Chapter 99 A Shocking Revelation

Chapter 99 A Shocking Revelation
Tears welled in her eyes and spilled over before she could stop them.
I stood quickly from the sofa, worried. "Athena…"
But she turned and rushed back into the dressing room.
Troy looked like he wanted to follow her, but he stayed rooted to the spot.
"We'll be out soon, Troy," I said quietly. "Thank you."
He nodded stiffly and reluctantly left the room.

I followed her inside, ready to talk.
She stood silently in front of the mirror, looking at her reflection.
"Hey," I said gently, placing my hands on her shoulders. "You're going to be okay."
She didn't respond. Instead, she turned away from the mirror and walked to the corner, still quiet.
"Athena," I called softly. "I'm sure by the end of all this, Nigel won't be a problem anymore. Your father and brothers will take care of him."
But even as I said it, I knew her tears weren't just about Nigel. Part of her heartbreak came from Troy.

They'd just shared a moment… one that clearly meant something… and yet he'd shut it down with that cold, clipped voice, like none of it had happened at all.
Trying to lighten the mood, I walked toward her again. "You had him tongue-tied, you know."
She turned to me with a confused look. "What?"
"Troy," I said with a grin. "That was the first time I've ever seen him this dumbstruck."

She blushed, then scoffed. "I've officially given up on him," she muttered, starting to take off the gown. "I can't keep doing this."
Then she added dryly, "I'm getting laid."
I laughed, caught off guard. "Wait, what?"
"Nothing clears a guy out of your system like sex," she said as she reached for her earlier outfit. "That's exactly what I need."
She pulled the dress over her head. "Good thing I'm away from home. No family around to control my life."

Then she paused, stiffening slightly. "Except… my father still kind of is."
I crossed my arms in amusement. "You're seriously going to let some random guy be your rebound?"
She shrugged as she adjusted the straps of her dress. "Why not? I need to stop obsessing over a man who treats me like an assignment."
I sat on the armrest of the sofa. "Okay, fine. But let's not pretend this is just about getting over Troy. You're hurt, and that's fair. But are you really going to hop into bed with some poor guy just to prove a point?"

"Some poor guy?" she scoffed. "Please, he's going to be thrilled to jump into bed with me. And just so we're clear… this is going to be a one-night thing. That's it."
She pulled her hair free from the neckline, smoothing the dress down.
"One-night stands are simple. There are no expectations or strings. They'll know I'm not looking for anything serious, okay?"
Before I could reply, my phone rang in my pocket.

It was Stefan.
I picked up immediately.
"Hi, Stef…"
"Zephyr's not answering," he interrupted, sounding urgent. "I figured he somehow made his phone unavailable to people except you."
"He must be in an important meeting.' I said. "What's wrong?"
"I managed to get the full information on who made the payment to Gavin," he added, his voice growing tense. "It wasn't Christina."
I blinked in surprise. "What? Then who…?"
"It was her father," he said flatly. "It was Elliott Sinclair."
The air left my lungs.

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ZEPHYR
THE YEAR 2020

It was a hot Monday afternoon when I drove into the estate after closing a business deal. We’d had two contracts to secure. Nik and I had taken one, while Alex and Father handled the other.
We finished first, so we headed home.
But the moment I drove through the electronic gates,s which were left open when they should've been closed, I knew something was wrong.
Erik, who normally stayed at the security station close to the gate, was nowhere in sight.

Nik and I exchanged an uneasy glance.
After parking, we got out and walked toward the mansion.
It was unusually silent, without a single guard in view.
We spotted the first lifeless body lying a few meters from the front door. Instantly, we broke into a run, bursting into the house. 
Inside was a massacre.

Five guards were dead, along with some staffers.
My heart hammered in my chest, my mind going only to one person.
My mother.

“Check the gardens for Mother!” I barked at Nik. “I’ll search the house.”
He took off without another word.
“Mum!” I called roughly as I ran through the mansion, praying to hear her soft voice answer. But the rooms were empty.
The stairs were littered with the bodies of innocent staffers. The whole place was a nightmare.
The kitchen was deserted, and so were the guest rooms and offices.

Stay calm. I forced the thought into my head. If they took her alive, we could still get her back.
How the hell had this even happened?
I ran back outside to find Nik, my eyes scanning wildly for any sign of her.
He was standing still, near the greenhouse, shaking.
“Nik, what…?” I started, but then the words died when I saw what he was staring at.
Mother’s body.
I staggered back so fast I nearly fell, turning away before I could see more.
My entire body grew cold, all the air rushing out of my lungs. 

“It’s not Mother”
I whispered, repeating it like a mantra.

But I couldn’t lie to myself for long.
With a shaky breath, I forced myself to look again. A groan of sorrow escaped my lips, and I slapped a hand over my mouth to silence it.
Stay strong, Zephyr. Stay strong.

Nik hadn’t moved. He was trembling, tears rolling down his face.
“Z…Zeph,” he stammered.
“Calm down,” I whispered, though my own voice sounded like it belonged to someone else.
But he couldn’t stop shaking.
I walked forward, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him away from the horror behind us, so he wouldn’t have to see.
We stood there for a while, till we were interrupted by another sound.

It was Alex.
He’d just arrived and crashed to his knees when he saw what lay at the entrance of the greenhouse.
Gently, I let go of Nik and went to him.
“W-w-what… how? M-mother”
Shock and grief filled his voice. 
I shook my head, trying to hold back the tears. “I-I don’t know.”

A thick lump had gathered in my throat, and I forced it down, willing myself to focus.
I was the firstborn. I couldn’t afford to break now, especially not in front of my brothers.
They needed me. 
“Where’s Father?” I asked.
Alex kept staring at her… at what was left of her.
“Alex!” I snapped, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him lightly. “Where is Father?”

“H-he stopped to check out Erik’s station,” he finally stammered.

“We can’t let him see her like this.” I cut in urgently. “You know how he is.”

Our father was... sensitive. Fragile in ways that no one ever acknowledged out loud.

He loved Mother with a kind of obsession. Seeing her like this would break him.

Alex’s lip shook. His broken blue eyes rose to meet mine. “W-what do we do?” he whispered. “How do we even begin to…” His voice cracked. “She’s... she’s in bits and pieces.”

He choked on the last words, his face breaking.