Al(lie)son

Chapter 30

"It's 1976. A woman is very susceptible to the charms of a very dangerous and skilled criminal. She gives him a son. In return, he promises to her and the child that they will soon have an empire to run. Wealth, power, people at their beck and call. The child grows, and learns how to be the best at the game from his parents. And then after almost two decades of keeping his other life a secret, his father makes a mistake. One that forces his wife to give him an ultimatum. Give up his mistress, or face the wrath of the law."

"The father made his decision. The bastard child is sent away with his whore of a mother. A mother who evidently didn't possess much intelligence because she ended up on the wrong side of a fight she could never win. She entrusted the child to her brother, in the hopes that the child would have a better life than the one she would ever be able to give him. A life where her child wouldn't have to look over his shoulder with every step he took."

Wes had turned deathly white. Cole continued, delicately folding his hands in his lap over his crossed legs. "Unfortunately, the child ends up an orphan, and entrusted to the government. Which is how he re-entered his father's life. The child is sent to a school for spies. A school where his real story could be hidden, and another story could take its place. "

"Meanwhile, the son, the real son of this dangerous criminal grows up to be as ruthless as his father. But with a big difference, he ends up on the wrong arm of the law, and winds up hanging from the ceiling of a prison cell, leaving another young boy without a father. But the sins of the father didn't plague the son, and his grandfather vowed that the only true heir to the empire he spent his lifetime building wouldn't suffer the same way his son had."

"I don't understand." I blurted out.

Cole laughed. "Dear me, you're not as smart as they come, it appears. Let me make it easier. My uncle is sitting in front of you."

"That's not true." Wes spat out. "This is all a sick twisted lie."

"We're at the end of the game now, Wesley. All cards on the table. Your mother, God rest her soul, realized after finally deciding to get clean once and for all, that the only way to keep you safe was to have you hidden from your real father. His name is-"

"-Garrett Baker." I finished.

The clapping made all of us jump. "Well done, Miss Reed. You've caught up."

"Why pay Amanda's hospital bills? If you wanted her out of your life, why keep her alive." The cold barrel of the gun still had my back stiff and heart pounding despite how calm the question sounded.

"Now we're asking real questions." Cole leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. "You see, try as she might, my grandmother still has very deep loyalty to her family. Even to the sister who slept with her husband. Until she couldn't keep it a secret from my grandfather, who does not take kindly to stealing."

"He taught me more than my useless father ever could. Pathetic excuse for a man. I hope he's rotting in hell." He waved, and the guns dropped from both mine and Tristan's heads. Wordlessly, the men exited the room, leaving Cole and the three of us behind.

"My mother." Tristan said. "Where is she?"

"Oh she was never actually in any danger. The power of Photoshop and an excellent voice actor. Took me ages to find someone that could mimic her."

"Why all this?" Wes demanded. "Why are we all here? Why even threaten Allie in the first place?"

"I like to play games." Cole shrugged. "And I thought, if I'm going to kill the one person that can stop me from everything I've worked my entire life for, I might as well have some fun with it."