I wake up to a sharp sound.I crack my eyes open and take a long look around the bedroom. There's no one around, and the door is closed. It's dead silent in here, so I must have imagined the sound. Still, I feel uneasy. I don't even remember falling asleep, much less crawling under the covers.This must be Damien's doing.I can't believe I fell asleep in this unfamiliar place. Most people living in this house hate me and I have to keep that in mind. I have to keep my guard up at all times. I don't care what Damien says about this being his house; that's not how it works. His family has every right to hate me. I lied about being Jason's cousin. I lied about just needing a job.I lied my way to his bed.It's not something that can be easily overlooked, but Damien's an adult, we both are. I was spying on them, sure, but he killed my brother. Sometimes, I feel like I shouldn't have run to him. But I was desperate, and in any case, I'm here now. There's nothing I can do to change that.I'm
Damien takes one look at the caller ID, then excuses himself. I wonder who it is. Why do I feel like it's related to my mother? He just rushed out of the room, which means he didn't want me to listen to the conversation. Why not? If it has anything to do with mom, I have the right to know. I can't understand why he doesn't want me to know what's happening. He just assured me that he would take care of everything, yet I shouldn't know what he's planning? This doesn't feel right. I move closer to the door. I peer through the crack. He's standing right outside the door, but his back is to the door so he can't see me eavesdropping, or trying to. If he finds me here, I'll have some explaining to do, but he shouldn't have left the room in the first place. I hear him scoff. "That's out of the question. I'm not going to let her meet you." Her? My heart starts beating faster. Am I the one he's talking about? He walks a little farther down the corridor and lowers his voice. I can't h
Damien kept true to his word.I've been sitting here near the fountain for a long time. The sun's setting, and the chill is starting to set in. I'm determined to stay out here until he understands that nothing he says will change my mind, but I'll admit, I'm starting to have doubts about that.I wrap my arms around myself. I'm still in that baby pink slip—how would I have changed clothes?—and it's not keeping me warm, at all. This can be endured, though. It's not the kind of cold that'll kill me. I won't get hypothermia out here, but I do wish I was inside, where it's warm.I'm hungry and thirsty. My ass is numb from sitting here for hours. He's really doing this. I understand his concern, but it's my mother's life in danger. I don't know what Felix wants, but I do know that he's cruel enough to hurt her. I've never trusted him, and brother or not, I don't intend to.This must be why he brought me here, knowing his family wouldn't agree with his decision. I can't go anywhere, unless h
Has he lost his mind?His words caught me off-guard. Ethan? Why him? This doesn't make sense to me. "Why should I kill Ethan? What does he have to do with any of this?" I can't see the reason why he'd want to get rid of him. He manages the money, that's all. He's not involved in the 'do'. I thought he would say Damien, and as relieved as I am that it isn't him, I can't agree to this.I can't kill Ethan Keller."You're slow," he says. He adds, "It must be a George thing."Slow? What's he talking about? What should I know? I look back and forth between them. Rich is just watching us and standing beside my mother.Felix says, "Can't you see why? You really have no clue? Come on, think. Why would I want to kill Ethan? It's pretty obvious and I'm astounded that you haven't picked up on it yet.""Stop with the suspense," I say, frustrated. "I can't read your mind, and I'm in no state of mind to solve riddles. Just tell me why and how the fuck you expect me to kill him. In case you haven't n
Damien's standing in the driveway when we arrive.I didn't say much to him during the phone call, I just gave him the street name and waited for his driver. He was there two minutes later and I'd never been so glad to see anyone is my entire life. I feel sick, really fucking sick. Something isn't right. The stress, it's getting to me. I'm under pressure and I'm so tired of fighting, but I can't give up now.Ethan Keller is my brother.How crazy is that? It's unbelievable, inconceivable. And the craziest part? My mother knew this whole time. She knew Ethan was my brother, yet she lied to me and told me she didn't know where he was. Why would she do such a thing? Was she afraid of Ferdinand finding out, is that why she never said it out loud? But Ferdinand knew. Everyone knew.Except for Damien and I.And Theo, I won't forget to include her. He's her brother, too. They grew up as cousins yet they were siblings. That's messed up, and I don't know if Damien will even believe me. I don't e
Damien closes the door to his bedroom.With his good hand still on the knob, he wonders how the fuck he's going to tell Ethan all this. It's two in the morning, but this can't wait.He'd want to know, too.He stops by Theo's room, because she's the one who knows how to deal with situations like this, and she was eager to find out who their brother is, too. Her room is dark, but he switches the lights on. His right hand hurts like a bitch, but he'll ignore the pain. In fact, it'll keep him anchored to reality because it feels like he's in a fucking nightmare.She groans before sitting up in bed with some difficulty. She rubs her eyes and squints at him. "If the world isn't ending, we're going to have a fucking problem, Damien.""It's Ethan," he says without introduction. He closes the door and makes his way to her bed. He sits on the edge, cradles his sliced hand."What do you mean?" she asks. "And what the hell happened to your hand?""Ethan's our brother. He's Daisy George's fucking
I can't sleep.Damien's been gone for about two hours. I want to know what's happening, how Ethan reacted to all this. I don't know why I care, but I do. About his reaction, I mean. I'm anxious. I'm imagining all sorts of reactions from him, but he isn't happy in any of them. I don't believe this will change anything between us. He won't see me differently now just because he found out we're related.I'm only interested in what they'll do about my mother.I have to fight the urge to venture downstairs. I better stay in here, where it's safe, but I don't know what to do about my anxiety. There's nothing to distract me here, anyway. All I have are my thoughts, and they're not helping. I wonder how she's feeling right now. She knows they want me to kill my own brother, that's not something that can be taken lightly. She's already lost Aaron. She didn't know Ethan, I think, but that doesn't mean anything. She fought to keep him safe, to keep him away from Ferdinand. She loved him, of cour
"A Jasper Huntington is here," the boy says, shifting nervously on his feet and not staring anyone in the face.Sebastian looks around once. He hates this place, and whenever it's announced that there'll be a meeting, his stomach drops. The fact that they're under the ground in a forbidden place gives him the chills. It's a small cramped space and their plastic chairs are arranged in a circle around the dark room, their backs to the wall. There's some bottled water in a small wooden table nearby, but if he has another bottle he'll need to relieve himself and there isn't a bathroom anywhere down here. How easy would it be for someone to put an end to them. No one would even know where to look. It'd be as if they never existed. He shakes his head lightly to clear his thoughts.No one's paying attention to what he said and he isn't sure why. Jasper could be an asset and it's the only reason why he decided to join this meeting. He's Ethan Keller's brother and if he wants to meet them, tha