Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 147

DEMI

I knock over my coffee when news footage of Liam being led away in handcuffs airs on TV the next morning.

"Oh dear, are you alright?" Mrs. Regan bolts to her feet, wiping off the brown smudge on her new table cloth. I am too distracted to even feel the scalding burn from the spilled coffee on my hand. My eyes remain glued to the TV.

"No. No." I continue to hum. Liam? How could this happen? I reach for my phone and dial his number but it’s switched off.

"Demi, do you know him?"

I continue to ignore Mrs. Regan unintentionally while I try to make sense of the shocking news. How did this happen? I thought Ashton has everything handled with respect to the Spellman and Rollins deal? How was Liam exposed as Billion-Err? Does he have a lawyer to fight for his defense? How could his own family throw him under the bus like that?

Ashton’s phone is turned off as well when I try it, and this worsens my anxiety.

"Demi, are you going somewhere? You can’t go out right now, remember?" My host reminds me with concern etched all over her face after I lurch to my feet. She comes around the table to calm me down. "What is it, dear? Why has the news got you all tensed up? Shouldn’t you be happy that the notorious blog that constantly bullies you and your family has finally been stopped?"

I sniffle. "I’m sorry, Amber. I didn’t mean to make a mess." I grab the towel from her to pad off the rest of the coffee but she stops me. She cups my chin and makes me look directly in her eyes.

"Should I be worried?"

I tear my eyes away from her maternal ones that strangely feel like looking into my own mother’s eyes.

"No." I respond, shaking my head. "I was just caught off guard. I’ll be fine."

"I feel bad leaving you here all by yourself the entire day."

"She won’t be by herself." Someone chimes, entering the kitchen. We look up to find Maddox beaming charmingly at us. "Hey mom." He turns and winks at me. "Hey, you." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

"Demi, Maddox happens to have some time to kill and volunteered to keep you company while I am away at the HQ."

Normally, I’d be grateful for their sacrifices but right now, I don’t want a babysitter. I want to talk to Ashton or Anna and figure out how to get Liam freed because without him and Billion-Err, my revenge is as good as botched. More importantly, my cover could be blown depending on how much the likes of Asher incentivizes Liam.

I surge to my feet. "I’m sorry but I have to meet up with someone. It’s urgent. Maddox, thank you so much for being considerate of me. Maybe we can hang out some other time. Amber, have a great day at work." They stand speechless and watch me sprint up the stairs to shower and prepare for my day.

In between my shower, I call Halle at the mansion and she informs me that she’s just as shocked at the news. She’s also worried. According to her, she warned Liam the previous night after Brett boasted to his sons that Billion-Err had been unmasked and Liam would be arrested soon. She didn’t understand why Liam didn’t flee.

I get that Liam is arrogant but he is not stupid. Why did he think he was untouchable?

Halle adds that Ashton spent half of the night with his father in the study. I silently wonder what that’s about.

"You’re still here?" I exclaim when I go downstairs and find Maddox waiting for me.

"I thought you might need a ride to wherever you’re going." Something warm blooms in my chest at his gentlemanliness. "Oh, Kat arrived too. She brought a friend." He adds with a coy smile.

I instantly recognize the look in his eyes when Kat strolls over with her friend and says hi to me.

"This is my roommate, Skylar. Sky, that’s my mom’s friend’s daughter, Demi."

Skylar is gorgeous. She looks like a painting with lush gold locks that glint under the slivers of sunlight washing into the room. Her eyes are more mesmerizing and unapologetically pulls you into their depth. It’s almost as daunting as staring into a quad’s eyes. With the knee-high black boots and jacket, she looks cute.

"Hi, Skylar" We shake hands.

"Skylar’s something of a fan. She’s been avoiding this house because of Maddox but when I mentioned you were staying here, she promptly asked to accompany me today." Kat grins at the mortified look on Skylar’s face. Maddox is too focused on Skylar to realize his sister just poked fun at him.

"I just think you’re very brave to marry one of the Rollins quads."

"Or stupid." I reply before I can stop myself. Skylar’s deep eyes unequivocally agree with my perspective. Somehow, they feel like they’re admiring and judging me at the same time. "Are you a fan of the quads too?" I move to break the awkward silence that ensues. "Which one’s your favorite? Every woman in Danvarr seems to have a preference."

"I don’t." Skylar voices firmly. "I think they’re overhyped, honestly."

"Good answer." Maddox interrupts, then blushes when Skylar turns and notices him. Kat steps between them, bids me goodbye before yanking her friend’s arm to give her a tour of her newly redecorated room.

Maddox drops me off at Anna’s place.

"Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?"

"I’ll be fine, thanks. Besides, you better hurry back if you mean to shoot your shot with Skylar. She’s a beauty." I give him a wink before he drives away. I pull down my face cap and walk to Anna’s door only to realize it’s unlocked. Someone yanks the door open and I gulp in shock.

"Get in!" Asher orders me.

***

I am beyond livid that Anna would give him a spare key to her home without warning me first. Did she know he was going to be here? Is that why she isn’t taking my calls?

"What do you want?" I query him after five minutes of uncomfortable silence. He flexes his shoulder. Why is he just staring at me? Is this about my mom? I hope Ashton handled it like he promised. Asher tosses a brown file at me. I pick it up and reach inside. My fingers go numb as I find a picture of Liam in it.

"Not the divorce papers you were hoping for?"

"What is this about?" The look of pure irritation on his face only deepens at my question.

"Is that the best you got, Demi Branson? Billion-Err? Seriously?" He laughs hard with a hand on his belly. "Whoa, I really thought you were a formidable threat. I spent months fidgeting for nothing. If that fool right there is the length and breath of your revenge scheme against my family, then consider yourself saved." The humor dries from his face. "If on the other hand there is more to it, then, you’d definitely want to reconsider. This isn’t a battle you can win, Demi, not even with Ashton by your side."

I crumple the picture and chuck it in his face. "If you have nothing better to say to me, get out of my face!"

No sympathy? No apology? Asher is indeed a mini version of Brett Rollins regardless of what their DNA samples say. I feel tempted to claw his eyes out the longer he stays here.

"I bet you thought we wouldn’t find out."

Steaming, I turn to him with blazing eyes. "Actually, I thought you’d find out sooner, Asher. You’re not as smart as you think. Turns out I was worried for nothing." He clenches his fist.

"What’s the big plan? Have us locked up for good? Run our empire to the ground or perhaps steal our wealth?" He laughs derisively. "If you think we’ve toiled with our blood and sweat to build an empire that a nobody can easily topple, then you’re even more stupid than I think."

"Not that you’d understand or believe but I was mostly interested in uncovering the undiluted truth about my parents’ death." My eyes, to my annoyance, begin to sting with tears. "It’s one thing to accidentally cause the loss of innocent lives but lying to their loved ones about what truly happened is just evil. I DESERVED TO KNOW THE TRUTH."

"And now that you do? What’s your plan for Ashton? How do you intend to make him pay for the manslaughter?" He takes pleasure in the pale sheen of my face as I look away. "Are you really going to punish the only member of our family that stood by your side even before he knew who you were? The only man who’s ever loved you since your father died?"

I tighten my fingers to stop them from punching his face.

"It amazes me how much you and Brett Rollins have in common despite not being biologically related to each other." When his eyes widen in surprise, I relish the second and smile brightly. "What’s the story, Asher? What’s the reason Brett insists on keeping his biological son hidden from the world while flaunting only his adopted kids?"

He is momentarily short of words. I didn’t mean to tell him my findings but his cockiness got the better of me. I sincerely hope I don’t regret opening my big mouth.

"There’s a whole lot more where that came from." I tell him, knowing he’s wondering where I got such classified information. "Don’t test me, Asher Rollins. Don’t underestimate me either."

"Who are you working with?" His voice is almost a silent plea which makes me grin. "Liam? You enlisted him to help ruin my family?"

"Liam is an honest blogger who only posts authentic news leaked to him. He has never made anything up so I am sure he won’t be locked up forever. If your family didn’t thrive on offending the law and stomping all over your morals, you wouldn’t be trending on the blog. I didn’t have to do anything. You all gave Liam enough content for his blog all by yourself."

"Are you claiming to be a saint?"

"Far from it but at least I don’t maim or even kill people in blind rage or keep them hidden away from their families and the world just to hide my secret."

He clenches his jaw on realizing I know Ashal’s secret too. I love how each reveal chips away at his confidence till his shoulders start to sag.

"Like I said, there’s more where that came from, even the classified ones you’d never believe can be leaked. Don’t test me, Asher Rollins. I’ve been too good to your family for keeping my mouth shut for this long considering how much you guys have wronged me besides the death of my parents. Revenge? I was having a change of heart but seeing how unremorseful and unsympathetic you are to me, I think I might just put my real plan in gear. I hope you all are prepared!"

The look splattered on his face can only be fear. I am beyond glad I could pull such a reaction from him. I need to ram it home that if they dare to come after me, they’ll be risking their ruination.

"GET ME THE FUCKING DIVORCE PAPERS I ASKED FOR WHILE I AM STILL BEING NICE, ASHER ROLLINS OR ALL YOUR FAMILY’S DIRTY SECRETS WOULD START TRICKLING INTO THE DMs OF MAJOR REPORTERS."

Asher expels a short breath and smiles at me. Wordlessly, he whips out another document from the brown envelop and tosses it at me.

"Read and sign as soon as you can. I’ll have someone pick it up."

"Great."

At the door, he turns to give me one last look. "Thank you for your discretion so far, whatever your reasons might be."

"Don’t patronize me, Asher. We are not friends. Just don’t make an enemy of me. It’s not a battle your family can win."

"I’ll take it that we have an understanding then. I’ll speak to my father. You keep shut about what you know. I’m sure we can meet each other halfway and settle our differences."

"Whatever. Get out." I say dryly.

He gives me a lopsided grin before leaving.

Once I ascertain that he has left, I clutch my belly and sink to the floor. I didn’t realize how much I had been holding my breath intermittently during our conversation. My heart is thudding in my chest. If only Liam had seen me, he would have been so proud. I stood up to Asher and rendered him speechless and scared. If I could pull that off, then I probably could take Brett on myself.

Of course, I am getting less motivated to take the revenge route as the days progress but the Rollins family don’t have to know that yet. I said what I said to keep them from coming after me and I really hope it works. I just have to figure out a way to see Liam and pull the plug on this messy situation before things get out of hand.

I know my place. While I am merely an orphan, he is still the estranged son of a billionaire. If our plans fall through, I’ll be the only victim to get burned with no one to save me.

Uncle Marcel is right after all. Revenge isn’t everything it’s cut out to be. Ashton already apologized and I know hurting him won’t make me feel any better. I just want my quiet life back without needing to look over my shoulder every minute.

When Anna arrives home at night, I give her the silent treatment for letting me walk into Asher unprepared. Despite her best efforts to explain herself and pacify me, I refuse to be swayed. What if I had been undone by Asher’s threats? What if he had left thinking he had subdued me and his family comes after me like I am easy prey?

Ashton returns my call but I ignore him too. I need space to terminate my business with Liam on a high note so when we meet again, I will be able to give Ashton back his peace of mind by accepting his apology.

I can tell by the peace flooding my chest that my deceased parents won’t be disappointed in me. If anything, they’d be proud that I am finally taking the high road and quitting a war I can’t win without becoming as evil as the monsters I want to fight.

"Demi! Demi!!" Anna interrupts my dream with my parents as she shakes me awake.

"What is it?" Grumbling, I sit up on her bed. "What?"

"Asher’s been calling your phone. He just called mine and he’s pissed. It’s about a news article citing that the quads are adopted and Josh Randall is Brett’s only biological son. Did you leak that? Asher is convinced you promised you wouldn’t."

"What?" The sleep fades from my eyes as I grab my phone. Truly, he’s left me a ton of missed calls and texts. I open a screenshot of the detailed article unveiling Josh’s paternity with DNA proof, baby photos compared with Brett’s, Brett and Kristy’s subsisting affair and much more. My hands grow clammy with sweat.

"I didn’t...I am not r-responsible for this..." I continue to stutter as I go through the screenshots. I gasp in shock when I see that it emanated from Billion-Err.

"Billion-Err posted this? How’s that possible? Liam has been arrested."

Anna gets my drift. "I thought you both handled the account together?"

"No, we don’t." I answer. "Liam is the only one with the passwords. I only feed him with information and proofs. If he’s in police custody, who else could have posted this secret on the blog without my knowledge?"

"Could Liam have done it from his cell?"

"No. The news mentioned that his phone and laptop were confiscated. He isn’t even allowed to see visitors yet."

My mind is whirling. Who else has access to the Billion-Err blog and why has Liam never mentioned this to me?