The Lies That We Tell

Chapter 34

What the fuck? I watch Adrian’s face shift from disbelief to recognition as Cole sits, waiting patiently for our minds to piece together the puzzle he’s laying out for us. Cole’s gaze turns to me and I pray he doesn’t notice Devon’s closeness. “Did anyone ever tell you that Adrian and Sophia dated before she married Garret?” Phew, he’s too wrapped up in his ultra cliche villain monologue to notice anything besides his own voice. “Of course they didn’t. Everyone you love, Rhyann, has lied to you and kept secrets your whole life. Isn’t that right, Uncle Calvin?” Cole smirks at the lawyer, and Calvin looks at me sadly.

“When your grandfather was alive, we couldn’t tell you. I’m so sorry.” New tears collect on my lashes hearing the regret in Calvin’s voice.

“Enough, this is my story to tell.” Cole says before I can respond. “Anyway, as I was saying. Sophia and Adrian dated in their first year at Hartley. She got pregnant toward the end of the spring semester, and spent the entire summer hiding in that very same home you grew up in Rhyann.”

“That’s impossible.” I shake my head. “She couldn’t have children, that’s why they adopted me.”

“Yes,” Cole continues. “But that was due to complications during her pregnancy. she hemorrhaged and the doctors chose to perform a hysterectomy, isn’t that right Calvin?” Calvin nods slowly and Cole continues. “So they took everything but her ovaries. Your, I mean My grandfather, called the law firm he kept on retainer and they sent a young, new attorney to handle the lawsuit he wanted to file against the hospital.” Cole looks at me, a smile spreading across his face. “And the adoption of the newborn baby boy.”

That’s impossible. I look from Cole to Adrian, and then chance a glance in Tate”s direction. I’m relieved to see Devon back where he was before the story telling began. When I turn back to Cole, he’s watching me expectantly. I think back to the night at the club, the night I met Cole, and remember thinking about how he was a slightly older, darker version of Tate. He has the same dark hair as Adrian, the same nose and jaw structure as Tate and his father. But where do the pitch black eyes come from? Adrian and Tate share the same shade of silvery gray eyes.

“My mother had dark eyes,” Cole offers as if he’s reading my mind. “Just like her mother.”

“Oh my god,” I gasp.

Cole just smirks and continues his story. “When Calvin met James and Sophia, he told them that his little brother also attended Hartley. He told James how Garrett was going for his MBA and how proud Calvin was of his baby brother. So, the next semester, when Sophia went back to school, after not speaking to poor, heartbroken Adrian for months, she sought out Garrett Montgomery. Only to find out that him and Adrian were best friends.”

“She never told me,” Adrian says softly. “If I’d have known—”

“If you’d have known what?” Cole’s voice goes up an octave. “What could you have done? The adoption was finalized and I was already with a loving family. The Miller family.”

Miller family. It takes me a moment for the surname to ring a bell, and as if she was telepathically called upon, Aubree enters the room with a bright smile on her cherubic face.

“Sick fucks,” Devon says from across the room.

Aubree glares at him and Cole laughs. “Says the one who shares his woman with his brother and best friend, that you’re also fucking,” he says. “Anyway, when my beautiful little sister,” the way he caresses Aubree’s face when he refers to her as his sister has me retching in my seat. “came home from school that first summer, telling me about the Devereux girl who did everything to make her life miserable, we started planning how to get back at you.” The two of them look at me pointedly. The hair on my neck bristles and my teeth grind together.

“How the hell did I make your life miserable?” I scoff. “You were an absolute bully Aubree. Until you found out that I have more money than you, that I was set to inherit a bigger company than your daddy.” I stare daggers at Aubree with a smirk on my face.

She leaves Cole’s side and stalks over to me. I stand up and face her. She’s barely a couple inches taller than I am, so when we stare each other down, we are practically eye to eye.

“Your very existence ruined everything,” she yells. “I had everything, and the day you showed up, you ruined it all.” Aubree uses both hands and shoves me in the shoulders. It isn’t hard, but with my hands bound, it’s enough to make me falter. “Then you had to go and flaunt your money in all our faces. Everyone loved you and hated me!”

I laugh as she cries, and they’re not the stupid fake tears she’s forced out every time she cried about me to Tate, she seems genuinely upset. “I think you did that to yourself.” I speak to her as if I were speaking to a small child. “I never once flaunted any money. If you recall, you thought I was a scholarship kid.” I don’t back down from Aubree, I refuse to give into her theatrics. She gawks at me, her hand going up as she waves it through the air, smacking across my face. Even though it stings, I don’t give her the satisfaction of seeing me in pain. Instead, I just laugh harder.

“You won’t be laughing when I walk into Devereux Publications and take over your company.” Aubree moves to slap me again, but this time I’m prepared and I lift my arms in front of my face, the palm of her hand connecting with the back of mine. “I hate you,” she shrieks before lunging at me.

My arms go down quickly, snapping the zip tie with ease. That’s it! That was what the guy in the YouTube video demonstrated. I don’t have time to think about what else was in the video as the chair behind me skids across the floor and my back hits the ground with Aubree on top of me,clawing at my face with her well manicured nails. She screams as I bat at her hands protecting my face. My knee goes up, pushing at her pelvis creating space between us. I finally get a grip on her wrists and chance a glance in Cole’s direction. Adrian must have taken advantage of the distraction Aubree’s tantrum created, because I see him struggling with Cole. They’re fighting over something in Cole’s hand— probably another knife. I thought Adrian was tied to his chair this whole time, but neither he nor Calvin remain seated.

I put all my weight behind the kick as my foot connects with Aubree’s stomach. She lets out a shrill cry as she is pushed off me from the force.

“Don’t be a fucking baby. Kill that bitch,” Cole yells in his struggle with Adrian. I rush to Devon who is busy sawing through the duct tape in the corner. Liam is still out cold and Tate”s eyes are wide with horror as Calvin assesses the damage to their bodies.

“Get them out of here and call the police,” Dev instructs Calvin. “Take her too.”

“I’m not leaving you,” I argue as I crawl over to the group of them.

“Rhyann look—” Dev barely gets the words out before I’m yanked back by my hair, and Aubree is on top of me again. Her fingers wrap around my neck as she attempts to bang my head against the concrete floor. I reach up and swing at her face, missing each time as she shapes me.

“You take everything from me”!” she screams. “Even the satisfaction of killing you.” This bitch is completely unhinged.

The knife Devon used to free himself slides over and stops right next to my face. I stop struggling and reach for the blade. My fingers grip the handle and Aubree gets one good push, smashing the back of my head into the ground. My teeth gnash together as a jolt of pain shoots through my body starting at the back of my head and traveling down my spine.

The time it took me to reach the knife, cost me more than the couple seconds it took to grab it. Aubree moves to repeat the head bashing. Just as she’s lifting my head over the floor again, I swing up with the knife. The tip of the serrated blade cuts through the fabric of her tank top piercing the flesh underneath. I push fast and hard until the guard hits her rib cage. Aubree lets out a loud shriek and lets go of my neck.

“Beebee,” Cole yells from across the room.

“Get them out of here,” Devon growls at both me and Calvin. The man nods,helping Tate into a standing position before lifting Liam”s limp body. Devon stands and helps me up as Aubree continues to sob on the floor, her hand cupping the knife’s handle. “Go with him, help Tate up those stairs,” he tells me. Devon kisses me possessively on the lips stopping me from arguing. I look over at Tate as he wobbles in place. He won’t make it out of here on his own, and there’s no way Calvin can carry both him and Liam up the stairs.

I nod at Devon, tears rolling down my cheeks. Something inside tells me this is a goodbye of sorts. “Dev,” I whisper. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Rhyann. Now go while Adrian has him distracted.”

I look over at where Adrian and Cole continue to fight. Whatever was in Cole’s hands when the fight erupted is gone and they’re swinging fists now, knuckles bloodied as they each give and take hits.

Devon runs to the door, pulling it open and Calvin and I slowly slink our way out, Tate limping silently, using me as a crutch and Liam dragging along his chest slung over Calvin’s back as the older man grips Liam”s hands. The sounds of the fight fade as we ascend the stairs at a snail’s pace. The light from the open door at the top starts to filter in and the air becomes less stale when we are about halfway up. I’m sure it didn’t take this long to get down, but it feels like a lifetime as we make our way to the door.

“Go,” Tate coughs as we walk across the threshold and out into the fresh air. “Go help Dev.” His eyes are squeezed shut, the sun likely blinding him.

“Tate,” I cry, tightening the hold I have on him.

“Baby, he’ll kill himself down there to protect us.” His raspy voice is low as the words fall from his mouth. Tate stops walking and pushes away from me. He leans against the outer wall of the warehouse we’ve been under and slides down to the ground. “Don’t let him do it, Rhyann.” Tate is right. Devon has been on a self destructive path for years. Ever since his sister died, and he’s currently in a room, likely fighting with the man who took her from us all. I still don’t know if he knows that part of the story yet, and I’m afraid of what he’ll do when he does know.

“He killed Gemma.” The words come out on a choked sob.

“I know,” Tate nods sadly. “Now go, we’ll be fine. Just come back to me, okay?”

I nod, holding back the rest of my tears and kiss Tate softly before running back into the warehouse.