I slammed the photograph down on Xavier’s desk, my heart hammering against my ribs. “Explain this. Now.”
He leaned back in his leather chair, his expression calm but calculating. It was the kind of calm that made my skin crawl.
I knew better than to trust it. He flicked his gaze toward the photo, then back at me, a muscle in his jaw ticking.
“Where did you find that?” His voice was low, too controlled.
“Does it matter?” I shot back, folding my arms. “What matters is why I was in the same room with you, Ethan, and my father-and why no one ever told me.”
Xavier sighed, standing slowly as if he were considering his next move. “Alyssa, there are things from the past that you don’t understand. Your father made decisions that-”
“Stop.” I stepped forward, narrowing my eyes. “Don’t dance around this. Just tell me the truth for once in your life. What the hell was going on between you, Ethan, and my father?”
Xavier ran a hand through his dark hair, his face darkening with frustration. “It was Ethan’s idea,” he said at last, his words clipped.
“He wanted to merge your father’s business with his. Your father and I both knew it was dangerous, but Ethan was… persuasive. He wanted control.”
I narrowed my eyes, my fists clenched at my sides. “So you’re saying this whole thing-everything-was Ethan’s fault? You had nothing to do with it?”
He gave a small shrug, a flicker of irritation crossing his face. “I didn’t say that. But Ethan was always two steps ahead. He pulled strings. He manipulated your father into trusting him. And when your father wanted out-”
I cut him off, my voice sharp with disbelief. “When he wanted out, you both turned on him.”
Xavier’s expression remained unreadable, but I caught the briefest hesitation in his eyes-a flash of guilt, maybe. Or maybe I just wanted to see it. “Your father knew too much. Ethan didn’t give him a choice. And I… I was trying to keep the peace.”
I let out a bitter laugh, pacing the room. “Keep the peace? That’s rich, Xavier. All I see is blood on your hands. Both of you-Ethan and you-used my father and tossed him aside. Now you expect me to believe you’re some kind of saint in all of this?”
He didn’t flinch. “I never said I was a saint, Alyssa. But I didn’t kill him. That wasn’t me.”
I stopped pacing, my chest tight with anger and confusion. Was he telling the truth? Or just another version of it?
I picked up the photo again, staring at the frozen smiles on the faces of three men who had shaped my entire life without my knowledge. My father, Ethan, and Xavier-three sides of the same damn coin.
“Why was I there?” I whispered, almost to myself. “Why was I in that room with all of you?”
Xavier stepped closer, his voice softer this time, like he was trying to soothe me. “Your father wanted to keep you close. He thought… if you knew all of us early, it would make things easier when you were older. He wanted to shield you from the worst parts of this life, but he also knew you’d have to face it eventually.”
I clenched my jaw, biting down the urge to scream. All my life, my father’s choices had been framed as protection. But what if they were just another form of control?
“You’re lying,” I whispered, the words coming out sharper than I intended. “You’ve been lying from the start, haven’t you? You and Ethan both. You were never going to let my father leave, were you? You wanted his empire for yourselves.”
Xavier’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t deny it. That was answer enough.
I took a step back, clutching the photo to my chest like it could protect me from the weight of everything I was learning. “You were all monsters,” I said quietly. “Every single one of you.”
Xavier opened his mouth to say something, but the sharp buzz of my phone interrupted him. I glanced down at the screen, my stomach twisting when I saw the caller ID.
Ethan.
“Perfect timing,” I muttered bitterly, raising the phone to my ear. “What do you want?”
Ethan’s smooth, dangerous voice crackled through the line. “I take it you’ve found something interesting?”
“What do you think?” I shot back. “I know you were there with my father and Xavier. I know everything.”
Ethan chuckled softly, the sound sending chills down my spine. “Do you? Or have you just scratched the surface?”
I tightened my grip on the phone. “Cut the games, Ethan. What do you want?”
His tone shifted, becoming more serious. “I want to meet. There are things you need to know-things Xavier hasn’t told you. I have proof, Alyssa. Proof that Xavier killed your father.”
My breath caught, and I froze in place. “What?”
“You heard me. I can show you everything, but not over the phone. Meet me, and I’ll tell you the truth. The real truth.”
My heart raced, my mind spinning with possibilities. Was this another one of Ethan’s manipulations? Or was he finally telling me something real?
I glanced toward Xavier, who was watching me carefully, his expression hard to read. Did he know what Ethan was saying? Had he been expecting this call?
“Why should I believe you?” I demanded, my voice sharper now. “For all I know, this is just another trick. You and Xavier are both liars.”
Ethan’s voice lowered, smooth and persuasive. “Because you know I’ve never lied about your father. Not once. I told you I’d protect you, Alyssa. I still mean that. But you have to come to me. Now. Before it’s too late.”
I swallowed hard, my heart pounding against my ribs. This was it. Another fork in the road. If Ethan was telling the truth, then everything I thought I knew about Xavier was a lie. But if Ethan was lying… then I’d be walking straight into a trap.
“Where?” I whispered, barely able to force the word out.
Ethan’s voice was calm, steady. “The docks. Pier 14. One hour.”
The line went dead before I could respond, leaving me standing in the silence with my phone still clutched in my hand.
Xavier stepped closer, suspicion flickering in his eyes. “What did Ethan say?”
I swallowed, shoving the phone into my pocket. “He wants to meet. He says he has proof… proof that you killed my father.”
Xavier’s expression darkened instantly. “And you believe him? After everything I’ve told you?”
I took a shaky breath, feeling the weight of the decision pressing down on me. Who could I believe? Ethan, the man who had always known more than he let on? Or Xavier, the man standing right in front of me, who had manipulated my life from the shadows?
“I don’t know,” I whispered, the words tasting like defeat.
Xavier took a step closer, his eyes narrowing with a dangerous glint. “You’re making a mistake, Alyssa. If you go to him, you won’t come back.”
I met his gaze, my heart pounding in my chest. It was already too late. The wheels were in motion, and there was no stopping them now.
I just didn’t know whose game I was playing anymore-or whether I’d survive it.