Four Brothers and a Bride-Chapter 65

ASHTON

I do a couple of laps in the swimming pool to get my mind off things. It’s hardly been a day since I let curiosity get the better part of me and went to see the stranger claiming to have credible information about my biological father.

I don’t know why I am desperate to put a face and name to the truth about my biological parents. I never thought that out of all four of us, I would be the one with a broken, inner child longing for unconditional paternal love. My brothers will find it hard to believe because I always put up a tough front.

While I do breaststrokes, I relive the previous day I had. It started with the stranger texting me again with a different number. I don’t know how they got my number initially but whomever the person is, I thought the stranger must be very persistent. Why are they so keen on revealing this truth to me specifically? What do they stand to gain from it?

We mostly conversed through texts. My questions were ignored as I was merely given an address to visit if I wanted to see my biological parents again. I asked if they’re still alive and got no response as usual so I promptly obeyed and visited the address. Now, I wish I had ignored that tug of curiosity because I feel worse than I did when I didn’t know.

When I finish my laps in the clear blue pool, I emerge from the water with my arms on the deck to find two pairs of feet waiting for me. I climb the steps out of the pool and dry myself with a towel. While Ashal takes a seat on the chaise lounge, Asher continues to stand with his shoulders squared and rigid.

"Don’t you have something to say to us?" Asher asks me. I incline my head and act like I am wracking my brain.

"Not really. How about you guys? Don’t you have something you need to tell me, like why I wasn’t informed that Demi was going to be taken to the penthouse despite our unanimous decision not to? Did you guys seriously make alternate plans behind my back?"

"Your questions will be answered as soon as you tell us where you went off to without telling anyone yesterday." Asher quips. I flick a glance at Ashal.

"Just tell us man. Everyone was super worried when we couldn’t reach you. You know the rules..."

"For the love of God, don’t bring up the stupid quad codes we made as teenagers. We’re twenty-fiver years old, grown-ass men and I don’t need a babysitter!"

"Jeez Ashton," Ashal gets on his feet with annoyance splattered across his face. "Cool it down, okay? What’s got you so riled up? You know very well those so-called childish rules have saved our asses more times than we can count. They’re just as relevant today as they were years back so don’t be so dismissive of them."

I exhale deeply. It’s not a good idea to spike Ashal’s anger. "Fine. The rules might still be relevant but I didn’t exactly break them. I didn’t do anything that could jeopardize you guys."

"We will be the judge of that."

I shoot Asher a searing look which he only smiles off. "I’m not in the mood for this." Before I can leave, Ashal grabs my shoulder, forcing me to stop hesitantly.

"It was my idea to follow through with my original plan of taking Demi to my other penthouse. I made the decision after I learnt from Olivia that Demi had met with Olivia’s best friend, Eliana, the same day Demi asked me for the favor." I turn sharply in utter shock.

"I had the same reaction. Demi and Eliana must have spoken at length. I think they’re working together to find Olivia. When Olivia called, Eliana put the phone on loudspeaker so Demi could listen in on the conversation and even talk to Olivia but Liv hung up before that could happen."

"Why would you keep something like that from me?" How often have they ostracized me from their plans?

"That’s not the part we were worried about telling you." Asher clarifies, then nods at Ashal to continue.

"I was very pissed that Demi was so close to discovering my secret and had deceived me into taking her to the penthouse so I made adjustments to my original plan. I invited William over to the house as well for the game night. Ashley was there too." When I fail to have any reaction, he adds, "William is actually Demi’s ex-boyfriend from High school."

If I felt anything following that shocking revelation, I fail to show it facially. "You set her up with her husband and ex-boyfriend."

"Actually, I set her up with just William." The fact that he is explaining everything so slowly makes me worried. "I...uh, I had Lily lock them up in a room together."

It takes a lot of willpower to keep restraining myself from showing any kind of emotion on the surface as I listen attentively. If I do, I’d only be justifying my exclusion from the plan. Ashal appears astonished at my indifference and hurries to finish his words.

"There was obviously a camera in the room. I just wanted Ashley to know exactly what was going on between them. Someone saw them acting suspiciously secretive at Demi’s party, speaking in hushed tones in a secluded area away from everyone else. Ashley wanted to confirm if there was still something between them and I gave him the chance."

"And?"

"Nothing more than a heartbroken man and an ex who never loved him. William seemed desperate to win Demi back or get back at her for jilting him." He shrugs his shoulder.

"What exactly did you think I was going to do if you told me?"

"Take the moral high ground because she’s our sister-in-law?"

"Not if you led with her meeting with Eliana. Besides, being in the house with you guys meant William could not have been crazy enough to try and hurt her knowing fully well that he couldn’t get away with it. He might be an ass but he loves his company too much to risk it crumbling because of a crime." I dry my hair some more. "Don’t keep things from me next time."

"You are one to talk." Asher butts in. "Your turn, pretty boy. Where did you disappear to?"

I plunk on the chaise lounge and dry my face. "I went to find out who our biological parents are."

"After we unanimously agreed not to." Asher says nodding. He jams his hands in his pockets and turns away from me to steam quietly. I face Ashal whose muteness and curious eyes can only mean that he wants to know what I found out.

"I got another text from the stranger offering to tells us about our parents."

"I thought you deleted the number."

"I did." I answer Asher, "but I was contacted with another number. I have no idea how they got my contact in the first place and why I am the only one being contacted about this but the only way to find out lied with following the bread crumbs left by the stranger. I couldn’t keep ignoring it so I decided to go."

"What did you find out?" Ashal asks keenly. From the corner of my eye, I see Asher’s ears prickle with suppressed interest.

"The address I was given led me to a graveyard. There was nothing about any particular names to look out for on a gravestone. All I got from following the text was that our biological parents are dead." I hiss out a breath. "I scoped the area because I suspected whoever must have led me there must have been hiding afar, watching me. I wasn’t wrong."

I lock eyes with Asher. "I think I saw her, the woman who blackmailed Ashley. It couldn’t have anyone else. She was wearing an all-black outfit and a nose mask to shield most of her features. She was too far for me to give her a chase and catch up to her but we stared at each other awhile before she left."

I sigh tiredly. "I feel drained. Not only were my hopes of meeting our parents alive dashed but I also couldn’t get my hands on the woman tormenting Ashley’s life. I needed a win yesterday to compensate for deviating from our rules and when I didn’t get any, I was in a sour mood. I refused to take any calls and simply sulked at a café nearby for hours."

Ashal pats my shoulder. "Your search wasn’t entirely fruitless. Thanks to you, we now know our biological parents are dead."

"We don’t know that." I counter him. "Even if I had been given names on gravestones, I would still have conducted my own research to ensure that I was mourning the right people. The address proved nothing without direct evidence of who our parents are and proof of their deaths."

"That’s right." Ashal concurs. "They could still be out there."

Asher shakes his head. "You are mourning people you never met?"

"Father makes it really easy for me." I throw the towel across my neck to head back into the mansion when the sound of Ashley’s car screeches to a halt in front of the mansion.

We all watch him stumble out ahead of Demi as he makes a beeline for the entrance of the mansion while holding a gift box. When he spots us by the pool, he makes a sharp detour towards us. I can tell from the distance his long legs gradually eat up that he is unsteady. Demi trails after him with a worried look on her face.

"What have you got there, Ash?"

He merely shoves the box into Asher’s chest and rushes to sit down on the chaise lounge. Only then do I realize he is shaking visibly. While Ashal questions him and Asher gently pries the box open, my eyes find Demi’s.

"What happened?"

"I found that," She says, pointing to the box in Asher’s hand, "in the restroom at the restaurant we had dinner. A lady left it for me."

"For you?"

"Did you see her?" Asher interrupts me, passing the box to me and Ashal to peruse. Anger wells inside me as I glance at Ashley who continues to sit quietly and even his breath. I head over to him and when I tacitly enquire about his mental state, he gives me a thumbs up.

"I did but very briefly. She was in the restroom when I came in, reapplying her lipstick but when I came out of the stall, she was gone, leaving the box behind."

I head back to Demi. "TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT YOU REMEMBER. WHAT DID SHE LOOK LIKE?" I ignore how flustered Demi must feel as she tries to recall. She must find everything very confusing but I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to accommodate her feelings alongside Ashley’s right now.

"C’mon Demi." Asher echoes next to me.

"She had a little black dress on and some stilettos. Her black hair covered most of her face and her eyes...I couldn’t see the color. She was wearing dark shades and I thought it was weird since it’s nighttime. I don’t recall much else." She draws in a sharp breath. "Is Ashley okay? He hasn’t said a word to me since we left the restaurant."

"Go in, Demi. We’ll handle this."

"What was that note about?"

"Inside, please." Asher warns with a low growl. Demi is clearly startled at his reaction. To diffuse the tension, I steer her away from the pool but only a few paces ahead.

"Someone thinks it’s funny to prank Ashley by making vile accusations capable of tarnishing his image. We’ll find them and make them pay. Go get some rest now. Ashley would be fine." She nods at my words before leaving.

"They’re watching me, aren’t they?" Ashley says with a surprisingly calm voice. Save for the redness in his eyes, he can pass for someone who didn’t just get a huge, traumatic shock tonight. "She was there at the restaurant, watching Demi and I. She knew when Demi got up to use the restroom and waited for her. I don’t understand the need to drag Demi into this? What do they hope to gain?"

I shake my head. "The message was meant for you. Demi was just a medium despite her name being on the box. If anyone else had been out with you, maybe even Nicola or William, the same thing might have occurred in the respective bathrooms. I don’t think she’s working alone and from what she did tonight, we know she knew you and Demi were going to be at that restaurant for your date."

"I did book it early and in my name."

Asher strokes his beard with a hand. "So, they’re not trying to attack you physically despite having been to your office and now, the restaurant where you were out with your wife. Your life must not be the target right now."

"They haven’t made any demands of me. Why these scare tactics? Are they hoping I’ll breakdown from sheer torment? What would they do if I carry on with my life like their efforts don’t faze me?" Ashley looks slightly pale now. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

I hold his gaze. "They suspect you fear something worse than death; your sexual assault and self-defense against Tobias coming to the light and destroying the life you’ve managed to build for yourself as a testament to your survival. They want to start with your mental health, wreck your mind, make you lose sleep till you probably confess to a crime you didn’t commit before the entire country. After that, they could come for your life." I exhale. "Only someone who bears a deep grudge will want to see their enemy go down this way, slowly and torturously."

"It has to be a family member." Ashal says. "Tobias’ death was swept under the rug, remember? Father dumped his body over the bridge and when he was found, it was ruled as a homicide. Maybe his family always knew ours was behind it even though he was found over the bridge."

"His family knew exactly how father handled any crisis he didn’t want to come to light. Tobias was his most trusted friend and bodyguard. He knew a lot of our secrets too." Asher paces, punching his right fist in his left palm. "This could get really ugly if we don’t find her and end this once and for all."

I go to crouch by Ashley’s side.

"Demi, she must have questions."

"We’ll worry about her later. Look at me. I won’t let any harm come to you. None of us will allow it. I need you to stay focused, okay?"

"What are we going to do? I just want it to stop, guys. I can’t live like this. I’m scared to think how far they’ll go if I don’t have a trauma attack soon."

Asher comes to loom in front of Ashley. "We’ll figure it out and find them long before that happens. Ashal, please help him inside and see that he takes a sleep inducer and rests for at least eight hours." Ashley’s protest is dismissed with a steely glare from Asher and I. "I wasn’t asking you. Go in and rest. That’s an order."

Ashley obeys but mostly because he needs rest. He has broken out in a sweat now and his face has lost the sheen it always has at the end of every day.

After I change and Ashley is successfully knocked out by the pill, the rest of us call father from his room. We meet him privately in his study and show him the box.

"Why was this addressed to Demi?"

"I think they suspect she might be clueless about her husband’s past and wanted her to pass the message along to him with lingering doubts. She’s not very consequential here and Ashley remains the main target." Asher moves closer to father. "She’s getting bolder as time passes. We have to nab her now."

"Duncan and his team have made some progress. I was informed that a member of Tobias’ family has indeed returned to Danvarr. The family probably tried to hide this information to throw us off their scent when they started coming after Ashley but Duncan unearthed it." Father, unlocks his side drawer, digs out a brown envelope and tosses it at us. He stares at me while Asher and Ashal quickly look through the files inside.

I don’t know what to make of the anger and frustration on his face so I look away. Once they’re done, I retrieve the file and peruse the pictures of Tobias’ daughter, Zoe. She seems like a decent woman in her plain clothes going in and out of the grocery store."

"Who’s the man next to her?"

"Her boyfriend." Father quickly answers me. "They’ve been spotted severally across cafes, restaurants and whatnot." I focus on the glasses perched on Zoe’s face and the slouched shoulders as she walks.

The height is right but she’s got some weight on her which is slightly more than our suspect should have. However, that can easily be padding and she wants us to rule her out as a culpable suspect.

Though I can almost guess from the photo that she walks nothing like the woman who delivered flowers to Ashley, I decide to make double sure before ruling her out as a suspect.

"I’ll have them monitored." Father says, "and interrogated as well if necessary."

"Can they wrap it up in forty-eight hours? We can’t keep giving Ashley sleeping pills. He needs to be assured that this shit show is over." Father nods at Asher. "Thank you." We bid him goodnight but while we’re leaving, father calls me back. I suspected he would when he kept giving me weird looks that strangely felt guilt ridden. My brothers all give us some privacy.

"How are you?" He asks to my surprise.

"I’m good."

Father fusses with the files and tucks them back into the brown envelope. "We-uh, haven’t spoken since..." His eyebrow slant upwards, half hoping I’ll get his drift.

"Since you shocked me with a step brother?"

"You’re still mad at me. That’s justified. Look Ash, I know nothing I say will change your mind or Josh’s existence..."

"Then why bother? Why are we even talking about this right now?" Angrily, I walk away but freeze at the door after the next few words leave his mouth.

"Do you hate me so much as a father that you had to go looking for your other one?" Slowly, I whirl back towards him.

"You had me followed?"

"I couldn’t reach you and I was desperate to. You kept cutting off my calls. I had your number traced." Instead of the explosion of anger I am used to, he comes around his table with a somber expression to lay a sturdy hand on my shoulder. "Ashton, YOU ARE MY SON AND MINE ALONE. I DON’T CARE THAT I DIDN’T SIRE YOU. I RAISED YOU AND YOUR BROTHERS. Y’ALL ARE MY LEGACY AND YESTERDAY, YOU CAUSED A TEAR IN MY HEART WHEN YOU WENT DIGGING FOR A DEAD MAN."

"Why did you keep our adoption a secret? It’s about our lives and we had every right to know. You had no right to keep that from us and let us find out the way we did." I shift my shoulders so his hands slip away. "You actually want me to believe you give a shit about my brothers and I outside of how important we are to your business? If you had been half a decent father, I wouldn’t have doubted you as my father or gone looking for the man who sired me."

"I understand my parental skills might have been a little unorthodox...."

"Parental skills?" I laugh in derision. "Feeding and clothing children doesn’t make you a parent, Brett Rollins. You ruined our childhood. I could never call you dad. You made us earn your attention and affection. No true father would do that." I distance myself and suck in a quick breath. "You and I can’t be more than this. Save your affections for Josh, the son you actually love." I storm out of there steaming with anger.

***

Zoe Woodley and her boyfriend stare anxiously at my brothers and I across the living room. Father, Duncan and other security personnel are the only other people around. Father had conveniently sent mother and Demi to have some bonding time at the spa and splurge on luxurious jewelry afterwards.

"Mr. Rollins." Zoe begins with a faint smile. "I was surprised you wanted to see me. It’s been so long." Father’s frown only deepens at her words. He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees and glares at Zoe.

"Don’t sit there and pretend like you don’t know why I have summoned you here." The icy edge of father’s voice smokes away the cheer on Zoe’s face. She scans the room and grows nervous. "Why have you been blackmailing my son over your father’s death? Why did you go to his office to plant that note, and why did you leave Demi the gift box at the restaurant? Your father’s death was investigated and ruled as a homicide. What do you hope to gain from this?" He continues to chide her, recounting details of everything that has happened and registers his disappointment in her.

"What?"

"Don’t test my patience by feigning ignorance, Zoe." Zoe stutters as her nervous eyes flit across the faces in the room. Her boyfriend closes a hand over her shaky ones.

"Zoe doesn’t deserve the accusations being levied against her. She hasn’t done anything wrong. We just got back in town to shop for our wedding because Zoe was nostalgic. She hasn’t even left my side ever since." Zoe is crying heavily next to him now. "He kicks the gift box at their feet. "There’s no way she could have ridden a power bike to go deliver flowers at your son’s office or left this box at a restaurant restroom while donning a snug black dress as you described."

"Oh yeah" Asher interrupts. "And why is that?"

"Two reasons." The boyfriend says, matching the anger sizzling in Asher’s eyes. "Firstly, Zoe doesn’t know how to drive anything, not a car, a bike or even a bicycle. I mostly do the driving and secondly," He pulls Zoe up with him and lifts up her sweater to reveal a growing baby bump. "She’s six months pregnant! You have the wrong woman!"

We all stare in astonishment. So, that’s the reason for the additional weight on her. The woman behind this blackmail is definitely not pregnant.

I turn to stare at Ashley who keeps a calm demeanor as his hope of getting back his peace of mind flies out the window. I wink at him to reassure him that we’ll get to the bottom of it.

There’s no way I am letting him suffer for something I did. I should be the one being tormented. I can handle it. If the blackmailer ever thinks of hurting a hair on Ash’s head, it has to be mine. I killed Tobias Woodley, and that is why I have made a decision; I am going to switch places with Ashley till we nab his blackmailer!