Desperate

Chapter 25

Vlad's POV:

Ah, Halloween. A perfect time for fright, mischief, and deceit. It was a time where Vlad could rob as many banks as he wanted and frighten rivals without having to worry they would know he actually existed. Halloween was his favorite time of the year, besides Maddie's and Elizabeth's birthdays.

The best part was that Elizabeth never liked trick-or-treating, at least that was what he told her, so he didn't have to worry about her getting lost out in the city. She normally would stay home and treat herself to reading a pleasant book from the library; hopefully, nothing paranormal, but on a night such as this, he doubted it.

"Hey, Dad?" Elizabeth's voice called from behind him, alerting him to her presence.

Without turning, he continued straightening his orange bowtie. "Yes, sweetheart?" he asked, glancing at the door through the mirror when he heard her walk into his bedroom.

"Are you going out?"

He stopped straightening his bowtie then turned to face her, noting her strange attire. She wore a long-sleeved black top with a matching blue pendant necklace; one he gave her for her twelfth birthday two weeks ago; a short, blue skirt with ruffles hung down from her waist to her knees, her feet were covered in a pair of plain black flats, and a pointy black witch hat sat upon her head, it almost too big for her. Then, to top it all off, blue streaks of hair blended well into her shiny black hair; oh, he hoped those were fake; she was too young to get her hair dyed.

Despite how uncomfortable her odd appearance made him, he straightened up and smiled gently. "Yes, Elizabeth. Don't you remember I have the annual Halloween Party to attend to with the neighbors?"

Which was another reason why he loved this specific frightening holiday; he could make up the same excuse each year to leave the house without Elizabeth coming along. After all, the annual party he was attending was an 'Adults Only Halloween Party', which meant she couldn't come with him. Sure, it was another lie to deceive her with but how else was he supposed to put bread on the table if he didn't leave to manipulate his rivals and rob banks?

"I know," Elizabeth started, and she crossed her arms, the action indicating defiance in his eyes, "I just thought I should tell you that Susan invited me to go trick-or-treating with her, and I want to go." She uncrossed her arms and rubbed the back of her neck nervously as she averted her gaze from his. "If that's okay with you, I mean."

He narrowed his eyes, skeptical; she never wanted to go trick-or-treating in the past, especially when she declared herself too old to go trick-or-treating at age nine; why did she all of the sudden want to go now? It wasn't like it was going to be enjoyable for her.

Plus, she was twelve years old. She was too young to be without adult supervision and if Susan's parents weren't going to be there, well, she wasn't going. "And, I trust Susan's parents will be beside you the entire time? They'll watch you as you go door-to-door?"

"Yep." She nodded once. "She told me her parents were going to walk us around the neighborhood and possibly in the city."

Well, if she was under adult supervision, he assumed he could trust she would be safe going out. After all, what could go wrong on Halloween night when several adults were around their children?

Plus, he had to show he trusted her to go places without him for them to have a strong bond when she reached her teenage years. He had to let her go.

"Very well." He smiled gently at her. "As long as Susan's parents are with you, I guess it's alright for you to leave. But, you must stay with them at all costs and listen when they tell you to do something."