CHAPTER 6: SHATTERED GLASS
974 Words
Three days since I threw them out, three days since Adrian dropped his bomb, three days since I looked into Alexander's eyes and saw guilt I couldn't ignore.
I hadn't gone to work. Hadn't answered their calls. Hadn't opened my door.
I sat on my apartment floor surrounded by takeout containers and the pieces of my shattered life. Lily Hartwell, the name echoed in my skull, murdered parents, stolen identity. A conspiracy spanning seventeen years, and the three men I'd started to fall for? Their families were involved.
My phone buzzed again, Alexander, for the twentieth time. I let it ring.
A knock on my door.
"Serena." Lucas's voice, muffled through the wood. "Please. Just let us explain."
I pressed my palms against my ears.
"We're not leaving," Damien added, "We'll stay here all night if we have to."
I stared at the door, my heart screamed to open it, my head screamed to keep it closed.
The doorknob turned, Alexander stepped inside with a key in his hand.
"How did you—"
"I own the building." His voice was gentle, "I'm sorry. But you weren't answering."
"Get out."
"Not until you hear me out," He walked toward me slowly, "I know you're angry, I know you feel betrayed. But you deserve the truth."
"The truth?" I laughed bitterly, "You've been lying to me since the night we met."
"We were protecting you."
"Protecting me from what?"
"From this," He knelt in front of me. "From the truth about what really happened to your parents."
I looked into his dark eyes, the desperation in them was real.
"Tell me," I whispered, "Tell me everything."
Alexander sat beside me on the floor.
"Seventeen years ago," he began, "your father discovered. The Beaumont Foundation—Lucas's family's organization—was laundering money. Millions of dollars. And your father had proof."
"Proof of what?"
"Proof that Richard Beaumont, my father, and Damien's father were all involved. They were siphoning funds from charitable donations into offshore accounts. Your father threatened to expose them."
"So they killed him?"
"Not directly." Alexander's voice was heavy. "But they knew who would. Your father had another enemy—a man named Victor Sterling."
I froze. "Sterling?"
"Vivian's father." Alexander nodded. "Victor Sterling was a rival businessman. Your father had ruined him years ago. He wanted revenge. Our fathers gave him the information he needed to destroy the Hartwells."
"They conspired to murder my parents?"
"Not to murder. To ruin. They wanted to destroy your father's reputation, bankrupt the family, and make him disappear. But Victor went further. He killed them both. And then he came after you."
I felt sick. "He tried to kill me?"
"You escaped." Alexander's voice cracked. "You ran. You hid. And when the police found you, you had no memory of what happened. The state gave you a new identity to protect you."
"But someone knew," I whispered. "Someone in your family knew I was alive."
"Yes. And they've been watching you ever since."
I stared at him. "Your families have been watching me?"
"Not all of them." Lucas appeared in the doorway, Damien behind him. "We didn't know. Not until we started investigating years later."
"Investigating?"
"When we turned eighteen, we started digging," Damien said. "We hired private investigators. Tracked down witnesses. Found the truth."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"We couldn't." Lucas's voice was raw "You had no memory. We couldn't just walk up to you and say, 'Hey, your parents were murdered. Also, our families were involved.' We were trying to protect you until we had proof."
"But you slept with me," I said, my voice rising. "You had s*x with me without telling me any of this."
Alexander flinched, "That night—we recognized you immediately. We'd been searching for years, when you walked into that bar, we lost control. It was wrong. We know that."
"You used me."
"No." Lucas stepped forward. "Never. We love you. We've loved you since we were children."
"You don't even know me."
"We know you. We've watched you for years, we know you like white roses and classical music, we know you're afraid of thunderstorms, we know you bite your lip when you're nervous. We know—"
"Stop." I pressed my hands to my ears. "Stop it."
"You asked for the truth," Damien said quietly. "This is it."
"Victor Sterling killed my parents." My voice was hollow. "And your fathers helped him."
"They didn't pull the trigger," Alexander said. "But they're complicit. They covered it up, they paid off investigators. They've been protecting Victor for seventeen years."
"Why?"
"Because they're afraid," Lucas's voice was bitter. "If the truth comes out, they'll lose everything. Their fortunes. Their reputations. Their freedom."
"Good." I stood. "They should lose everything."
"Serena—"
"I need to think," I walked toward the door. "I need to be alone."
"Please." Alexander reached for me. "Don't shut us out."
I pulled away.
"I trusted you," My voice cracked. "I opened my heart to you. And you've been lying to me since the beginning."
"Lily—"
"Don't call me that." My eyes burned. "Don't you ever call me that."
I walked out of my apartment and didn't look back.
I stood in the rain, shivering, with nowhere to go. My phone buzzed. Adrian. I answered.
"Serena. I know you're angry. But I need to tell you something."
"What?"
"Victor Sterling isn't just connected to your parents' murder." His voice was shaking, "He's connected to everything. The conspiracy. The cover-up. The threats against you."
"Adrian, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying Victor Sterling is still alive. And he's been watching you this whole time."
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone, rain streaming down my face. Victor Sterling is still alive, he killed my parents. And now he's coming for me.
- Writer
