Illusions

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Bae, I don't know-"

"Stop lying!" He shouts, eager to cut her right off from whatever lies she's about to spew, but she remains calm and doesn't even flinch. "Please," he lowers his voice again, stepping forward into her personal space and holding her gaze. "Please tell me if I can help my little brother before it's too late."

Emma's mouth pops open, but instead of words, the sound of her phone rings through the room and cuts through the tense moment. She sighs, reaching for the phone in her coat pocket to discover Killian's name across her screen.

"Your ex-husband?" Bae awkwardly chuckles, persuading her eyes to slide back toward his face to find a hint of jealousy peeking behind his mask.

One corner of her mouth deepens to express her lack of amusement. "Something like that," she murmurs, then sends the call to voicemail, knowing he's calling to confirm that Gideon is in custody. The last thing she needs is Bae overhearing that his brother has already been arrested when he's trying so hard to protect him. "Bae, again, why were you in my house?" She exasperates and pockets her phone.

"Ugh," he groans, stepping back from her personal bubble and rubbing his hand through his hair. He flashes her a cheeky, lopsided grin that easily breaks the tension between them. "I know, I know it was stupid, but I just really needed to talk to you in private," he tenderly states, stuffing his hands into his pockets and shrugging so innocently. "I kinda do stupid shit when my loved ones are involved. I just needed to help my little bro."

"Okay, so what are you gonna do if he is involved with something stupid?" She inquires, watching his every move because she's still on high alert.

"I don't know," he exasperates, mindlessly pacing around her living room. "Maybe my dad can knock some sense into him or maybe I can convince him to shut the whole thing down before things get out of hand."

"But what if he's in too deep? I mean, isn't your dad helping him start the business?"

"Yeah," he confirms, skeptically studying her out of the corner of his eyes.

"Well, what if your dad is involved?"

"What do you know?"

~~~~~~

Belle is in hysterics, her eyes gushing tears like a broken faucet as she sobs in a rickety chair in a cold, damp room. Her mind is still reeling by the prospect of her family being involved with something so complicated and illegal, that she can hardly understand the officer questioning her.

"Belle, it's not wise to hide anything right now. If you know any piece of information, it's best to tell us now before you go down for conspiracy charges, do you understand me?" Sheriff Graham states for what feels like the hundredth time since he arrived on her doorstep an hour ago, flipping her entire world upside down.

"I swear to you," she pleads, her ocean eyes spilling waves of tears down her flushed cheeks. "You know me, Graham, ever since I used to babysit you. You know I would never involve myself in anything illegal. And you know I would never put my family in harms way," she cries, shivering involuntarily from the thought of her family going behind her back in such a cruel way.

"Then why was your husband depositing hefty amounts into your son, Gideon's, bank account?"

She shakes her head vehemently, that gray streak falling into her face. "For college, I swear."

And in another room, directly next to Belle's, Officer Jones is snarling at Gold in disgust as he slaps down the bank statements in front of the man.