One Night With My Brother’s Worst Enemy のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

The Truth About My FatherDinner was a quiet affair.Ezra took her to a restaurant hidden in the basement of an old building, a place with no sign on the door and no menu posted outside. The host knew Ezra by name. The waiter brought wine without asking. The table was in a private corner, surrounded by velvet curtains, and Vienna felt like she had stepped into another world.She ordered fish she could not pronounce. She drank wine that probably cost more than her weekly rent. She laughed at things he said and touched his hand across the table and pretended that her brother's words were not echoing in her head with every breath.He is the reason our father is dead.Ezra must have sensed something was wrong. He watched her through the candlelight, his dark eyes steady and searching, and he asked fewer questions than usual. He did not push. He did not demand. He just sat with her in the quiet and let her be.By the time dessert arrived, Vienna could not take it anymore."I need to know e

Vienna stayed at the coast for three days.She woke up without an alarm. She ate breakfast at a diner where no one knew her name. She walked on the beach for hours, letting the cold water numb her feet and the salt air clear her lungs. She read a book. A real book, not a manuscript or a medical chart or a contract. She slept without dreaming of masks and collars and hospital beeps.On the second day, she called Silas."How are you?" she asked."Bored. The nurse is nice but she talks too much. I have started pretending to be asleep when she comes in.""Silas.""I am kidding. Mostly." She heard him shift in bed. "Are you coming home soon?""Tomorrow. I need to ask you something first.""Okay.""Dad's journals. Do we still have them?"Silas was quiet for a moment. "In the closet. Top shelf. Behind Mom's old shoes.""I thought Mom threw everything away after he died.""She threw away his clothes. His tools. His cologne. But she could not throw away his words. She put them in a box and tol

The next morning, Vienna went back to the office.She wore her best blazer. Her best blouse. Her best slacks. She applied makeup carefully, hiding the dark circles under her eyes. She pinned her hair back and put on her professional face and walked into Vance Industries like she belonged there.Because she did.Not because of Ezra. Not because of the auction. Because she had earned this job. Because she was good at it. Because she had spent fifteen years taking care of everyone else, and it was time to take care of herself.Lydia greeted her at the elevator. "You look better. Are you feeling okay?""I am feeling fine. Thank you for covering for me.""Of course. Mr. Vance is in a meeting until ten. He asked me to give you this."Lydia handed her a small white envelope.Vienna opened it.Inside was a single sentence, handwritten in Ezra's sharp script.My office. 10:15. Bring coffee.She folded the note and tucked it into her pocket."Thank you, Lydia.""Sure thing." Lydia walked back t

Ezra arrived at the office twenty minutes later.He walked past her desk without stopping. His face was hard. His jaw was tight. He closed his office door behind him and did not open it.Vienna sat at her desk and pretended to work.Her phone buzzed.Ezra: Come in.She stood. She walked to his office. She closed the door behind her and locked it.Ezra was standing by the window, phone pressed to his ear. He was speaking in low, rapid tones. She caught fragments. "Background check. Security footage. I want every name."He ended the call and turned to face her."Silas told me about the investigator.""I know.""I also know that someone has been following you. Someone from inside this company."Vienna's blood went cold. "Who?""I do not know yet. But I will." He walked to her and took her hands. "You are not safe here. Not until I figure out who is watching you.""What are you saying?""I am saying you need to take leave. A few days. A week. Until I can guarantee your safety.""I cannot

The elevator doors closed.Vienna leaned against the wall and let out a breath she did not know she had been holding."You just resigned," she said."I did.""You just gave up your company.""I did.""For me?"Ezra turned to face her. He took her hands. "For us."The elevator stopped at the ground floor. The doors opened. They walked through the lobby together, past the security desk, past the guards who looked at them with confused expressions.Outside, the sun was bright.Vienna squinted. "What do we do now?""Now," Ezra said, "we go home. We pack. We take a vacation. Somewhere warm. Somewhere no one knows our names.""We cannot just leave. Silas—""Silas is coming with us."Vienna stared at him. "What?""I already talked to his doctors. They cleared him for travel. There is a facility in Spain that specializes in his condition. I have arranged for him to be admitted.""Ezra.""He can get better there, Vienna. Not just manage the symptoms. Actually better."Vienna felt tears streami