Game of Deceit ✓

Chapter 61

Anna loved spending time with Vincent. He was her anecdote. That day she waited patiently for her husband.As she prepared dinner for him, her hands gently caressed her growing belly, feeling the life inside her. "I miss you mom, I don't know where I went wrong with Cassie." Tears rolled down her eyes. 'Maybe it was the hormones.'Her heart was heavy with their fight. She just wanted to hug and cry in her mother's embrace.

Anna herself carried secrets of her family. She wanted to share her story with Vincent. Anna was tired of keeping herself composed all the time. She knew she wanted to share her traumas, her pain with him, something she hadn't spoken about before. She wanted to let out the burden she carried inside.

With the aroma of the meal filling the room, Anna turned to Vincent. "Vincent, my mom, I miss her, I don't know if I'll ever be good enough," she began, her voice soft and full of emotion.

Vincent smiled at her genuinely for the first time. "You're a wonderful woman Anna. Don't ever be scared of your insecurities."

Anna blushed with his sincerity. "Tell me more about your mother" Vincent asked with curiosity.

"She was a beautiful woman, with fiery red hair, just like Aubreys. She loved all of us, every single one, and she instilled strong principles and values in us. She taught us to love wholeheartedly."

Tears welled up in Anna's eyes, and her voice trembled as she continued. "I loved her so much. She used to say that she was preparing me to be a good wife to her future son-in-law." She chuckled lightly.

Vincent held Anna's hand, his grip firm and reassuring, encouraging her to share her pain.

Anna's voice grew heavier with emotion. "She would've loved you dearly." Vincent felt emotional remembering his own mother.

"My father, he loved us too, but he was more of an introvert, quieter. But my mom... she was strong, and she loved my dad deeply. They both loved each other so deeply. She taught us to cherish that kind of love. But..." Anna paused, tears streaming down her cheeks. Vincent grew firm with Joseph's name.

"Something terrible happened. Something that she wouldn't share with anyone. She kept it inside her and fell into severe depression, and eventually, she... she died while giving birth to our sister."

Vincent listened in solemn silence, his heart aching for Anna and the pain she had endured. He squeezed her hand gently and made her sit on his lap, offering the only comfort he could give in that moment.

"But I know the truth Vincent............she didn't die by childbirth........She committed suicide!"

Anna's revelation hit Vincent like a sudden storm. The word "suicide" echoed in his mind, shattering any illusions he might have still held. He struggled to comprehend the weight of this new revelation.

"That's not what I was told," Vincent finally admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. His confusion was mixed with a profound sadness for Anna. He thought he had been deceived, and the truth was far darker than he could have imagined. He knew by now that Anna wasn't lying.

Anna nodded, her eyes filled with tears. "I know, Vincent. My father didn't want anyone to know the real cause of her death. It's a painful chapter in our family's history, and he wanted to protect us from it."

Vincent's thoughts raced as he grappled with the shocking truth. His desire to uncover the secrets of the Martinez family had just become even more urgent. He couldn't ignore the web of lies and deception that surrounded him any longer.

That night as Vincent lay in bed he felt a change in his heart for Anna. He wasn't acknowledging these changes in the past but now.......... something was amiss. Truth, he was in search of it. The story he was told had missing pieces and Anna's story didn't align with his.

'He wasn't the only one who had suffered in the past.' His heart constricted painfully at  the thought of a young Anna crying besides her dead mother. Revenge suddenly seemed like a bad idea.

He remembered what he told Terrance years ago.

2 years ago:

In the study of the Sterling mansion, Vincent and Terrance sat facing each other. The weight of the family secrets hung in the air, their conversation laced with a meaningful undertone. Their heartache empowering their mind and soul.

Vincent's gaze was unyielding as he began to reveal a tale that would shake Terrance to his core. "Terrance, there's something you need to know about the Martinez family – something that binds them to us in ways they can't fathom."

Terrance's brows furrowed, a mixture of curiosity and trepidation in his eyes. "What are you talking about, Vincent?"

Vincent's voice lowered, carrying a heavy gravity. "Our mother........ Terrance. She was involved with Mr. Martinez, long before he became the man he is today."

Terrance's eyes widened in shock, his disbelief evident. "Wait, you're saying... Our mother and Joseph Martinez had an affair?"

Vincent nodded, his expression unwavering. "It was a secret they kept hidden from everyone, especially their families. It tore our family apart, and in the process, it created a rift between our parents. The wound stash runs deeper than anyone realizes. Lily........she is our stepsibling. She is the proof of there unholy affair.."

Terrance's mind raced, his emotions a chaotic whirlwind. The revelation was a bombshell, a truth that shattered the perceptions he had held of his own family and the Martinez family. The complexity of the situation was overwhelming, a tapestry of emotions woven with deceit, pain, and betrayal. "But!....but Dad loved Lily like his own. He never once treated her differently not mom not Joseph"

Vincent's lips curled into a cruel smile. "They kept the our mothers' connection with Joseph a secret, their affair – it was a wound that never healed dad. Dad blamed himself for her leaving. He told me the truth after mom left. And now, it's time to reopen that wound, to expose the truth and make the Martinez family pay for their part in our father's suffering."

"Our father raised us. He made us what we are today. It's time we repay him. He could've left us after mom's betrayal. But he kept us. Mom didn't even fight for our custody. She ran away with lily. We were the victims in there play. You, me and Blake. We were innocent but look what happened to us. Dad did everything to be the best father but he couldn't fill our mothers void."

Terrance's anger simmered beneath the surface, his desire for revenge ignited by the shocking revelation. "So, lily.......our lily she's ...she's a Martinez?"

Terrance coudnt believe it. His felt his heart being stashed with the betrayal. 'How much had his father suffered?' Adam Sterling had become a closed book , a brittle shell of the person he was before.

Vincent leaned in, his eyes gleaming with a malevolent intensity. "We'll tear apart their lives. We'll exploit their weaknesses, expose their secrets, and watch as their world crumbles around them. And when the dust settles, they'll be left with nothing – just like our father was."

Terrance's own anger flared, a fire fueled by a sense of injustice and betrayal. He nodded in agreement, a dark determination in his eyes. "I'm in, Vincent. We'll bring them to their knees. But don't you think they shouldn't be punished for their father's crimes. They're innocent like us. And why didn't dad do anything all these years with Joseph?"

Vincent's smile faltered. He wasn't prepared for that question. It caught him off guard.

"No that faithless, dirty blood runs in them all. Joseph Martinez will suffer through his daughters. We'll ruin each one of them. As for dad, hes a well connected man. This affair could tarnish his name and everything he built for us."

Terrance nodded his head in agreement.
He smiled wider, a sinister alliance forged in that moment. "Good. And remember, Terrance, we keep this hidden from Blake. He must remain in the dark about our true intentions. He doesn't have a bone in him to hurt someone. Now we just have to wait for their arrival."

As the two brothers solidified their pact, the shadows in the room seemed to deepen, mirroring the darkness that was taking root within their hearts. Their path was set – a path of revenge, manipulation, and the unearthing of long-buried secrets that would shatter the fragile facade of the Martinez family or perhaps the Sterlings.