Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
APOLLO
While Ares keeps Ophelia busy at the gym, I sit in my bedroom at the desk with Atlas. All of our hard work will pay off soon. I can feel it in my bones.
Morpheus gave Atlas information on Belen and Alexander Drakos.
We’ve been going through it for weeks. Account numbers, passcodes, PINs, ledgers, and bank statements.
Every document ever filed for their businesses, copies of deeds, trust and stock certificates, real estate documents, and Belen’s current will.
Everything we need.
We comb through thousands of transactions daily and are far from uncovering new information—only what we already know. Belen accused our father of moving money between his offshore accounts. But the shady bastard has so many of them it’s hard to narrow down our search.
“Three more days until the wedding,” I say to Atlas as I scroll down the page with banking transactions. “This is taking longer than I expected.”
“Patience, brother.” My twin pats my shoulder. “We’ll get everything we deserve after Mom marries that piece of shit.”
“Sure,” I agree. “Mom has her part of the plan covered. But we’re no closer to proving Dad’s innocence until we find the smoking gun.”
“I know this is important to you.” Atlas sighs. “But it doesn’t matter. I doubt we’ll ever find anything because he set Dad up. Why?” He shrugs. “We may never know. Only Belen can tell us that. Even if we find the evidence and jam it down Belen’s throat, he’ll never admit he was wrong.”
“Dad didn’t steal from him,” I fire back. “He wouldn’t lie to me.”
Belen Drakos exiled my father from the family. The falling out initially caused a rift between Cora and our mother. But good old Athena got back in her graces by divorcing our dad.
She couldn’t handle temporarily losing her standing among the Beacon Bay elite. Our family fell apart because of it. And six months later, my dad died outside Olympus in the street. Even if Belen didn’t pull the trigger, he ordered the hit.
He’s a fucking murderer.
“Once Mom gets Belen to change the will, we can get the fuck out of here.”
Every second of our free time, we look for unusual transfers. Anything that can prove our dad had wronged Belen. I know we won’t find it because my dad didn’t do it.
“What about Ophelia?” Atlas props his elbow on the desk and glances at me curiously, tipping up his dark brows. “I know you feel something for her.”
I sneer at him. “I feel nothing.”
Lie.
I feel everything.
And I hate it.
“Even if we didn’t have our twin bond, I would know you’re lying. I can see how much you like her. And don’t even get me started on what you did with her and Ares in the bathroom.”
“Momentary lapse in judgment,” I say in my defense, and I hate that he’s right. “It won’t happen again.”
“You need her,” he presses, getting so close to me I can feel his breath on my cheek. “She can fix you, Apollo. I know it. Ophelia is the one.”
My hand trembles with the anger coursing through my veins. “The daughter of our enemy can’t fix me.”
I am broken.
But I don’t need my brother or anyone else to tell me that. I’m damaged on the inside. I feel a hollowness where my heart used to be. And some days, I wish I could carve out that darkness with a knife and set it on fire.
Like I don’t already know that the twisted thoughts in my head are not normal. My dreams are nightmares of a past reality that have sucked the life from my body. He doesn’t know what it’s like to have someone accidentally brush against him in a crowd, only for it to trigger a horrible flashback.
“I didn’t mean it that way. You’re not broken, Apollo.”
Atlas tries to pull me toward him, but I slide the chair so I’m out of his grasp. Usually, I don’t mind as much if it’s one of my brothers. But I’m pissed at him for bringing up the past. He wants me to heal from my trauma. Because that means he doesn’t have to indulge my sick fantasies anymore.
Ares doesn’t mind.
He never did.
My older brother thinks he’s God’s gift to the world, and having people watch him fuck excites him. He loves being admired. Ares is the best looking of the three of us, and he damn well knows it. Some women like it. I can see it on their faces as their eyes shift to me.
They want me to want them.
But I don’t.
It’s not about them.
It’s not about the sex.
Atlas tries to touch my hand, and I slide it off the desk. I hate the feel of anyone’s skin against mine—especially a woman’s. More than anything, I hate long fingernails on my body. I have nightmares about that sensation.
“Okay, fine.” He breathes loudly through his nose. “I get it, Apollo. I’m sorry. It fucking kills me that you’re hurting. You’re not just my brother. When you feel like shit, so do I.”
I can’t even count the number of sketches he’s drawn since I told him about that night on campus. Artists are more connected to their surroundings and can tap into other people’s energy. He knows me better than I know myself. Atlas draws what he sees—the dark clouds surrounding me.
Atlas is sensitive. Sometimes, I catch him crying because he can’t help me. So, he drinks to block out the pain. Fucks to help him forget. He puts his thoughts on paper, so I know how he’s feeling.
We all have our vices.
Ares needs to fight.
Atlas needs to draw.
And I need them.
I found a way to dull the nightmares, to help me regain control of my life. But by doing so, I ruined their lives. They can’t have a normal relationship with a woman because neither can I.
“I wish I could take some of the pain away for you,” Atlas says, and this time, I let his hand cover mine on the desk. “I just want you to have a normal life again.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be the same, Atlas. That night, I lost a piece of myself. I don’t know how to get it back.”
“Think about what I’m saying.” His fingers tighten over mine, and his tattooed hand trembles. “Ophelia differs from the other girls. I can feel it. I know you can too. You’re drawn to her. And Ares… I think he might be in love with her.”
I laugh at the idea. “Ares is too obsessed with himself to love a woman.”
For Christ’s sake, it’s only been a month. None of us knows her that well. Ophelia is hot, and I get the appeal of her big tits and ass and those plump lips I’d love to have wrapped around my dick.
I have been thinking about her since I moved into the house. But I have to keep my eye on the prize. She’s the daughter of our enemy, and nothing will change that.
“I’ll think about it,” I tell Atlas to get him off my back. “We have more bank records to review before Ares comes home with Ophelia and wrecks our concentration.”
I scroll through the never-ending list of transactions while Atlas does the same from his laptop. Considering how much Atlas gave The Serpents for this information, they should do the digging for us.
Only men as feared as The Serpents can help us claim Belen’s empire without creating an uprising. The other crime families in the city will be out for blood once Belen is out of the picture.
“Apollo.” Atlas points at the screen, eyes wide. “Holy shit! I got something.”
I follow his finger, and my mouth opens in surprise. “Is that real?”
His Adam’s apple bobs. “Yep. Looks real to me.”
We stumbled on a dirty little secret that will change Ophelia’s life forever. It also screws up months of preparation.
“How did Mom not know about this?” Atlas sinks into the chair, staring at me in disbelief. “This changes everything.”
“Belen isn’t Ophelia’s biological father.”
I let the words hang in the air, too stunned to comprehend the truth. We were not expecting a wrench in our plans. All of our hard work has gone to waste.
I slide my arm across his neck and bring him closer in a rare moment of affection. “If not for your sacrifice, we never would have found this. When this is over, you’ll get The River Styx back. I don’t care what deal we have to make with The Serpents. It’s yours.”
A smile tugs at his lips but quickly transforms into a frown. “If Belen knows Ophelia isn’t his daughter, how do we keep her from getting hurt when this is all over?” Atlas taps his fingers on my thigh and sighs. “I like her, Apollo. So does Ares. She’s not another nameless girl for us to share.”
“No,” I agree with a nod. “She’s not. You were right about her. I think she’s the one.”
The one for me.
For us.
A grin splits Atlas’s face in half. “Then we have to protect what’s ours.” He slides the chair back from the desk, chewing on his lip. “Belen is a spiteful piece of shit. He won’t give her Olympus.”
I smirk at my twin. “Then we take it from him.”