Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

Brent’s POV

“Alright it’s cool…I’ve got it. I’d just walk into his room, greet him and ask about how the past few years had gone for him…no big deal.”

I took in a deep breath as I walked into the house.

The silence hit me first. No television. No music from the kitchen. No Dad yelling at someone on the phone. Absolutely nothing. I closed the door behind me, frowning.

“Dad?” I called out.

No answer.

I kicked off my shoes and started toward the stairs. Halfway up, something caught my eye. Red heels sitting neatly by the hallway table. They looked just like Sofia’s. My heart did a weird little flip. She’d said she was studying tonight, but maybe she’d come to surprise me. The thought of it almost made me smile.

Almost.

Then a moan drifted down the hallway. My smile died instantly. I moved slower now, feet heavy on the carpet, pulse hammering in my ears. The sounds grew clearer the closer I got. Skin slapping against skin followed by a man’s grunt, clearly not Dad’s voice.

It was Maddox.

And right there in the living room, bent over the back of the couch like she belonged to him, was Sofia. My girlfriend. Her skirt was shoved up around her waist, panties dangling from one ankle. Maddox stood behind her, gripping her hips hard, pounding into her with steady, brutal strokes. Her back arched, head thrown back, mouth open in a silent cry as her eyes rolled white.

I froze at the edge of the room, bag slipping from my fingers. The thud barely registered. My chest sank in as I felt hot and sick, like someone had punched straight through my ribs and twisted. The betrayal burned up my throat, choking me. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. Not her. Not with him. My fucking stepbrother.

Sofia’s moans cracked into desperate little whimpers, her body shaking with every thrust. She looked completely lost in it, face slack with pleasure, completely unaware I was standing there watching my whole world shatter.

Maddox glanced over, sweat glistening on his chest, a lazy smirk cutting across his face like he’d been expecting me. He didn’t stop. If anything, he drove deeper, making her cry out.

“I was just about to cum,” he said, voice rough with effort.

The words had barely left Maddox’s mouth before my fist found his face. The crack of bone against bone echoed through the room. He stumbled backward from the intensity, crashing into the bedside table. A lamp toppled over and shattered against the hardwood floor, sending glass flying in every direction.

Sofia screamed.

“Brent, stop!”

I couldn’t. Not this time. Not after everything this motherfucker had put me through.

Maddox wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. He glanced at the smear on his knuckles before looking back at me. Then the idiot smiled.

“You hit harder the last time.”

“Oh, shut up.”

I lunged at him again and this time he was ready. His shoulder slammed into my chest, driving me backward until my spine collided with the wall hard enough to knock the air out of my lungs.

“You think this is about her?” I shoved him away.

“You think I give a damn about Sofia anymore?”

“No.” His voice came out calm. “I think you enjoy pretending she was the problem.”

Before I could process what he meant, I swung again. This time he ducked, making my fist sail past his head and straight into the bedroom mirror. The glass shattered across the room. The pain shot through my hand. I didn’t even feel it. All I could see was him. Years of stolen moments. Years of smirks. Years of always being one step ahead.

Sofia tried to wedge herself between us, tears streaming down her face.

“Please! Stop fighting!”

Neither of us listened. Maddox shoved me and I shoved him harder. He grabbed the front of my shirt. I grabbed his. For one brief second we stood there, forehead to forehead, breathing like two animals ready to tear each other apart.

Then the bedroom door swung open.

“Victor, thank God…” Sofia started, then she stopped as she saw that Victor wasn’t alone.

A woman in a cream-colored dress stood beside him with one manicured hand still looped around his arm. Her perfectly painted red lips parted as she took in the disaster before her. The shattered mirror. The broken lamp. The blood. The crying girl.

The two grown men trying to kill each other.

She blinked once.

“…You literally said they were adults.”

Nobody answered.

At the exact wrong moment, Maddox shoved me again. I stumbled sideways, reaching for anything to steady myself, and accidentally sent a throw pillow flying. It hit the woman square in the face and her lipstick smeared across one cheek. The room went silent again as she slowly lowered the pillow. Then she looked at Victor.

“You forgot to mention your family hosts wrestling championships.”

Victor closed his eyes for a second, trying to hide the embarrassment.

“I did.”

“You also forgot to mention…” She gestured at the room. “…whatever this is.”

She snatched her purse from the hallway table.

“I should’ve gone out with the dentist.”

The front door slammed a moment later. The silence she left behind lasted all of two seconds.

Maddox looked toward the stairs.

“…Think she’ll call back?”

I snorted before I could stop myself. He looked at me and I looked at him for one ridiculous second. We were both trying not to laugh.

Maddox rubbed his jaw.

“Another red flag?”

I folded my arms. “I’ve clearly lost count.”

Victor stared at both of us, trying to control his disappointment. Neither of us noticed until he cleared his throat. The laughter disappeared as Victor looked at both of us. Not at the broken mirror.

Not even at the blood dripping onto Maddox’s shirt or at Sofia, who was crying so hard she could barely breathe. Just us. And for a long moment, nobody spoke. Even the room seemed to hold its breath.

Finally, Victor sighed. It wasn’t loud. If anything, it sounded tired.

“Are you done?”

Neither of us answered.

He nodded once, as if our silence had told him everything he needed to know.

“Good.”

His eyes drifted to my bleeding hand, then to Maddox’s split lip.

“You’ve made your point.”

“I haven’t,” I snapped.

“I know.”

Somehow, that answer made me angrier.

Maddox wiped another streak of blood from his mouth. “You should’ve knocked.”

I turned toward him so fast my neck protested.

“You’re unbelievable.”

“I’ve been called worse.”

“I’m about to remind you.”

I took one step. Victor spoke before I could take another.

“Brent.”

I stopped. Not because he’d raised his voice. Because he hadn’t. He never needed to.

“I said enough.”

The room fell silent again. Victor looked toward Sofia.

“You should go.”

She stared at him, stunned. “W… what?”

“You heard me.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry.”

His expression didn’t change.

“I didn’t ask for an apology.”

She looked at me, then at Maddox. Neither of us said a word. With trembling hands, she picked up her handbag from the floor. For a second I thought she was going to say something, at least explain or even beg. Instead she walked out. The front door closed quietly downstairs and the sound hurt more than I’d expected.

Victor waited until the silence had settled again. Then he reached into his pocket and handed Maddox a clean handkerchief.

“Your lip.”

Maddox took it without a word. I looked down at my own bleeding knuckles. He noticed but simply looked away. No handkerchief. No concern. I chuckled once and it sounded bitter.

“Figures.”

Victor’s eyes met mine. “You’ll live.”

I laughed. “Of course. I always do.”

“Good.”

There was another round of silence until he spoke again.

“Both of you,” he said, voice remaining calm. “Sit down. We’re having this conversation now.”

I frowned. “What for?”

Victor adjusted the cuff of his shirt. “We’re long overdue for a family conversation. And I’m done watching the two of you destroy everything in this house because you never learned how to share.”

Maddox leaned against the wall, still dabbing at his lip. “If this is about the girl—”

“It is not about the girl,” Victor cut in. “It is about the fact that the two of you have been at each other’s throats since you were children, and I have finished mediating. So I am putting an end to it the only way either of you will understand.”

He looked between us.

“I’d keep this brief. The Regional Championship is in six weeks. White Scorpions versus Black Eagles. Whichever one of you leads his team to victory inherits the company. Full control. The empire. Everything.”

The room went still.

I stared at him. Then the laugh escaped before I could stop it.

“Wait wait…you’ve gotta be kidding me right?”