17. Aries
Aries
T he warehouse’s night sounds echo through my cell—distant machinery humming, pipes creaking, and worse, my brother’s footsteps above.
He returned an hour ago, his mood different.
Satisfied. Predatory.
Something’s changed.
I catch snippets when he passes near the ventilation shaft—phone conversations, movements that seem more energized than usual. Then I hear him say her name.
Lilian. The way he says it makes my blood run cold.
Pushing off the concrete floor, I pace the limited space of my cell. Six steps one way, six steps back. A choreography of captivity I’ve perfected over the past weeks. Until now, I’ve been patient. Calculating. Arson can’t hold me forever. Eventually, he’ll make a mistake or his plan will fall apart.
I can’t be selfish. I can’t risk him hurting her. Lilian.
I stop at the small window, pressing my forehead against the cool glass. My reflection shows what weeks of captivity have done—beard unkempt, eyes hollow, body leaner from Arson’s sporadic meals. A far cry from the polished Hayes heir everyone expects.
“Patience is power,” Father has always said.
One of his many lessons I accepted without question. How many things did I willingly accept? Arson’s treatment ? Keeping Lilian at arm’s length to protect her from our family’s corruption, from me? All of it was for nothing.
Now she’s caught between a family full of dark secrets and my psychotic twin.
Above, I hear Arson moving around his living space. The sound of a shower running. He’s humming—actually humming. Fucking dick.
I played my part, and I know it wasn’t right. I know I should’ve tried. Should’ve spoken up. No. Don’t think about the boathouse. About choices made and prices paid.
Focus on the now. On Lilian.
I’ve been playing it smart, biding my time, trying to conserve energy, watching for the perfect opportunity to escape. Knowing Arson’s revenge would burn itself out eventually. Except it hasn’t, not yet, and I have no more patience. Not with Lilian involved. Not when I hear that satisfaction in my brother’s voice when he says her name.
I shake my head in disappointment. She thinks she’s strong enough to handle this, him, our family’s secrets. She’s survived their manipulation, their constant control disguised as protection—but Arson is another beast. I don’t know what her intentions are, but she’s in over her head. I know my brother better than anyone else. We’re the same, even if he refuses to see it. He’ll offer her a taste of freedom, of power, and then use it against her.
He’s rotten, straight to the fucking core.
If only she knew I’m so much worse.
As badly as I want her, to corrupt her, mark her, claim her, watching him ruin her is not a fucking option. I was too much of a coward to save him, but I’m older now. Smarter, and stronger. I won’t make the same mistake twice.
The humming stops abruptly, and his footsteps move away. I grit my teeth, the tension in my jaw making my head ache. He’s in a good mood, which my addled mind tells me is because he saw her tonight. Or did something to her. Either that, or he’s planning to.
I press a fist to my head. I have to get out of this cage. Have to stop this before Lilian falls too deep into our family’s poison. But how? How do I get out of this place? There’s another option. If I can push Arson to lose control and kill me, then Lilian becomes useless to him. Then he won’t have a reason to involve her.
Maybe he’ll leave her alone.
Or maybe it’s too late for that. Maybe he’s realized just how tempting she is, how much her light calls to the darkness inside each of us.
Fuck, either way I have to try.
“ARSON!” I yell, and my voice bounces off the concrete walls, echoing through the ventilation system. “Come on, Brother! Let’s talk about what you’re doing to her!”
I’m greeted with silence even though I know he can hear me. He designed this prison himself, made sure I could hear snippets of his life above while he keeps me buried below. Torture at its finest.
“Getting squeamish about sharing?” I yell louder, letting anger trickle into my voice. “Or just afraid she’ll figure out you’re the Temu version of me?”
Something crashes above—a glass or plate shattering.
Satisfaction burns deep in my gut. Good. He’s listening.
“ARSON!” I scream until my throat burns. “We both know this has nothing to do with her. If you want to hurt me, then come and do it yourself. Stop hiding behind her like a coward!”
Blissful silence follows, although it’s heavy with potential violence. He’s close to breaking, I know it. I can feel it. I need him down here, need him angry enough to make mistakes or end my life.
“She’ll never want you!” My voice cracks, but I push harder. “You’re just wearing my face, playing dress-up in my life. The only reason you’ve made it this far is because you’re good at pretending to be something you aren’t. Something you never will be. The moment she sees the real you?—”
The sound of heavy footsteps moving with a dangerous purpose fills my ears. Not running—Arson never runs. He stalks. Is it something they taught him in that place? Or something he learned after his escape? I may never know, and that’s okay, because I don’t want to know anything about him.
“Do you really think she’ll accept you? Accept your darkness?” I’m practically shredding my vocal cords now. “It’s a shame if so. She’ll only pity you. The poor broken brother, twisted by trauma. That’s all you’ll ever be to her!”
He’s approaching the cell, and I brace myself against the back wall, ready for whatever comes next. Excitement builds in my veins as I continue to taunt him.
“What’s wrong? You’ve gone quiet so suddenly.” I call out, forcing a mocking laugh. “Did I hit a nerve? Oh wait, don’t tell me she already realized how pathetic you are?”
The observation window darkens as he stands before it.
Even through the reinforced glass, I feel the rage radiating off him. His hair’s still wet from the shower, his features—a mirror image of my own—are masked in fury.
“Someone’s feeling brave tonight.” His voice is deceptively calm. “Or stupid. Can’t really tell the difference right now.”
“Neither, really. More curious to hear about your date.” I bare my teeth in what might be a smile. “How is our sweet stepsister? Still pretending she doesn’t know you’re just a substitute for what she really wants?”
Just like that, he gives himself away. The lock mechanism whirs, and the door opens.
Here we go. Time to see just how far I can push him before he snaps.
He takes his time entering the cell, and memories of Lilian flood my mind.
At sixteen, trying so hard to catch my attention. The night she showed up at The Mill to give me that watch, and then our kiss, the night of her eighteenth birthday.
All that perfectly placed protection was for nothing. As much as I tell myself I’m not jealous, that I never could be jealous, I am. Arson, whether he knows it or not, is giving her everything I denied her—attention, desire, darkness. She’ll accept it, crave it because I made her hungry for any scrap of affection. Her fall into darkness is my fault, and mine alone.
“You’re thinking about her.” Arson leans against the doorframe, studying me with clinical interest. “I can tell, because you get this little crease between your eyes—right there.” He taps his own forehead. “One of the many tells I’ve had to learn to hide while playing you.”
“How is she?” I keep my voice casual, though my fists remain clenched at my sides. Don’t want to give too much away. “Still trembling when you touch her?”
He smiles, but it isn’t genuine. “Actually, she’s quite responsive. Amazing what happens when you don’t treat a woman like she’s made of glass.”
The different ways that could be interpreted smashes through my careful facade. “I swear to God. If you’ve hurt her?—”
“Hurt her?” He laughs, the sound eerily similar to mine but darker. “Oh, Aries. You have no idea. She begs to be hurt. Quite enthusiastically, I might add.”
Lies. He’s baiting me.
Yet, even as I tell myself that, the image still burns—Lilian in his hands, not knowing she’s being used as a weapon against me. Tears in her eyes, bruises on her skin, her fragile body punished for my wrongdoings.
“She’s smarter than she looks.” I remind him. “And capable of more than you think. She knows you’re a monster, could probably see it miles away.”
“Yes.” Arrogance oozes from his pores. “What do you think it is about me that excites her so much? She’s not the innocent girl you tried to preserve, Brother. There’s darkness in her that begs to be unleashed. It’s truly unfortunate that you were too much of a coward to see it or explore it. But your loss is my gain.”
I wasn’t. I was just… “That’s not fucking true. I stayed away to protect her!”
“From what? The family’s corruption?” He pushes off the doorframe, his movements slow, calculating. “While you were playing the noble protector, they were planning to commit her. Did you know that? That they were going to use her heart condition as an excuse to lock her away, just like they did me.”
No. He’s lying. They wouldn’t.
“You’re lying.”
“Am I? Or do you just not want to see the truth that’s right in front of you?”
“Her mother would never do such a thing.” Even as I say the words, I know it’s a lie. There’s not much Patricia wouldn’t do.
“Why do you think she’s so eager to help me burn it all down?” His eyes glitter with malice. “She’s tired of being controlled, of being treated like a porcelain doll. She wants someone who sees her strength, her potential for destruction.”
Little does he know I’ve seen Lilian all along, even when I didn’t want to see her, even when I had to pretend she didn’t exist.
“And you think that person is you?” I step closer, ignoring how he towers over my weakened frame. “The troubled twin? The family embarrassment? That you’re the one that will see her strength?”
His expression shifts, just slightly. A crack in the perfect mask. Keep pushing. Make him angry enough to forget his careful control.
“Tell me”—I bare my teeth in a smile—“does she call you by my name when you touch her? Does she envision my face every time she looks at you? How does it feel to be second best?”
“You want to talk about names?” Arson’s voice drops to a dangerous tone. “Let’s talk about what they called me in that prison you sent me to. Patient 4721. The troubled twin. The defective one.”
“I didn’t send you anywhere,” I snap, but guilt makes my voice waver. “I was a kid?—”
“Kid or not, you were the coward who stood there and watched them take me. You didn’t say a word about what really happened at the boathouse. You just let them build their convenient narrative, allowed them to paint a picture of how unstable I was.”
Old guilt mixes with fresh rage. “And now you’re what? Getting revenge by seducing our stepsister? Even you can do better than that.”
He laughs. “Poor Lilian, pining after her perfect stepbrother while he treats her like a burden.”
“I’ve never treated her like a burden.” Who the fuck does he think he is? “You don’t even know her.”
“Stop lying. We both know that facing your feelings for her was nothing more than a burden. It was easier to ignore them than deal with the potential repercussions.”
That honest assessment is a hard pill to swallow.
“As for knowing her….I know everything. I’ve studied you, your life, your friends. We’re mirror images of each other. Our brains are practically one. You can’t hide the truth from me. It was never about protecting Lilian. It was about protecting yourself.”
He’s getting too close to home, too close to my own honest reasoning.
“That’s not true.”
“It is, and continues to be. Now the real question is, why? Were you afraid to feel something real? Afraid of admitting you wanted her? Afraid of what your parents would say?” He grins knowingly as he checks off each box.
I know where this is going, what he’s doing, and as much as I try to fight against the bait he’s tossing out, possession and need demand that I remind him who she belongs to, who she really wants.
“You can’t have her!” I growl.
“I can’t? It kinda feels like I already do.” The rage inside me threatens to bubble over, and he pushes me over the edge with his next sentence.
“I can’t help it if I’m honest about my desires. If you want something you have to reach out with both hands and grab it, and that’s what I did. I took Lilian, and I won’t let anything stop me from claiming her, not even you.”
Lilian was never his to take. She’s mine. Forever mine.
I swing wildly, hoping to land a blow anywhere I can. I’m shocked when my fist catches him in the jaw, pain lancing across my knuckles from the impact.
Fuck, that felt good.
He staggers back, surprise flickering across features identical to mine. Like a lunatic he grins, blood staining his teeth.
“Truth hurts, doesn’t it?” He wipes his mouth. “Want to know what else hurts? How eagerly she responds to my touch. The way she arches into my hands, thinking they’re yours.”
I launch myself at him, rage overriding logic. We crash into the wall, grappling for dominance. He’s stronger, built on weeks of good food and freedom while I’ve survived on scraps, but fury fuels me.
“She doesn’t want you!” I slam my knee into his ribs. “She wants me, so remember that the next time you touch her.”
He catches my next punch, twisting my arm behind my back. “No, Brother. She wants what you never had the courage to be. Someone who sees her darkness and embraces it.”
“What are you going to do when she realizes you’re nothing like me?” I gasp as he applies pressure. “When she chooses to toss you to the side for me?”
His grip tightens painfully. “Funny you should mention that.” His voice turns silky. “She already knows I’m nothing like you and guess what?” His lips brush my ear, a parody of intimacy. “She prefers the monster to the coward.”
The words slam into my gut like he’s physically hit me, but I absorb them and force out a laugh. “Is that what she told you? Or is that what you keep telling yourself?” I laugh. “Maybe if you keep telling yourself that it’ll come true? When really we all know that no one wants you.”
His reply is a punch that makes stars explode behind my eyes.
Blood sprays across the concrete when his fist connects with my face again. Through the ringing in my ears, I hear him laughing—that broken sound that used to be identical to mine. My scalp burns when he grabs me by the hair and yanks my head back. “She does. And right now she thinks you’re both victims of this family. Thinks you were just as trapped as she was, playing your assigned role. The golden boy. The perfect son.”
“Better than playing the psychopath,” I spit blood at him. “Is that what you plan to do? Swoop in like the hero and save the day? Going to rescue her from the big bad Hayes family?”
His grip tightens, and the pain radiating across my skull is nothing more than fuel for the beast. “I’m going to show her everything they tried to hide. Every dirty secret. Every buried body. Together we’re going to burn it down. You included. After all, a dynasty can’t exist without an heir.”
“Adorable. Sounds like a match made in hell. Hate to be the one to break it to you, but she’s using you.” I laugh, though it hurts. “Playing on your obsession. Sweet, fragile Lilian’s got you wrapped around her finger, thinking you’re in control?—”
The next punch he delivers is right to my kidneys, and it sends me to my knees. I grit my teeth through the pain and continue. “Did she tell you she pities you? Poor, broken Arson, twisted by trauma? Bet that gets her hot—thinking she can fix you, save you?—”
“Shut up!” His control slips, showing the cracks I’m looking for. “You know nothing…”
“I know her.” I look up at him, and the coppery tang of blood fills my mouth. “Known her for years. Watching her manipulate everyone around her with that fragile act she pulls off so well. Even Mother can’t handle her like I can?—”
He hauls me up off the floor, his hand wrapped tightly around my throat. Then he slams me against the wall. Pain encompasses my entire body, but I do my very best to hide it.
“You handled her by ignoring her. By making her think she wasn’t good enough. Well, guess what? I’m going to give her everything you denied her.”
“Yeah?” I wheeze through his grip. “Going to love her? Make her whole? You can’t even love yourself. You’re too broken, too damaged?—”
“I’m going to corrupt her,” he snarls, face inches from mine. “Turn her into something even you won’t recognize, and the best part is, you’re going to watch it happen. Watch her fall in love with the monster wearing your face.”
I bare my bloodied teeth at him in a mockery of a smile. “She’ll never love you. You’re just a replacement. A cheap copy she’s settling for because she can’t have the real thing.”
His eyes go flat—that institutional emptiness I remember from the day they took him filling his eyes. Got him.
“I think it’s time that we test that theory.” His free hand moves to his pocket, and out of the corner of my eye, I watch him pull a syringe out. My body tenses instinctively—memories of watching nurses sedate him when we were younger filling my mind. “You know what they taught me in that place?” He taps the barrel, checking for air bubbles with practiced ease. “The exact combination of chemicals needed to keep someone compliant without causing them permanent damage. Had a lot of time to perfect the ratios.”
I try to push off the wall, but I’m weak, weaker now after our fight. “Big whoop, you’re going to drug me like they drugged you? Prove you’re just like them?”
“No.” He steps closer, needle glinting. “They used drugs to control me. I use them to create opportunities for education. Class is in session, Aries. It’s time to learn some hard truths about our little Lilian.” The needle slides into my neck with clinical precision, and ice spreads through my veins as he depresses the plunger. “She’s not some delicate flower you need to protect,” he continues, watching my legs give out. “She’s got poison in her veins, just like us.”
I slide down the wall, my vision blurring. He can do whatever he wants to her, but I won’t be able to live with myself if he hurts her. “Do whatever you want to her. But please… don’t... hurt her...”
“Hurt her?” He crouches down beside me, and I can barely make out his face, my focus swimming in and out. “I’m going to set her free. Then I’ll bring her down here when the time is right.” A cruel smile twists his lips. “Let you see exactly what she becomes when she’s not playing your precious stepsister.”
“She’s...better than...this...better than...us.” My tongue feels heavy, all of my thoughts scattering like marbles being kicked across the floor.
“Better than what? Hmm...” He cups his ear, mocking my fading tone. “The family who’s been planning to make her disappear at the slightest inconvenience? The stepbrother who rejected her? Or the man who finally sees her true nature?” His hand pats my cheek. “No need to answer yet. You’ll have plenty of time to think about it.”
The drugs pull me under, but not before I hear his parting words.
“I hope you have sweet dreams about your precious Lilian. While you’re sleeping, I’ll be teaching her exactly how good it feels to be yourself, and believe me, she’s such an eager student.”
Noooooo!!! Darkness claims me, but my last conscious thought is of Lilian. Not the innocent I tried to protect, but the warrior she might become in my brother’s hands.
God help us all.