3-My Stepbro Has A Secret

Lavender:

"Oh, that is my umm—daughter. She is Lavender," my mother's smile instantly faded when reminded of my existence. I hated how every time she looked at me, it felt like her soul left her body. I understood her trauma, but I was just caught in the middle. I didn’t want to cause her any more stress.

That’s why I stayed with her, even when I wanted to run away, so she could be at peace. But her living conditions didn’t allow me to leave her when she needed me the most.

After her mental struggles, my mother wasn’t able to keep a job. My sisters only worked part-time jobs that could barely cover their own expenses.

So, I had to step up.

From a young age, as early as 15, I’d been doing odd jobs, side gigs, and online freelancing to help my mother live the life she had always dreamed of.

I thought it would be enough to make up for my father’s crime against an innocent woman.

But today, she let me down. This was too much for me.

"Lavender, she's the one who doesn’t have a father, right?" Volkov's mood darkened while his son glanced at him after hearing this.

"The bastard one!" his son’s voice sent chills down my spine. I’d been avoiding this man all morning, and now I was here, in his mansion.

Talk about bad luck.

"It’s okay. I’ve forgiven her," my mother lied, unable to even look at me.

"This is Sabrina, and this is Normani. Children, this is your older brother Nikon. You’ll listen to him and obey him, okay?" My mother gave her daughter a look, expecting her to nod obediently. Right then, I realized Nikon only accepted my mother because of the blood transfusion for his girlfriend.

"Nikon! Your little sisters will come to you for help," Volkov said as he gently patted Nikon’s arm, while Nikon glared at me, sending threats through his eyes.

I couldn’t tell what his next move would be. Would he get rid of me, trap me, threaten me, or something else?

Of course, he wouldn’t just let me walk around knowing his secret. And from the looks of it, they didn’t seem to be telling my mother their true identity like I thought they would.

His face reminded me of someone, Easton. Easton has been a model in the industry since childhood. I had been in love with him for as long as I could remember.

He was nothing like my new brother, nothing like my rapist father, nothing like any of the men I had come across. Nikon seemed to have a similar face structure as Easton, but Easton was my crush and Nikon was my stepbrother, the mafia boss and the man I have instantly found hatred for.

"Come, let’s have dinner. The maids have prepared plenty of food for you, my love. You’ll need it since you’ve given so much blood to my future daughter-in-law," Volkov surprised me again by praising my mother.

He gently patted her back, and my mother smiled in a way she never had before. But I was going crazy. If they were taking my blood for her, what about Grandma?

I was, of course, asked to sit in the dark corner of the long dining table on a wooden chair.

Nikon’s presence was so intimidating, and the fact that we had met before, and I knew his secret, made me his prime target. Or so I assumed.

“Dad, may I ask you to come to the study? One of our clients wants to speak with you.” However, before Nikon could even sit down, he glanced at his phone and then successfully hid his agitation with a straight face, asking his father to come to the side. I could only assume it was related to their shady mafia business. Volkov excused himself and left the dining room with his son. But now, it was my turn to raise my concerns.

"Mom, why did you lie to me?" I began to bombard her with questions.

"There she goes again," Normani folded her arms, giving an exhausted look to Sabrina. They had never experienced what I had. Yet, they were the first ones to call me out whenever the slightest complaint left my lips.

"Fine, call me a liar. I was just trying to save you from pain. Because I knew you would be hurt when you found out your grandmother passed away, and your blood was being donated to another woman in need. But sure, I'm the bad person for saving you from that pain." There was a lot in her tone and words. But I focused on the bad news that ripped my chest open, exposing my heart to a new wave of pain.

"Grandma passed away? When, and what about her funeral?" The reality was hitting me hard. Had I not come here, I would still be in the dark.

"Year ago," Sabrina replied, causing my heart to sink. I felt so betrayed, and for the first time, I didn’t feel like I was at fault.

"You lied to me," I whispered again, and my mother closed her eyes, grunting under her breath.

Surely, I can’t always be wrong. Did I not deserve to say goodbye to my grandmother? The only person who ever cupped my face in her hands and said, ‘It's not your fault. You are miserable, and you are a victim too.’

After that, these cheeks had only felt harsh slaps. I had dreamed of my mother’s love for so long, but now I had to take a stand.

She needed to know that I wasn’t the only one who had been fooled; she had been tricked herself.

"Do you even realize what danger you've put us in?" I muttered while slamming my hands on the table and getting up. I could no longer hold it in and had to speak up. If we didn’t leave now, we’d be stuck forever.

"Sit down, don’t cause any drama," my mother seemed unfazed. She probably saw me as a troublemaker again. None of my concerns ever got any sympathy from her.

"No! The drama hasn’t even started yet. Do you even know who this man is? Who his son is?" I hissed, my hands on the table, "Nikon is the Mafia boss!" The moment those words left my mouth, my sisters and mother stared at me, their eyes wide open.

"And my other brothers are serial killers," said a heavy and deep voice. I was suddenly shocked when I realized we had been overheard.

As Nikon walked in, he folded his arms and leaned against the wall very casually. "Is that what you are trying to imply? I know why you must think that about me. I’m a rich man who loves to help people. Many good people with empathy for others get dragged into nasty rumors. I’m no exception."

The liar he was.

He was calling himself an empath when he had killed so many innocent people right before my eyes.

I shakily looked over at my mother, who was now clenching her jaw at me.

"Please pardon her. She has a habit of stirring things up," my mother motioned for me to apologize, but I had a very bad feeling about this now.

This man now knew that I had already started standing up to him, and he wouldn’t let me breathe if I didn’t obey him.

So I did what I could in the moment, "Where are my bags?" I asked my mom, and everyone exchanged glances except for Nikon, whose eyebrows raised as if he was intrigued to see what I would do next.

"Little sister, let’s not ruin the dinner. Have a seat," he said, while his father came out after ending the call.

He looked at us and then at my mother. 

My mother could tell from my face that I had been pushed to the edge and finally decided to stand up for myself. Otherwise, I would always listen to her and obey.

"Your stuff is in the guestroom," my mom said, and I quickly got to my feet. I understood—my mother wanted me gone so she could talk to me alone. Once in the guestroom, I started putting my clothes back in my bag. The maids had tossed them into the closet roughly while they prepared a room for me. Or so I had been told.

But I wasn’t going to stay here a minute longer.

"I’m fucking leaving," I muttered to myself, my breath sharply hissing out of my nostrils and my heart racing in my chest.

But then, the door slammed shut behind me, freezing me in place.

The scent of Turkish rose and sandalwood and heavy footsteps sounded way too intimidating to be from my mother.

I hesitantly turned around to see eyes so cold that I instantly gulped in fear.

Then he strolled closer to me, causing me to freeze in place, unable to move as he bent down to my ear and whispered, "You haven’t even met your other brothers yet. You’re not going anywhere, little sister."