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2026-03-16 01:01:10
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MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN 82
"Are you still looking for a ghost, Ignatius, or are you ready to face a woman who refuses to die?"The voice echoed through the limestone throat of the sea cave. It was wet. Jagged. It didn't sound like Vesper, the polished corporate shark. It sounded like something dragged from the silt.Ignatius stopped. The beam of his flashlight cut through the rising mist, hitting a cluster of jagged stalactites. Water dripped. Drip. Plink. Drip. The tide was coming in. Fast. The salt air stung the raw skin of his neck."Vesper." Ignatius shifted his grip on the Glock. "Come out. Raffy is worried. He’s been receiving messages from a dead woman’s phone.""Worried? No." A silhouette moved behind a pillar of rock. "He’s thrilled. He’s sitting up there in that white house, watching his little sensors, waiting for the climax. Is this the part where the loyal dog finally puts the stray out of her misery?""You shouldn't have come back." Ignatius stepped onto a slick ledge. The ocean surged below, a bl
MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN 81
"She’s gone, Raffy."Ignatius stood in the doorway of the sun-drenched breakfast room. His shirt was still damp from the morning spray. He held a piece of driftwood. It was a charred fragment of the boat's hull.Rafferty didn't look up from his grapefruit. He dug a silver spoon into the fruit. Juice sprayed his cheek. "Gone is a relative term, Ignatius. Did you see a body?""The boat was empty. Listing. Half-submerged three miles out." Ignatius dropped the wood on the white linen tablecloth. "The current pulls toward the reef. Nothing survives that.""Interesting." Rafferty’s phone buzzed. A sharp, digital chirp. He picked it up. Stared at the screen. His face went white."What is it?" Ignatius stepped closer. His hand found the back of Rafferty’s chair.Rafferty turned the screen. It was an encrypted message. One line.I’m still breathing, brother."It's her device," Rafferty whispered. His hand started to shake. The spoon clattered against the porcelain. "She’s... she’s dead, Ignati
MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN 80
"Please, Rafferty. Stop."Vesper slumped against the mahogany desk, her fingers digging into the ruined grain of the wood. Her company was gone. The ticker on the tablet still glowed with a flat, red zero. She was a ghost in a red dress."I don't like that tone, Vesper." Rafferty walked to the corner of the library. He reached for the brass handle of the vintage record player. "It sounds like a funeral. We should be celebrating. Ignatius, didn't we say we needed a change in atmosphere?"Ignatius stood by the door, his hand still resting on the heavy iron key. He didn't move. He didn't blink. He just watched Rafferty’s finger drop the needle.A sharp, rhythmic waltz filled the room. The music was scratchy. Old. It skipped once, a jarring screech of violin, before settling into a frantic, driving tempo."Stand up," Rafferty said. He didn't look back. He poured two glasses of amber liquid. "Ignatius. Dance with our guest.""Raffy—""Dance. With. Her."Ignatius stepped forward. He grabbed
MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN 79
"Is that the smell of burning money, or just your dignity?"Vesper froze. She didn't look at Ignatius. She couldn't. He was currently crouched in the corner of the library, staring at a blank space on the velvet wallpaper. His fingers traced invisible lines. His eyes were wide, glassy, reflecting the flickers of the dying fireplace."The board is meeting," Ignatius whispered. He didn't blink. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple, cutting a path through the grime on his cheek. "They're waiting for my signature. The merger. It’s the only way to save the steel plant.""Ignatius, there is no steel plant." Vesper moved closer. She kept her back to the mahogany desk. "There is no board. You’re in a house on a rock. Rafferty is outside. You’re breaking, you pathetic bastard.""I told them sixty-forty." Ignatius started to laugh. It was a dry, rattling sound. Like stones shaking in a tin can. "They said I was aggressive. I said I was hungry."Vesper reached for the drawer handle. The safe k
MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN 78
"Tie the knot tighter, Ignatius."Rafferty leaned against the mahogany doorframe, picking at a hangnail. He tossed a coil of heavy hemp rope at Ignatius’s feet. The dust in the hallway danced in a single, dying shaft of light."Raffy, please—" Ignatius started."Did I ask for a conversation?" Rafferty didn't look up. "Five feet. No more. I want you two to become very well-acquainted with each other’s stench."Ignatius gritted his teeth. He grabbed Vesper’s wrist. His skin was hot, sand-paper rough. He looped the rope around her arm, then his own. He yanked the knot. Vesper’s arm jerked forward. She stumbled, hitting his chest. He smelled like cheap cigarettes and the copper tang of the salt he’d swallowed at dinner."You’re a sick prick, Rafferty," Vesper spat. She tried to pull away, but the rope snapped taut. Her shoulder wrenched. "This is kidnapping. This is torture.""This is housekeeping." Rafferty stepped back into the shadows of the lounge. "The west wing is filthy. Dust the b
MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN 77
"You want to leave, Vesper?"Rafferty sat on the edge of the porch, swinging his legs over the three-hundred-foot drop. He held the land deeds in his left hand. The wind caught the thick parchment, making it snap like a whip. In his right hand, he held a flare gun."More than anything." Vesper stood five feet back. Her hair was a bird's nest of salt and grease. She hadn't showered in three days. Ignatius stood behind her, a silent, hulking presence. The smell of dried sweat and brine drifted off him."Then let’s play a game. A simple one." Rafferty turned his head. His eyes were bloodshot. "Make Ignatius cry."Vesper blinked. "What?""Real, emotional tears." Rafferty tapped the flare gun against his knee. "If you can break the Saint—if you can squeeze one drop of genuine sorrow out of that scarred face—I’ll hand you these deeds. I’ll even walk you to the boat. You can go back to Apex and tell them you won."Vesper looked at Ignatius. He was a statue. His eyes were fixed on the horizon
MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN CHAPTER 21
"Here. Your new cage. Try not to rattle the bars too loud."Cane tossed a heavy brass key onto the marble kitchen island. It skittered across the polished surface, coming to rest near a vase of white lilies that smelled like a funeral. The penthouse was a sprawling, glass-walled vacuum sixty floors
Dernière mise à jour : 2026-03-20MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN CHAPTER 22
"Tie it tighter, Rafferty. You’re representing the Thorne name tonight, not some charity case from the gutters."Cane’s voice hit the back of the neck like cold steel. He stood behind the mirror, his large hands reaching around to jerk the silk necktie upward. The silk rasped against the skin. A ch
Dernière mise à jour : 2026-03-20MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN CHAPTER 19
Gemini said"Ignatius. Get him out of my sight."Cane didn’t look back. He stood in the center of the cabin, the heavy soles of his boots grinding splintered glass into the floorboards. Two men in black tactical gear stepped from the shadows of the doorway. They grabbed Ignatius by his broken arms.
Dernière mise à jour : 2026-03-20MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN CHAPTER 20
"You looks like shit, Raffy. Sit."Cane didn't turn from the window. He stood overlooking the sprawling estate gardens, his hands clasped behind his back, the fabric of his suit jacket pulled tight across his broad shoulders. The limestone walls of the master wing felt thicker than the cabin. Heavi
Dernière mise à jour : 2026-03-20
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