I felt like a fucking teenager again as I broke into my father's apartment, having no trouble at all unlocking his door.
I had taught myself how to open pretty much any type of lock and overall I was very good at opening things... and apparently, my father never bothered to fix his security system ever since the last time he complained it was broken.
Being his son was pretty much an excellent excuse to go by unnoticed, no one would actually think I was here to snoop around and find the information we needed, but nobody had seen me on my way here and I had asked Zayn to text me as soon as their meeting ended.
It was probably going to be a long one, my father had found a new drug supplier and they were apparently discussing the new partnership, but I honestly couldn't care less.
My job was a fucking waste of time and I was truly only playing along, I had no wish to be affiliated with my father ever again. It made me sick.
I was pulling a Cleo again today, and I started to overthink the countless jobs, deals, and 'friends' of my father's that could've been related to the trafficking, and I had no idea.
Fuck, I probably helped him with it without knowing, just doing what I was asked and getting paid, not worrying about anything at all.
This meant that I was indirectly involved with the trafficking itself and my stomach would churn with disgust whenever I thought about this, because it was the ugly truth. I hated myself for being so careless, but I never fucking imagined I could've been living a lie.
I just wanted to ask my father the basic questions:
When did he start doing this?
Was he Mason's partner since the beginning?
Did my mother know?
It was funny because a part of me was really fucking scared of knowing the answers to these questions, and they were just a few of the long list I wanted to ask him.
Speaking of lists, I was currently walking into my father's office to hopefully find something that could help Cleo and I find another missing piece of the puzzle.
If Amber was right and this was a trafficked kid, then would my father have more files here? Would he have something that could help?
I really fucking hoped I didn't come here in vain, I wanted to find Cleo and ask her about Niall, I actually missed her.
When I got his text earlier I was about to judge him, but then I remembered how fucking exhausted and affected Cleo was after the dinner, so maybe Niall needed someone to talk to or just vent. This was weird to me because I was always an only child, so I was used to having the attention all to myself, whether it was good or bad, and also only worrying about myself.
I was selfish, I knew that. I didn't deny the bad traits I had, it was pointless to pretend I was someone I wasn't. But I honestly couldn't picture myself with a sibling.
It was cute to see this side of Cleo though, she was more protective than she thought.
I made my way closer to my father's desk, not even bothering to open the curtains, the sunlight was bright enough to illuminate the room through them.
The many papers scattered on top were fucking useless, I took a seat on his leather chair and I tied my hair up in a bun, focusing on trying to find anything related to the trafficking.
These papers were mostly drug-related, or simple bank transactions... and then I glanced at the small drawer where I'd seen him put the envelope in.
It was locked now, but I had my special kit with me and I opened it in less than thirty seconds, looking inside the drawer and spotting the envelope.
It was a deep red, with only my father's initials printed on the back, so I decided to open it.
There was a small black card inside, and pretty cursive letters caught my attention, along with a picture of a mask. It was an invitation to a masquerade ball, on Saturday night... three days from now.
The location was a small town nearby, and I had heard of it before... I'd been to a party there, there was this huge mansion in the middle of nowhere that was always available to be rented, especially for events. The ball would start at nine p.m. and there wasn't a finish time, it was only written that the use of masks was obligatory... but then I turned the card around.
It was an annual ball... hosted by Catherine Horan.
And that's not all, I realized it was actually a fucking auction... an annual party where they sold special pieces to celebrate now the 15th year anniversary, for special customers only.
Special pieces? Was Catherine actually going to auction girls to her disgusting clients? Was this a fucking sex party? My mind was working a hundred miles an hour and all the fucking possibilities were flashing in my thoughts, this was so much worse than we assumed... fuck, fifteen fucking years?
They'd been arranging these parties for over a whole ass decade?
What the fuck.
"Des? Are you home already?"
Shit.
I quickly closed the drawer and shoved the envelope into my pocket, standing up from the chair and pretending everything was just the way I found, because I recognized Cindy's voice and I didn't need to give her a reason to fucking snitch on me.
Fuck, why was she here right now? Jesus, this woman was so fucking annoying, her voice was enough to piss me off.
"Oh... you." She walked into the office, smoothing her hands over her white dress as she looked at me with her green eyes. "Why are you here, Harry?"
"I don't owe you a fucking explanation, this is my father's place." I huffed, stepping closer to her.
"How did you get in?" She furrowed her eyebrows at me, raking her eyes down my body.
"Teleportation." I winked at her, leaning my arm on the door, right next to her head. "I assumed you'd know his schedule, since you follow him around like a lost puppy everywhere he goes."
"I know he's in a meeting," Cindy said, looking up at me with a cryptic look behind her eyes. Fuck, I hated that I actually forgot about her... if she told my father about this then it would only give him another reason to suspect me, and I had a feeling he was already onto something because of the way Cleo's mother mentioned them working together.
"Well, I'm about to go there, I just had to grab him something." I forced a smile at her, hoping I could distract her.
And it apparently worked because her gaze fell to my lips and she leaned forward, but I was quick to pull away right when my phone started ringing, wondering if she really thought I was going to do anything.
"Oops, I have to go," I said, making my way out of the office and taking a very deep breath as I prayed she wouldn't tell my dad about this.
Fuck.
I wish I had more time to go through the other shit he had there, but this invitation would have to do, maybe we could tell Amber? I mean, the FBI could literally ambush them in the middle of a huge ass trafficking party, lock them up and also arrest the buyers...
Cleo and I had to talk about this, and I saw her name on the screen as I grabbed my phone, making my way out of my father's apartment.
"Hi-"
"I need you to come home." She interrupted me, not even giving me a second to speak. " I need you here right now, Harry."
"I'll be there in ten." I hung up, not even bothering to ask what was wrong because I could tell it was serious.
She sounded very fucking pissed off and exasperated, and I rushed to my car once I walked out of the building. I drove really damn fast, not giving a fuck about the speed limit, my heart was already racing in my chest because I was picturing all the worst-case scenarios, and I just needed Cleo to be safe.
She had to be okay, but why was she so upset?
I was parked in front of my house in record time, nearly running out of the car and towards the front gate so I could buzz myself in, making sure my gun was loaded before I dared to open the front door.
My hands were shaking slightly and I had never been in such a rush before, but I could feel something was wrong.
And the moment I found Cleo in the living room, I was only more certain.
I put my gun away when I saw that she was alone and she actually flinched when she saw me holding it, which made me very fucking confused. Her blue eyes were wide and filled with anger and frustration, but there was something awfully familiar about her expression.
Cleo seemed numb... the same look in her eyes as when she snapped and nearly cut Louis' head off.
She would just disappear inside her mind, she looked so cold and detached that it was actually scary.
"Baby, what's wrong?" I asked her as I tucked the gun in the back of my trousers, slowly walking closer to her.
She had a red and a black marker in her hands, and my eyes instantly moved to the crime board on the window.
What the fuck was going on? Why was my mother's name on the trafficking side of the board? What was this small piece of paper glued on the window?
I walked closed to analyze it better, and I froze when
I realized who those names belonged to.
The men from our original list that we killed, but also Niall, Cleo, me, Catherine, my father, and my mother?
What?
Why was Niall's name crossed? Where the fuck had Cleo gotten this from? "What the fuck is this?" I asked her, looking deep into her eyes.
From up close, I could tell she had been crying... not anymore, though. But her eyes were a bit bloodshot and they looked a shade lighter.
"The new board. We're on our own now." She said simply. "I'm sorry I called you, I know you went to your father's place. But I need you."
"It's okay... just explain what is happening," I asked, feeling as my head was starting to hurt. Cleo took a deep breath, placing the markers on the floor before sitting down on my couch, keeping that same expression on her face.
"Niall is dead, I found his body and he was holding that paper. Our names have been added to the list and we're going to do something about it. I don't fucking care what it takes." She deadpanned, and I was sure I had misheard her.
"Did you just say Niall is dead?" I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Yes, he was shot in the head. I found him. He didn't text you, it was a trap for me to find him... a warning." She said simply, not showing any emotion but anger. "Whoever did this clearly doesn't know me, I'm going to make them pay."
Jesus fucking Christ. Her brother was actually dead? Why the fuck was she being so casual about this?
I was actually in shock, maybe it was the way she told me, but I just couldn't believe it.
She lost the only family that still meant something to her... fuck, this probably pushed her over the edge. Cleo was already extremely affected by all this, I had a feeling this was the last straw.
The storm brewing in her eyes was scary, I honestly had no idea how to process this.
"I came to the conclusion that the 'Anne' added to the list has to be your mother." She continued as I still gaped at her. "She's the only person with that name that had a relationship with Desmond and she is your mom... but why add the name of someone who is already dead? Why didn't they cross her out?"
"They?" I asked, trying to keep up with her and simply giving up, taking a seat on the floor and refusing to look at the board again.
My mother? There was no way she was involved with the trafficking. Why would her name even be there?
"Yes, they. The two children Amber couldn't track." Cleo explained. "They have to be behind this, this plan screams revenge. But why now? Why suddenly decide to come for us? We even started to believe that whoever was behind the list wanted us to stay safe... to find out the truth. We were obviously mistaken, they want us dead. But this makes no sense to me, there's a missing piece... and I think your mother's name might be the answer? It's the only new thing not adding up."
"Why would they put her name there as if she's next to die?" I asked, not even recognizing my own voice. "Why is she even there? Fuck. Cleo, they killed Niall... what the fuck."
"Now it's my turn to get revenge." She said simply. "And we're going to ask your father and my mother about this. About Anne, about my father... because I'm sure my mother was supposed to have seen Niall's body by now, there's no way they didn't call her. But she didn't call me, which means she knows someone is after her or trying to get to her."
My mother... how the fuck did she fit into all this? I was feeling dizzy and hurt, getting whiplash from Cleo's behavior as I tried to accept this was real.
She found her dead brother... they literally killed Niall. This was clearly an act of war, there was no way to stop Cleo now.
"I found this." I reached inside my pocket, nearly forgetting about the invitation.
I stood up from the floor and walked towards her until I sat down next to her on the couch, showing her the envelope. Cleo's eyes focused on the paper and she grabbed it, getting the card from inside so she could read it.
I noticed her hands trembled slightly as she read it, before suddenly crushing the paper into her hands and closing her eyes as she inhaled sharply through her nose.
"My mother is organizing this?" She whispered, glancing sideways at me with a deadly look in her eyes.
"Apparently," I said. "Cleo, do you want to talk-"
"I'm done talking, Harry." She interrupted me, looking deep into my eyes. "Fuck the FBI, I'm so fucking done. I can't take this anymore. Time to do things our own way, and I'm going to kill them after I ask the questions."
I just stared at her, knowing this was very fucking dangerous and it could compromise our immunity deal entirely. I would know, I had thought about just saying 'fuck it' more times than I could count, and I was only holding back because of Cleo.
But this could fuck everything up... even though it was already fucked. They wanted us dead... they killed Cleo's brother. They added my mother's name to a list that made no sense.
And they hurt Cleo.
I promised that I wouldn't let her get hurt, and now she was completely broken.
No one who dared to hurt her would remain alive.
"Better have our masks ready, baby."