flying to her face, her wide eyes meeting her father's enraged ones.
"What the hell is the meaning of this?" Ryan roared, his voice booming in the soundproof room. "Why are there tapes of you? Goddamn sex tapes!"
Genevieve blinked, her mind racing. "I—what are you talking about?" she stammered, her voice shaky but defiant.
Ryan took a threatening step toward her, his finger pointing in her face. "Don't play dumb with me! Don't you dare!" he growled. "The media is having a field day. The entire internet is on fire with videos of you! Videos of you with—" He closed his eyes briefly, as if saying it out loud disgusted him, "—with different men. Are you recording your... your filthy escapades now?"
Genevieve's cheeks flushed, not with shame but with frustration. "Why are you yelling at me about the tapes instead of doing something to take them down?" she shot back, squaring her shoulders.
Ryan's face turned an even deeper shade of red. "Take them down? Are you insane?" he bellowed. "Do you even understand the gravity of what you've done? Of what this means?"
Genevieve crossed her arms over her chest, her chin tilting up defiantly. "What do you mean, what I've done? I didn't post them, and I didn't ask anyone to film me!"
"Do you hear yourself?" Ryan snapped, slamming his fist on the desk. "Do you realize how bad this looks? Do you know what people are saying about you? About me? About this family?" His voice lowered, ice cold now. "Do you understand the scandal of sex tapes of a supposed minor?"
Genevieve rolled her eyes. "I am not a minor. I am twenty!" she said, her voice rising.
"You only just clocked eighteen as far as the public is concerned!" Ryan roared. "You were still a child when that was filmed!"
Genevieve threw her hands in the air, anger bubbling to the surface. "I don't care! You and I know that I didn't just clock eighteen! Why do I have to live my life to please people I don't give a fuck about?"
Ryan leaned against his desk, his voice dripping with disgust. "You don't even feel embarrassed, do you? Your sex tape is everywhere, and you stand here acting like it's nothing."
She shrugged. "There are people with OnlyFans making money off things . Why should I feel embarrassed that some perverts are jerking off to my nudes?"
Ryan's fist slammed down on the desk again, his voice shaking with fury. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I hate this whole charade! I hate playing along with your stupid lies!" She yelled back at him.
Ryan stepped closer, his voice dangerously low now. "The 'stupid lies' are the only reason you're living like a goddamned Barbie princess. Do you have any idea the weight of the name you're carrying? Do you know the kind of shoes you're filling?" He jabbed a finger toward her. "Have you stopped to think about the Hanks? Do you think simply because they've not said or done anything this whole time that they are no longer watching? Do you have any idea what the Hanks will think when they hear that their underaged relative is trending all over the internet for something ?"
"Then maybe you shouldn't have made me live as Dawn in the first place! I didn't ask for this! I wanted to be me!" She paused, her voice shaking with bitterness. "If you were going to get rid of her Mom and grandparents, why didn't you just get rid of her too and save me this agony?"
Ryan stiffened. "I beg your pardon?"
Genevieve scoffed. "Who's playing dumb now? Do you really think I'm stupid enough not to remember? I know about everything you did!"
Ryan's hand twitched, his face hardening. "You know what? You're right. I shouldn't have made you live as Dawn. I wish I had gotten rid of you," he said, his voice cold and biting. "Even if Dawn is mute, she's way smarter and more useful than you will ever be in your whole goddamned life, you dumb fool."
Genevieve felt the words slice through her, but she refused to let him see how much they hurt. "Maybe you should've gotten rid of me," she said quietly, her voice filled with venom. "That way, you would have spared me the agony of living a life that isn't mine and saved me from the endless criticism and comparisons."
Ryan shook his head, laughing bitterly. "You're an idiot if you think you have it worse than Dawn." His voice trailed off, his expression shifting. "Where is she, by the way?" He asked when it suddenly occurred to him that he had not seen her around all day.
Genevieve hesitated, her father's sudden shift catching her off guard. "I asked her to travel ahead of me to Blue York."
Ryan's eyes widened with fury. "Are you stupid?" he yelled. "Why would you do that?"
Genevieve scowled, "She took my stuff down to school, and she's cleaning up the apartment."
"Please tell me you sent someone along with her," Ryan muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose to keep his temper under control.
When she didn't say what he wanted to hear, he shut his eyes and grit his teeth. "Oh, my God! How could you be so senseless? So careless to let her out of your sight?" He ground out angrily.
"It's not like she can do or say anything," Genevieve snapped. "She's just cleaning up the place. She won't go anywhere."
Ryan massaged his temple and exhaled sharply. "My worst mistake was giving someone as dumb as you her identity. Scratch that. My worst mistake is giving birth to a fool like you," he muttered.
Genevieve smirked bitterly. "I have always known you wished Dawn was your biological daughter. Too bad for you, though. I'm your daughter, not her."
Ryan's glare hardened. "Get out of my sight."
"With all pleasure, Daddy," she said with a taunting smile, "By the way, what did you get me for my eighteenth birthday?" she asked, tilting her head.
Ryan stared at her, his jaw clenched. "Like you already said, we both know it's not your birthday," he snapped. "And if you don't leave this room right now, I might just get rid of you after all."
Genevieve's smirk faltered, but only for a moment. "Gee! I'm going to bed. I have to leave for Blue York in the morning anyway," she said, turning toward the door.
"No. You're not leaving in the morning," Ryan barked. "You're leaving at once."
Genevieve spun around, incredulous. "Why? What's the rush?"
"Because I want you out of here. Reporters will be crawling all around here by morning. And until I say otherwise, you're banned from being active on any social media platform."
"No buts. If you leave now, you should get there before Dawn wakes up. This should be the last time you let her out of your sight unless you don't care about all these privileges you enjoy."
Without another word, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind her.