Chapter Thirty Eight

Chapter Thirty Eight
Bexley

“And you expect us to fall for that?” Asher roared, unleashing his anger. “We know you have an accomplice. What a coincidence that you’re there with Bexley’s friend, Caroline. How do we know that she’s not the mysterious “C” that’s been working alongside you, tipping you off, and passing information back to your spies?”

Susan returned him a tight-lipped smile. “Clever boy,” she replied in a condescending tone. “But you’re only half right. She only told me that Bexley went to Sandbanks to be with you. I hated that house. It was too open plan. That was more to Safi’s taste, not mine. But the artillery room was my idea. We had so much fun down there, didn’t we guys?” She chuckled, wiping away a fake tear.

“I always knew you were a callous bitch, Susan,” Zane insulted her, “but this time, you’ve gone too far. We will find you, and we will kill you. Don’t expect any mercy from me for old time’s sake.” He cast a scathing look at Teddy, who bowed his head with shame.

“I keep telling you, I didn’t help her to fake her death, but I may have given her the idea,” Teddy admitted for what I felt was for the umpteenth time by the exasperated tone of his voice. “I thought her questions were all hypothetical. How was I supposed to know she was going to betray us?”

He really did sound remorseful. I didn’t blame him for trusting who he thought was a friend, and I don’t think my dad did either. Zane was just lashing out.

“None of that matters now. We can’t erase the mistakes of the past,” Dad growled. “But if anyone is going to kill her, it will be me. She murdered my wife. She has to pay.”

Zane grunted in agreement. Ulrich’s expression hardened. Teddy nodded sadly.

Susan made a mock sad face and shrugged. “Aww, old grudges die hard. For what it’s worth, she had it coming.”

“You will burn in hell when we’re through with you,” Asher vowed. “You’ve hurt too many people and caused too many problems.”

“I’m still your mother,” Susan remarked. “You’re still a part of me despite all of Zane’s brainwashing. It’s not too late to join me. The world can be ours for the taking. I’m so proud of the strong men you’ve become. We could be so power—”

Asher snorted, cutting her off, “You can’t take any credit for that. That was all our dad’s doing. Aunt Safi was more of a mother to us than you could ever be. Keep your pride while you still have a shred of it left.” He said it better than his brothers would have done. Even when Asher was mad, he remained level-headed. His brothers were red in the face like they were about to lose their shit.

As the Wolfe brothers banded around Asher in a display of solidarity, Susan’s calm façade crumbled, and a flicker of anguish flashed through her eyes. They were her sons. The soldiers she planned for. They were her flesh and blood. And it was killing her to see how much they despised her.

"I think what my twin was trying to say was, go fuck yourself," Braxton roared.

I swallowed down the lump in my throat and spared a panicked glance at my husband. “Brax, what are you doing? Don’t piss her off. She’s going to kill Caz. We have to do something.”

Dominic put his arm around me, trying to comfort me, but that only made me feel claustrophobic. I shrugged him off, needing the space to breathe.

“What if it’s a trap, Bexley,” Dominic reinforced what Asher said. “Caz could be the accomplice. We could be playing right into their hands. What if she’s Susan’s daughter? She could have been playing you all along.”

“But if that was true, then that would make her your sister,” I pointed out the obvious. “I know Caz. We live together. Don’t you think I would know if my best friend was a terrorist? I’ve met her parents. They showed me their family photo albums. There was no way that any of it was fake.”

Asher and Dom winced doubtfully. I knew what they were thinking—what they were all thinking; that I had been played. What they didn’t know was that I had known Caz since we we’re kids. There’s no way she could have been playing me for all that time. They were wrong about her. Teddy glared at the screen with tears burning in his eyes. The disappointment clouded Ulrich’s expression too. Dad was hankering for Susan’s blood, and Zane was just as livid.

“Oh, so you know about my secret,” Susan cut in. “It’s true. I do have another child.” She stroked Caz’s cheek and Caz recoiled from her touch. Susan narrowed her eyes and glared down at her with disgust. “And what a fucking disappointment she is too.”

“I fucking knew it,” Asher growled.

I almost threw up at the revelation.

Caz was Susan’s illegitimate child?! What the fuck?!

Dad and his friends looked murderous, like this news had delivered them all a sickening blow. Me too . . . because I thought I knew everything about Caz. Uncle Zane flashed a pleading look at his sons, searching for answers. Dad, Ulrich, and Teddy were floored by the news too. It wasn’t like we were keeping it from them on purpose. We were going to divulge that crucial piece of information right after we decrypted the files. Now the cat was out of the bag, and it left the older guys reeling.

If Caz was an illegitimate child, then who was the father if not Uncle Zane?

“Caz is your daughter?” I murmured, feeling nauseated by that.

Susan rolled her eyes as if she was growing bored with us.

I just couldn’t believe it. The revelation stunned me.

I looked at Caz. “You were lying to me. You used me. I don’t believe this.” I held my face in my hands as I struggled to breathe.

Caz sobbed apologetically into the camera, trying to mumble something through the gag in her mouth. It sounded like “I’m sorry, I didn’t know . . .” She tried to communicate something, but Susan grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her head back.

Could it be that she genuinely did not know, or was I being suckered yet again?

“Let me tell you what really happened,” Susan spoke mockingly for our benefit as well as for Caz’s. She was talking to her, but this was meant for everyone to hear. “I know it states that you were a foundling on your birth certificate, but that isn’t true. It’s fake. I never registered your birth. You’ve been walking around using a fake I.D all your adult life. If you were to disappear right now, no one would care because you don’t exist. You were just a pawn in my master plan. But think what you will about me; I’m not all bad. You weren’t left on a church doorstep as you thought; I gave you to a respectable family. They were so desperate for a child, they agreed to lie about your age. You’re two years older than you think you are. Who wouldn’t like to knock a few years off their age? I know I would.” Susan’s voice was devoid of emotion as she spoke to Caz. “I checked in on you from time to time, wanting to see how my investment was coming along. How do you think your adoptive parents could afford to send you to the same prestigious school as Safi’s brat and keep you in the lap of luxury? I funded your lifestyle, and in return they work for me.”

I could hear the supercilious tone oozing from Susan’s voice as she continued, “Do you remember how the teachers made you sit together on the first day? It wasn’t a coincidence that they paired you off as friends. I orchestrated everything and used it to my advantage. Your success was down to me. I had to keep you on par with Miss Perfect over there. The good grades. The fancy clothes. It all paid off because you remained best friends.” Susan chuckled. “Oh, and the bastard boyfriend who broke your heart . . . he was my idea. You were getting too complacent. I needed to do something to knock you off your high horse. So, I made sure you lost everything because I knew Bexley, being the good Samaritan she is, would take you under her wing. You were so easy to convince. Just like your father, whichever one of them it is, you are so stupid, gullible, and easy to manipulate. You were so thrilled that I came back to find you, that you didn’t stop to question why I gave you up in the first place. It wasn't because I was a secret agent. I didn't do it to protect you. I'm not here to help Bexley. She has something of mine and I want it back. You've served your purpose; you're no longer useful to me. But you mean something to her, and so I know she'll make the right choice. She's her mother's daughter . . . so fucking righteous, it makes me sick. You can hate me all you want. All my children do.” Susan let go of Caz’s hair and rolled her eyes as if she thought Caz was pathetic. Then she swaggered towards the camera. “Don’t blame her, Bexley. It's not her fault. I can be very persuasive when I want to be. She was quick to trust me . . . so desperate to be accepted. I told her that I was here to help, and she believed me just like that,” Susan mentioned, clicking her fingers. “So, yeah . . . she is my daughter, but she’s not my accomplice.” A wry smirk curled the corner of Susan’s lips as she turned to look at someone off-camera. “I think it’s time for the grand reveal, wouldn’t you agree?” she said to whomever was loitering back there.