Chapter 28: Hidden Heir: Chapter 28

Death is coming.

I welcome it now.

Most of the pain from my injuries has become numb and I no longer have sensation in my left hand. The torture has been less, for both of us. Something is keeping Paul distracted, and part of me hopes it kills him because then we can die quietly here, together.

I miss Tiffany. When Paul didn’t mention her the next time he beat me, I became certain that he didn’t have her. I don’t know where she is but something deep within me tells me she’s alive. I can only hope she’s somewhere safe and not being harmed.

My thoughts drift and I close my eyes as the faint sound of rain begins outside, momentarily soothing me. I try to count the raindrops as they fall, but soon there are too many, and I simply soak up the sound while imagining myself standing in the rain, imagining how each cold droplet would feel like bliss against my raw skin. It would be heaven. My eyes flutter as Leon’s hand lightly touches my cheek.

“Hey,” he says softly. “Stay with me.”

“I’m here,” I reply, slowly opening my eyes. “Still here.”

“Good.” He gazes down at me with both eyes, the swelling on his face reducing. They haven’t taken him away much lately though we aren’t sure why. We know there’s value in keeping him alive but Leon’s set in his promise to kill Paul, so allowing him to live feels like a rookie mistake. We did try to find sense in all of this one night, but at this point we are starving to death so trying to work through any sane thought is a struggle.

“What are you thinking about?” Leon gently brushes a grimy strand of hair away from my face.

I gaze up at him, my head resting in his lap as we cuddle together in the furthest corner of the cell. “The rain. I can hear it. If you close your eyes and listen…” I close my eyes again. “I’m imagining standing in it and opening my mouth, being able to drink more than the dirty shit they give us. I bet it tastes so cool and clear.”

Leon’s fingers gently stroke over my forehead and he makes a soft humming sound. “I can hear it.”

When I open my eyes, Leon’s are closed. He’s pale and I notice his fingers tremble each time they lift off my head. I know deep down neither of us have much time left. Either Paul will kill us out of frustration, or he will forget about us, and starvation will take us.

“We’re not getting out of here, are we?” I whisper.

Leon looks down at me and frowns. “Yes, we are. I promise. I’m going to get you out of here and you will reunite with Tiffany. Then you can go and live your life.”

“You don’t actually believe that.” My heart beats slowly. “I don’t believe it either.”

“Brooke, you have to hold on. For her.”

“Can I tell you something?”

He nods. “Anything.”

I don’t want him to die without knowing the truth.

“Tiffany is your daughter.”

Leon’s eyes widen so rapidly that he splits a wound on his forehead and a drop of blood rolls down his temple. “Wh–what?”

“She’s your daughter. After we first met and had that amazing night together, I saw you on the news the next day with your father. I didn’t want to be involved with a criminal. A month later, I found out I was pregnant, and I was so scared about what would happen to her in your dangerous world if I told you. So I hid her from you. I didn’t want that kind of life for her or for me. I didn’t want her around danger.”

Tears sting at the corner of my eyes as Leon’s hand pauses in my hair.

“When this whole mess with the Irish came up, I knew I had no choice. Deep down, I knew that if anything happened to me you would be able to keep her safe. But I was also terrified that you could be associated with them in some way. So I didn’t say anything. I had to protect her, you must understand that.”

Leon remains silent.

“Then when I learned how you made your money, I knew I was right to keep it from you.” I blink and everything blurs. “But now it doesn’t matter because she’s going to grow up without me anyway. I’ve failed her so terribly. I couldn’t save Ant from himself and now this.”

“Oh, Brooke.” Leon’s voice cracks. “She’s my, my daughter.” Leon blinks and a tear rolls down his bruised cheek. “My work… I would never put her in danger, you have to know that. The moment you walked into my home I wanted to protect both of you. I would never do anything to hurt either one of you. Brooke, I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” I gasp, wiping at my eyes, and barely feeling the sting of salty tears in old wounds. “I kept your daughter from you.”

“I did everything I could to make you feel safe but I’ve been blind to my role in the danger.” He shakes his head. “I have a daughter.”

For the first time since we were reunited, Leon smiles regretfully. I’m struck with how my decision to keep Tiffany a secret robbed him of time with his daughter. He seems to understand, but there’s pain behind his smile.

My eyes drift closed and Tiffany fills my thoughts, along with Ant. Ant, who sold me out and did god knows what with my child. Seeing him die was horrific and upsetting, but now I just feel cold. He let me down, right until the very end. He was a selfish prick and part of me wishes he had died sooner. It would have saved me a lot of pain.

“Brooke?”

I open my eyes to see Leon gazing down at me. “You really don’t know where the drugs are?”

I shake my head. “If I knew, I would have told them. I’m not built for this.” I glance down at my bruised body, and an ache of fear curls in my gut. “I would have told them if I knew. I never would have put you through all of this intentionally.”

“Do you think Ant really stole them?”

“Given how he sold me to save himself, yes, I believe so. An innocent man wouldn’t do that, right?”

“But this is your brother.”

I nod. “I’m pretty sure his greed would have forced him to point them in the direction of the money, not at me.”

“So…” Leon presses a palm to his temple. “My head is so fucked right now. Your brother stole the shipment and hid it. So why didn’t he claim it then run?”

“You met him. He wasn’t the brightest bulb.”

I watch Leon’s face twist as if he’s chasing a thought he can’t quite catch. “ They found him trying to score drugs yet he claimed he didn’t know where the shipment was.” He’s questioning his own thoughts, thoughts I’ve danced around myself for hours and hours, but there’s no answer. At least not one I can find.

“Unless he honestly didn’t know. Maybe someone moved them. Did he have a truck in his name, something that could have been impounded without you being aware?”

“No.”

“A storage unit?”

I snort softly, then break into a flurry of coughs. “Not a chance.”

“No car, no storage. What about his apartment?”

“He fled that place and came to me,” I remind Leon. “He begged to stay and I let him. All of his shit went to my⁠—”

I jolt upward suddenly, pain gripping my chest from the inside and squeezing around my heart like a fist has punched down my throat.

“What is it?” Leon gently touches my lower back.

I turn to face him. “I know where the drugs are.”

His brow lifts. “Where?”

“They’re gone. Fuck!” I suddenly realize where my bastard brother hid the stolen drugs. In the same second I also realize that they cannot save us from this hell.

“What are you talking about?”

“Ant had boxes of shit that I couldn’t fit in my apartment so I stashed them at work. In the greenhouse.”

The same realization flickers in Leon’s eyes. “Your flower shop that they burned down.”

“Exactly. They burned up their own product. It’s the only explanation. That’s why Ant couldn’t go and collect the drugs. My store was gone therefore the drugs were gone.”

Without those drugs, our only lifeline turns to ash.