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Chapter 8
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2025-10-25 19:17:23
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THE WRONG BROTHER Chapter 42
Charlotte I was in the kitchen, sorting through a pile of unopened mail, when I heard the front door creak open unevenly. The sound was different this time, heavy, uncertain.I looked up, and there he was. Rhys. His coat half hanging, one hand bracing against the wall, the other loose at his side. His face was pale, his eyes glassy, his movements were not stable.He stumbled, his foot catching on the edge of the rug. Without thinking, I stepped forward and grabbed him under the arm.I guided him to the couch, his weight heavier than I expected. He let out a long, ragged breath and slumped against the cushions.“Sit,” I said softly, adjusting his coat so it didn’t bunch up uncomfortably. “Just… sit for a minute.”His head lolled slightly to the side, and I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands trembled as they rested on his knees.“You drank too much,” I said, more observation than accusation.“Rhys,” I said softly, crouching slightly to meet his gaze. “Let me get
THE WRONG BROTHER Chapter 41
Rhys“Are you telling me they went with Anders?” I ask, because the word still tastes like a challenge.Clara looks up from the tablet in her hands. The conference room is quieter than it should be, the kind of silence that means everyone’s counting the cost. “They signed with Anders this morning,” she says. “They cited a matching package and faster rollout.”I let that sit. “Faster rollout,” I repeat. “We had a better timeline. Better pricing. Better guarantees.”Larry rubs his forehead. “We did. But their final quote hit the board at 3:02 a.m. this morning. The client says they got it ten minutes after we sent our final deck.”A hundred little things click into a chorus in my head, timelines, timestamps, emails that never should’ve crossed paths, details that no one outside our walls should’ve known. A muscle jumps in my jaw as I lean back in my chair.“Ten minutes after?” I ask slowly, even though I already heard him. “You’re sure about that?”Larry nods, looking tired. “We checked
THE WRONG BROTHER Chapter 40
Charlotte The morning air was bright and deceptively calm.I had my keys in one hand, phone in the other, and a mental list of things to get done before noon. I needed a quiet day, errands, maybe lunch somewhere peaceful, anything that didn’t involve thinking about the chaos of the past week.I locked the front door behind me and turned toward the driveway.That’s when I saw him.Kevin.Leaning casually against a sleek black car parked by the curb, sunglasses perched on his nose, a smile already forming like he’d been rehearsing it in the mirror.My heart sank.“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered under my breath.“Good morning to you too,” he said smoothly, pushing himself off the car. “I was beginning to think you’d never come out.”I froze on the steps, the sunlight glaring off the car’s hood. “Why are you here again?”“You’re heading out?” His voice came easy, like we were still in the habit of sharing mornings. “I was hoping to catch you before you got busy.”He gestured to
THE WRONG BROTHER Chapter 39
Charlotte I closed the front door behind us, the soft click echoing in the hallway like the final punctuation on Kevin’s departure. My shoulders were tense, every muscle rigid, but I refused to look at Rhys. I didn’t need his scrutiny, his judgment, or whatever protective nonsense he thought he could offer.“Charlotte,” he started, his voice low, careful. “If he tries anything...”“I said he didn’t,” I interrupted sharply, spinning to face him at last. My eyes burned with a quiet fury, the kind that comes from days of feeling powerless while people tried to manipulate your life. “Kevin didn’t. He’s gone. Done. Finished. You don’t need to warn me.”Rhys’s jaw tightened, his hands clenching at his sides. “I know, but...”“No! You don’t know!” I snapped, stepping closer. “You don’t get to decide when I’m safe or when I’m not. I can handle myself, Rhys. I always have.”His gaze softened, a flicker of something raw, vulnerable behind the frustration. “I know you can. I just… I don’t like
THE WRONG BROTHER Chapter 38
Charlotte The morning after the police meeting dawns gray, the kind of colorless morning that matches the heaviness inside my chest. The rain from last night left streaks on the windows, faint trails that glisten when light hits them, then fade again. I’ve been watching them for the last fifteen minutes, mug in hand, pretending to drink coffee that’s already gone cold.I told myself I’d get work done today, clear my head, focus on something practical. But my laptop’s been open since seven, and the cursor blinks accusingly at a blank document. I’ve typed maybe three sentences, deleted five, and stared at the clock more times than I can count.It’s been a full day since we left the police station. The image of that grainy photograph, the man who hit me, keeps replaying in my mind. The face meant nothing to me, but something about his eyes... distant, hollow. I’ve never seen him before, but that doesn’t stop the unease crawling under my skin.Rhys has been quiet since then. Polite, care
THE WRONG BROTHER Chapter 37
RhysIt’s been four days since the night she walked past me without a word.Four long, dragging days of half answers and short silences.We still talk, sometimes.Mostly about practical things. The groceries, the housekeeper’s schedule, bills. Nothing that matters.Every time I try to start something real, her eyes harden, and I lose the courage to push.This morning, she was standing by the window when the call came in. I was at the kitchen counter, pretending to read emails I hadn’t opened. Her phone rang first, an unfamiliar number. She hesitated before answering.“Yes… this is she.”A pause. Her brows knit together.“Alright. We’ll be there.”She hung up and turned slightly toward me. “That was the police,” she said. Her voice was calm, too calm. “They found the face of the driver that hit me.”The words hit me harder than I expected. For a second, I just stared at her, unsure what to say.“Did they say who it was?” I finally asked.She shook her head. “Just that we should come in
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