Chapter 17 #2
“He and my mother. No one else. I shut down for a long time after that.”
“Then it’s safe to assume that these messages are from Lucas.
” He guides me to the living area and settles me down on the couch.
“When your brother was arrested, they must’ve fingerprinted him at the station.
These messages might contain fingerprints.
If the police can link those prints to Lucas, he will be arrested. ”
I meet his gaze, and after a moment of silence, I ask, “Are you asking me whether I’m okay with it?”
He raises his brows.
“Do it,” I say tightly. “I’m done. He’s no longer just threatening me. I’m not going to play around with my baby’s life.”
“I’m going to make some calls, then.” He runs his fingers through my hair and lightly tugs my head back so that I’m looking up at him.
“I’m right here,” he says quietly, his eyes dark but his tone calm and steady. “He won’t be able to so much as touch a hair on your head.”
I just squeeze his hand. “Go. I’ll make us some coffee and call the front desk. I want to know how he entered the building. After that night, when you dropped me home and the night doorman wasn’t there, I filed a complaint. Nobody should have been able to get in.”
As Ethan leaves the room, I pick up the landline that is connected to the front desk and the other major sections of the apartment building. The morning guard is on duty, and he picks up the phone.
“Hank, there were some letters in my mailbox. They were unstamped. Has anybody strange been coming to the building? ”
“They just had your name on it, didn’t they, Miss Thorne?” Hank asks.
“Yes. Do you know who?—”
“I don’t know who brought them, but I found them sitting on my chair outside the front door. They were addressed to you, so I just put them in your mailbox.”
I wet my lips, feeling a sense of relief. “So, they were outside the building, then?”
“Yep. Did I do something wrong? I thought it was just pamphlets. I know you and Miss Brown like to order from the restaurants sometimes.”
He doesn’t seem to realize no restaurant pamphlet would have carried my name.
“Is there any camera pointing in the direction of your chair?”
He laughs. “There used to be. Stopped working. Building maintenance said they’d look into it, but they haven’t gotten around to it. What’s going on, Miss Thorne?”
“Nothing. Do you know when the first letter arrived?”
“Sure, I guess.” I hear him scratch his head. “I think a few days after you came back from your trip? I can’t be completely certain. Honestly, I just saw them and put them in your mailbox. I thought I was helping.”
I press my lips together. “It’s okay, Hank. Thanks for letting me know. If you recall anybody who might have been loitering around at that time, give me a call, will you?”
“Sure thing, Miss Thorne.”
I put the receiver back in its place and lean my head against the wall. So Lucas was smart enough to not enter the building.
What is he trying to achieve? Is he trying to scare me?
Into doing what?
I know he’s got multiple companies. My mother brags about it enough times.
Why would he put everything at risk to come after me now?
I shouldn’t even be on his radar .
I always knew about Ethan growing up. My brother met him in college, and the two got along well.
But he never brought him home till after they graduated.
Then, after a few months, my brother stopped mentioning Ethan and began setting up his company.
Soon after, Ethan started showing up everywhere I went.
I used to work as a barista to cover some expenses that the trust fund didn’t, and one day he was there to buy coffee.
I already found him attractive, and when he asked me out, I was over the moon.
Of course, now I’m sure it had been planned.
I can’t even be mad at him because if Lucas really did steal from Ethan, then I can understand why he would be angry.
It does hurt that I was nothing more than a means to an end, but like I told Ethan, five years have passed.
We’re both different people now. And I can either hold on to a grudge and keep letting it affect me as I always have, or I can move past it.
There’s nothing I can offer him, which means the only thing he wants is me.
Ethan is still outside as I head to the kitchen to prepare some tea.
Once my brother went to college and after he graduated, we barely crossed paths because I was either studying or working.
I would clean the house and cook dinner and lunch in the early hours of the morning before I left the house.
I wasn’t allowed to move out because my mother expected me to look after the house for her.
And I was so desperate to please her that I never questioned her.
‘A child starved of love becomes a willing victim.’
My trauma counselor told me that, but it’s only now that I understand what it means. I could have broken the chains, but my desire for her love became the hardest chain to break. The idea of motherhood has cracks appearing in that chain now.
The desire to protect my child is greater than the desire to be loved by my mother .
I lean against the counter, watching the water boil, the evening light filtering through the kitchen window.
I never knew that my brother and Ethan were at odds.
But I remember finding it strange that my brother was just setting up his company, and he had already secured clients.
Ethan’s story makes more sense. Initially, I struggled to believe it because I remember how much my brother admired Ethan.
Every time he was home from college on break, he talked about him nonstop.
I’m trying my best to stay calm. I can’t afford to break right now. My nails dig into my arms. Lucas knows where I live now. He’s been coming here to drop off these letters. What’s his end game?
It scares me.
Lost in my thoughts, I nearly jump out of my skin when the kettle begins to whistle. Pouring the hot water on the tea bags, I carry the two mugs to the living room. A knock on the door has me looking around for Ethan.
He must still not be back.
Setting down his mug, I carry mine to the front door and check the peephole. A familiar face grins back at me.
Stepping back, I open the door and look at Ethan’s twin.
“Jake,” I say coolly.
He smiles in greeting. “Well, that was a lukewarm welcome.”
“I don’t appreciate being investigated.” My eyes tighten around the corners.
He gives me an apologetic look. “Sorry about that. But after having shared the womb with Ethan for nine months, I feel obligated to protect him. And your brother really did a number on mine.”
“And obviously that means I’m out to get Ethan too, right?” I ask dryly, the Manhattan traffic noise filtering through the open window in the hallway.
“One can never be too sure. I had my suspicions when I found out you were broke?— ”
The words are barely out of his mouth when a hand comes flying from behind him and smacks him in the head, causing him to stumble forward with a cry.
Ethan steps out from behind him, looking irritated. “I called Caleb, not you. And watch what you say to her.”
“Should’ve hit him harder,” I comment, sipping my tea and glaring daggers at his twin. “Maybe aim for the mouth next time.”
“Sorry!” Caleb’s voice is followed by the sounds of footsteps running down the hall. “I was parking the car.”
“Why’d you bring him?” Ethan asks as Caleb enters, winking at me when he sees me.
“Didn’t have much of a choice. We were at Mom’s. She’s been emptying out one of the guest rooms. She tried to rope Nick into it, but he had a work thing and bailed at the last minute.”
Jake rests his elbow on Caleb’s shoulder. “I wasn’t going to rip off that wallpaper by myself. So, what’s going on with you two lovebirds? Are we dating? Are we engaged? Are we ‘we’re sleeping together but it’s complicated’?”
“We’re ‘it’s none of your business.’” I bare my teeth at him. “And I didn’t call anybody. Ethan?”
“I called Caleb to help move some of your things. A moving truck will attract too much attention. That’s what I came to your room to tell you when you gave me the mail.”
“I haven’t packed anything yet, and Sarah’s coming home.
I think I’m just going to sell this place.
” I cast my eyes around the living room.
Sarah and I have spent three years here.
Three very wonderful years, and now things are changing in a way that still doesn’t make sense.
I’m moving in with the one man I could never have fathomed doing so with.
I let out a shuddering breath. “I don’t want Sarah living here either. If my mother or Lucas show up—I’d be constantly worried about Sarah. I think I’m going to just call a moving truck. I have a storage unit. I’ll put everything there?—”
“My apartment is big enough for whatever you have.” Ethan’s voice is low, and he touches my arm, forcing my attention back to him.
I meet his gaze. “I have a lot of stuff.”
“And I have a lot of room. And if we don’t have room, I’ll throw away some of my belongings. We’ll make room for yours.”
Behind him, Jake makes a gagging motion, pointing towards his mouth. Caleb just looks entertained. “Wow, Ethan. I didn’t take you for a romantic.” He looks towards his brother, batting his eyes. “Hey Jake, I want to move out of my place, but I have too many things. What do I do?”
I glare at them as Jake gives him a beaming smile.
“It’s okay, Caleb.” His tone is exaggerated, his hand on his heart as he pretends to swoon. “I’ll throw everything I own away to make space for you because you are just so important to m?—”
Ethan turns around, his expression not even flickering, and punches his brother in the stomach. Jake goes down with a groan while Caleb quickly jumps out of the way, backtracking. “That’s not funny, Jake. Don’t be rude.”