SIXTY DAYS WITH THE IMPOSTOR

CHAPTER FIVE

Dimitri

The long-awaited day came. My first appearance at Ashford Maritime. I saw my supposed brother.

He sat at the far end of the table, eyes scanning me like a hawk. Harlan Ashford. Dominic’s brother.

The man Marlowe had told me to be careful of.

His gaze locked onto me, and a slow, deliberate smile spread across his face.

“Dominic,” he said, like he was testing how the name sounded now.

I forced my expression into something neutral. Familiar. “Harlan.”

He let out a soft chuckle and started walking toward us.

“Welcome back, man,” he said casually. “Grief does strange things to people. One day you’re mourning your brother…” He tilted his head slightly. “The next day he walks right back in as if nothing happened.”

“I’m here now,” I said coldly.

“Mm,” he hummed, stopping in front of me. “You are.”

There was this awkward silence that hovered in the air, he cleared his throat, leaning slightly.

“You always did have a way of disappearing when things got… complicated.”

My pulse spiked immediately. So far everyone in this room bought the lie, but for some reason, Harlan didn’t look too convinced.

Marlowe stepped in smoothly. “You should let him rest, he's clearly been through a lot.”

Harlan didn’t even glance at her.

“Oh please, stay out of this, assistant,” he said softly, his eyes still on mine. “Dominic’s always been… sensitive.”

Those words didn’t sound like sympathy, It sounded like a blade wrapped in silk. He circled me slowly.

I stayed still, even though every instinct in me screamed to move.

“To be honest,” he continued, “I wasn’t sure you’d ever come back. Not with all the… pressure you were under.” He drew every word, like they carried some kind of weight.

“What pressure?” I asked, carefully.

Harlan stopped in front of me again, a faint smile playing on his lips.

“Don’t do that,” he said lightly. “Don’t pretend you’ve forgotten.”

“Or have you?” He added.

For a moment, I didn’t answer. But I knew I had to ask fast, I couldn’t risk being exposed now.

Did Dominic have memory issues? Had they covered that? Or was this another test?

“I remember enough,” I said finally.

Harlan held my gaze then his smile widened.

Harlan always had this habit of ruining things but I won’t let him have a lead on this

“We were just heading to his room.”

“Of course you were,” Harlan replied smoothly, too smoothly, as he could see right through me.

He moved closer, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Just be careful, brother,” He muttered under his breath. “Wouldn’t want you getting missing again.”

“ I appreciate the concern but as my wife said, we need to leave,” I said coldly even though my chest tightened, but I didn’t react. I couldn’t. Not here. Not in front of everyone.

Harlan straightened, his expression shifting back into something socially acceptable, something polished. The dangerous edge disappeared so quickly that it almost felt imagined.

Almost.

He gave a light clap, like the moment had meant nothing. “Anyway,” he said, louder now, addressing the room, “we’ve all got work to do. Try not to overwhelm him on his first day back.”

A few scattered chuckles followed, thin and uncertain.

Then he turned and walked away like he hadn’t stirred something deeply unsettling.

*

*

Marlowe didn’t say anything to me all through the ride back home until we were alone in the hallway of the mansion.

She let out a long exhale, "That was close,” she muttered.

I let out a slow breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. “He knows.”

“I don’t think so,” she said quickly, turning to face me. “He suspects. There’s a difference.”

I shook my head. “You didn’t see the way he stared at me.”

“I saw enough,” she replied. “Harlan has always been… difficult. He enjoys pushing people, making them crack. That’s what this is.”

“Or,” I said quietly, “he remembers something the rest of you don’t.”

Marlwoe went mute, she recovered quickly. “I know my husband much more than Dominic would and he and Harlan weren’t exactly close,” she said.

We rounded a corner that led us to the living room.

“Okay, it just felt like he was threatening me!”I said.

Marlowe threw her bag to the ground collapsing onto the sofa, “Let it go, Dimitri. You handled it so well.”

“Did I?” I replied. “Because it didn’t feel like it.”

“That’s because you’re overthinking,” she shot back. “Dominic always overthought things when it came to Harlan, I can’t believe you’re acting like him.”

I glanced at her. “So now I’m overthinking correctly?”

She didn’t smile, but there was something close to it in her eyes. “Exactly. Grab some rest, you’ll need it for tomorrow's meeting.”

I was going to complain but the. I remembered I signed up for this.

Marlowe rises to her feet and walks away. I sat down on the couch for a while trying to process everything that happened today. Harlan's devilish smile wouldn’t leave my head. It was at that moment that my phone rang. Dominic’s phone.

When I looked at the screen I was stunned at the name displayed. Harlan Ashford.

What does he want this time?

I clicked on the answer button and a baritone voice rang out, “Hello little brother, our conversation was cut short but I thought to myself, why don’t we hang out and catch up properly, like old times?”

My stomach tightened.

“Tonight,” he added. “Just the two of us.”

There was a long pause.

His voice dropped slightly.

“Unless…” he said, “you’re afraid you won’t remember enough to keep up.”

I didn’t answer.

But I knew I had to respond.