All Chapters of MY BESTFRIEND’S BROTHER, MY RUIN: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

"Who the hell are you, and why are you touching my sand?"Rafferty gripped the porch railing. His knuckles turned a chalky white. Below, in the bay, a sleek silver yacht sat heavy in the water. It looked like a shark made of chrome. A woman stood on the shore, her designer boots sinking into the wet grit. She didn't look like a shipwreck victim. She looked like she was about to buy the horizon."Vesper. Vesper Sterling," she called up, her voice sharp as glass. She held a leather folder against her chest. "And technically, Rafferty, this sand belongs to me. Or at least the man who fathered me."Rafferty didn't move. He didn't blink. "Cane is dead. The family tree is a stump.""Not quite." Vesper started up the path, her steps confident despite the uneven rocks. She reached the porch and slapped a thick, notarized document onto the table where Rafferty’s cold coffee sat. "Cane was a busy man. He liked his secrets kept in high-end apartments in Milan. I'm the one he didn't tell you abou

"You really think a piece of paper can stop the tide, Vesper?"Rafferty held the heavy parchment between two fingers. The wax seal was a deep, bruised red. He flicked the edge, the sound sharp in the quiet kitchen. Ignatius stood by the stove, his back to them, the heat of the burners shimmering in the air."It’s not just paper, Rafferty. It’s a Bloodline Contract." Vesper leaned against the counter, her silk blouse stained with diesel from the boathouse. She looked like a queen who had crawled through a sewer. "Clause four. Explicitly clear. If a direct descendant of Cane is alive and on the island, all previous transfers are void. The island reverts. The shadow funds freeze. You’re just a squatter in my house."Rafferty didn't flinch. He walked to the window. The silver yacht was still there. A silent, chrome threat. "A direct descendant. My father was a very thorough man, Vesper. He didn't leave loose ends.""He was a man with appetites." Vesper smiled. It was a cold, jagged expres

"You’re going to be here for a very long time, Vesper."Rafferty didn't look up from the ledger. He sat at the heavy oak table, the morning sun cutting across his face. He looked pale. Exhausted. Outside, the gulls screamed over the wreckage of the silver yacht, now just a ribcage of metal in the bay."You can't keep me," Vesper rasped. She sat on the edge of the kitchen chair, her wrists raw from the rope. "My firm... they have protocols. If I don't check in, the next boat won't be a rescue team. It’ll be a clean-up crew.""Let them come." Rafferty turned a page. The paper hissed. "I’ve already redirected your transmitter's signal through a relay in the Azores. As far as Apex is concerned, you’re currently sipping gin in a safe house. You’re a permanent resident now. At least until the real land deeds are delivered to this porch.""You're insane. You’re a squatter playing at being a king.""I'm a man who doesn't like being lied to." Rafferty closed the book. The thud echoed in the sm

"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

"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