Cleo was crying.
I hadn't seen my sister cry in six years and I honestly didn't know what to do.
My emotions were all over the place, I was feeling a lot of pain from the recent gunshot on my shoulder, a huge headache from the past thirty minutes of listening to every information my sister had to tell me, and also sick to my stomach after she confirmed what I had been wishing it wouldn't be true.
I didn't say anything as I listened to her, it was rare to see Cleo talking so openly like this so I just let her speak and I tried to keep up and process, but I gave up the moment she started telling me about this list.
This was so damn confusing and complex, it somehow turned out to be a large web and we were all stuck on it, struggling to find a way out.
And she told me about Harry too.. and fuck.
I started following her after the day we went to my mother's house and we actually saw my father's files, and I was very much shocked when I found out she was staying at Harry Styles' house. The first thing that popped in my head was that she was involved with this, helping my mother and working alongside Harry and Desmond somehow, and I wanted to get more evidence and figure out what the hell they were doing.
When I saw my mother and Desmond talking, I thought I was hallucinating, but now I was starting to connect the dots. That's how she always knew what he was up to, because he told her... not some random informer.
They were working together and I didn't know why or doing what at first, but the moment I saw the files and the dozens and more dozens of little girls and boys that were sold by my father, it was another piece to add to the puzzle.
That's how I realized why my mother had decided to open Eroda... that's why we only had three regular dancers and the others never stuck around longer than a month. I used to think it was weird because it seemed to be a safe space, I mean, June and the other girls seemed happy.
I started doing my own research since I also had access to the strip club's files and computers, and I tried to track the girls down by their names or social security numbers, but it was all fake. I couldn't find any girl that had previously worked at Eroda and their personal information was made up, they were no one. I felt so fucking naive.
My mother was using the club to carry on my father's work, and I played a fool and asked around. But even though no one knew that Desmond was working with my mother, some of the older clients my mother had known the truth about what my father did.
They knew he was trafficking children and teenagers from other states and countries, and that's how he started to build his glorious legacy in New York City. Some of the men also mentioned that my mother was doing a great job with Eroda and the girls, and I honestly had to rush to the closest restroom so I could puke. The fact they assumed I knew about it only made it worse.
I spent many sleepless nights thinking that Cleo was helping our mother... especially because she disappeared right when I saw Desmond talking to her, and I wondered if sometimes Cleo's job could be something related to getting the people trafficked.
It hurt me so fucking much to even think this of my sister, it made no sense to me. But I was desperate and heartbroken... keeping this facade around my mother was very tiring and I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to keep this up.
I was pretending I was sick or simply ignoring her calls lately, I had no energy to play along and pretend things were okay. It hurt to know that the person you loved and looked up to was actually a vile human being.
Cleo might kill people for a living, but selling children to pedophiles with no fucking remorse? Using your own establishment so disgusting men could actually choose and buy as if they were grocery shopping? Fuck no, this was melting my brain.
I felt betrayed and desperate, which was why I decided to sneak into Harry's house so I could maybe overhear something or see something, hoping it could enlighten me on how Desmond fit in all this.
How was he helping my mother?
Was he actually the one trafficking and she let him use Eroda? Was he helping her bring the people to New York? Since when were they working together and was my father also involved in this alliance?
It was a smart move to make everyone think they hated each other... keeping us clueless and fortifying their lie.
And now that I found out Cleo was as oblivious as me about all this, I could finally take a deep breath and relax a little. I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle it if she was involved... I always admired her strength and personality so much. Plus, she always took care of me... in her own way.
I knew my sister was someone hard to handle and a bit closed off, and I couldn't even begin to imagine how she was feeling. She was the one who always defended our father and wanted to avenge his death... and it was all for nothing.
We didn't deserve this at all.
"I'm sorry, Niall." Cleo took a deep breath, trying to hold back her tears as she looked deep into my eyes.
She had tied her hair in a bun and she was seated on the couch right next to me, holding her knees against her chest. The unicorn hoodie she was wearing was ridiculous and nothing like I'd ever seen her wear before... actually, she looked so different from the Cleo I was used to that I was having a whiplash.
Let's start with the fact my sister had the letters H.S. bruised all over her thighs... and the owner of said rings was also the owner of this house. But I honestly wasn't expecting to see my sister's initials on his chest, which made me want to claw my eyes out the moment I realized this was something sexual.
And the way Harry shamelessly confirmed it shocked me a lot, he simply said they were sleeping together as if it was the most casual thing ever.
As if they weren't trying to kill each other before.
But I guess it was indeed pointless anyway.
Cleo hated him and his dad for killing our father, but I honestly was glad they did it.
Harry was working with her now, helping her with this... there weren't any reasons for them to hate each other anymore, but that didn't mean I wasn't fucking surprised. How did this even happen? Did they even have anything in common?
My sister wasn't the kind to let people in, and the way she behaved around him, and also the way they trusted each other, was very confusing for me to see.
She told me they'd been working on this list for a while, trying to figure out why some anonymous client gave them the names of my father's previous clients, and how they went through so many theories that they literally had a crime board on Harry's window.
I must admit sneaking into his house jumping through the back wasn't the smartest choice I'd made, especially since the asshole actually shot me. But also if I hadn't done this, then I wouldn't know the truth about my sister...
"It's not your fault, Cleo." I sighed, running my fingers through my hair and trying to keep my injured arm as still as I could. I wasn't used to this, I hated fighting and shooting, this was my sister's thing... she learned a lot from our father.
Fuck, I hated seeing her like this and not being able to do anything.
"I really don't know what to do anymore, Niall. I don't blame you for doubting me because I doubted you... I mean, your name is on the board" She chuckled with no humor at all, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "They are sick enough to make us suspect each other.. and the fact that there is no consideration or even remorse... it makes me sick. I feel sick."
I scooted closer to her, daring to place my arm around her shoulder and pull her for an awkward hug because I knew she hated hugs, but this time she didn't pull away, she wrapped her arms around me and buried her head in my chest.
It was so weird to see my big sister like this. Cleo always seemed unbothered and just so strong. We were literally left with only each other, and I was honestly starting to feel numb from the overflow of information.
I suddenly heard footsteps and I looked up to find Harry walking into the living room, this time wearing sweatpants and a white t-shirt. His long hair was up in a bun and his narrowed eyes quickly found Cleo as he stepped closer to the couch.
"I came to check on you." His soft voice was a contrast to his deadly glare at me. "Why the fuck did you make her cry?"
"I didn't make her cry" I retorted, still trying to understand how the hell my sister liked him... I mean, I never hated Harry as much as she did, but I'd heard enough and now I'd seen enough.
He was the shoot first and don't ask questions later kind, he simply didn't care. Was he this careless with her? Were they even together or just occasionally fucking? God, this was too much and my head was going to explode.
"I'm fine." Cleo sighed, standing up from the couch and crossing her arms over her chest as she looked up at Harry, since he was much taller than her.
"Where's Zayn?"
"He said he needed to rest, today was too much on all of us." He said, stepping closer to her. "Is he telling the truth?"
"He is here," I spoke up, standing from the couch and wondering why he was being such an ass, I literally only broke into his house because I wanted to snoop around, not kill anyone.
And he fucking shot me.
"I wasn't talking to you." Harry arched his eyebrows, his green eyes were oddly intimidating but I refused to look away.
"Drop the fucking attitude," Cleo whispered at him and he rolled his eyes, looking at her again.
"I'm sorry, but the fact he snooped around like a fucking creep just isn't sitting well with me." He whispered back.
"He thought I was involved in this, just like we thought he could be! So stop being dumb, we don't have time for this." Cleo's serious tone and the way she didn't look away from his eyes made me want to disappear into the ground, I felt like I was interrupting something. "I trust him, Harry. He's my brother. You didn't see me giving you shit about Zayn!"
Harry inhaled sharply, his nose flaring in the process as he glanced at me very quickly. And I had no idea what they were talking about.
But I was very surprised when he reached out his hand to wipe away a single tear streaming down her cheek, and the way he looked so affected by my sister crying was only making me more confused.
"Who is Zayn?" I asked. "Harry's friend. He's also helping us." Cleo answered, clearing her throat and pulling away from Harry. "We still don't know what our next step will be, but the smartest thing to do is to keep living your life as if nothing changed. I know this is a lot to ask and nearly impossible, but we kinda have a plan and we have to wait a bit."
Apparently, she wasn't telling me everything and I wondered if she purposely left me out to protect me somehow... honestly, I didn't mind. I would combust if she told me anything else and I needed about two days to finally realize that this just happened.
"I'll try to keep myself as far away from her as I can, I'm sorry. I honestly can't handle being in the same fucking room as her." I admitted, and I knew she'd feel the same. "Maybe I'll ask for a vacation or something, pretend I'm out of the country. But what exactly is your plan? Does it have anything to do with the list?"
"Kinda... you don't have to worry about this, " Cleo said. "I don't have my phone anymore but I'll give you Harry's number, just call him if you need to reach me. But please be careful coming back here, it's dangerous enough that we have one Horan in this household, it's risky to have two."
I just nodded, wondering how the fuck I was going to stop myself from fucking this up. I was so nervous and lost that I honestly wanted to stay on my bed forever.
"Fine... I'll call you." I took a deep breath, watching as she shoved her hand inside Harry's pockets to grab his phone, tapping the screen a few times, and then my phone started ringing
"Okay, so now you have it... don't save it with his name, please." Cleo arched her eyebrows at me as a warning, but she looked so devastated and exhausted that I wondered what she hadn't told me. "I'm gonna fix this, Niall. Don't worry, it's gonna be okay."
It was so weird to see my sister like this... protective and so scared.
"Be careful, Cleo," I told her, feeling this weird thing deep in my guts. And then I glanced at Harry. "I'm going to kill you if you hurt her."
"I admire the effort." Harry cleared his throat, squinting at me. His tone was so final and confident that it caught me off guard. "Nothing's going to happen to her while I'm around."