Inheritance

Chapter 53

As I continued to scavenge around the fairly large bedroom to find any items I'd unknowingly left out of my suitcase, I unexpectedly tripped on a harsh piece of rubble along the rigid flooring. Nearly stumbling to the ground, I initially panicked before pining to quickly regain my balance. 

Once I was securely standing on two feet again, my eyes stealthily searched along the ground for the source of my almost unpleasant fall. When I fell short of locating any unusual bumps on the wooden floor, my sights eventually landed on a particularly frail object.

There it was. 

That rippled old journal. I was almost positive it was the same one I'd seen in Kendall's office just months ago.

After a few seconds passed, I grew conflicted as I contemplated what to do next. After all, stumbling upon the book the first time was more of a coincidence but twice felt astutely intentional. 

Perhaps it was a sign. A sign to explore my burgeoning curiosity.

Several more tempting thoughts filtered through my head at once as I remained locked in place conflicted on what to do. I could still hear the shower running, which meant I had time to take a quick peak at the journal—if I chose to. 

After a few more lost moments passed by, my intrusive thoughts eventually won over and allowed my curiosity to get the best of me. 

So, against my better judgement, I picked up the worn down diary. 

Hesitating once more, I found my fingers teetering across the first few pages until ultimately flipping to a random back page that seemed to have nearly been ripped out from the socket. It wasn't that I necessarily wanted to be nosy. Rather, it was that I needed to uncover the mystery that was the epitome of Kendall Fine's life. 

I mean, he'd hardly ever spoken about himself. Yet, he never faltered from giving such obscure warnings about how dangerous he was. And, as a realist, I needed to confirm for myself whether any of his belligerent precautions were valid. Besides, if he refused to disclose any specifics about his personal life to me, I believe I was well within my rights to search for answers myself.

For all I knew, he could have multiple kids. Or even worse, a wife.

Thus, after inhaling a deep breath, I used both of my hands to lift the dense journal up into viewing position. Then, finally I began to read the contents neatly written out on the single page.

"Dear mother,

He found out today. He threatened to expose the truth to her if I didn't tell her first. After managing to calm him down, I told him I'd talk to her. Of course, I asked for a few days. Am I crazy? The plan I'd so carefully curated now seems so...shit, I can't even tell apart my reality from his. Are these feelings his, or are they mine? 

Is it crazy that I have been wanting to tell her who I really am? But, the more time we spend together, the more I realize that I don't have it in me to break her heart. Shit, this whole thing is fucked. Why did I ever allow Gregory to convince me that this would work?

I'm starting to think that she'll never fall in love with me. No matter how hard I try, I will never be him. I will never be Austin. Not to you, not to our father, not to Sasha, not to anyone for that matter."

What? 

I paused reading the journal, momentarily confused from what I'd just read. Why had he referred to himself, Austin, in third-person? As the words replayed in my head, something was not quite adding up. I released a delayed breath, already mentally preparing myself before I resumed reading the remaining words on the page.