The questions spun in my head, a dizzying whirlwind, and my head ached more. The betrayal cut me to the core, but a voice inside told me that, like me, War didn’t remember either. What had Foley done to us?
Suddenly, the door creaked open, and the flickering bulb overhead was pulled, barely illuminating the room. Foley stood there, hands clasped, a cigar clamped between his teeth. I sat up, scrambling toward the headboard, my old defense, a pathetic attempt to put distance between us. It never worked.
Foley laughed, a sound that mocked my misery. He walked towards me, settling on the edge of the bed, his gaze fixed on a faded photograph on the broken nightstand. The secret felt like it was about to reveal itself. He seemed to be about to spill, and my heart sank. He tossed the picture, and it landed near my leg. I tried to look away, but curiosity won.
My jaw dropped. I blinked, rubbed my eyes, and looked again. It was real. In the picture was, Foley, a man who looked just like him but with blonde hair and green eyes, my mother, and me and Brady when we were very little. I was utterly confused.
“What is this?” I asked, picking up the picture.
I saw Foley's son in the background, sitting on his mother's lap. The whole thing seemed wrong, and panic bubbled up. What truly sent me over the edge was that Evander Foley was holdingme, and I looked… happy. What the hell was he up to? I didn't know but I knew it wouldn't be good.
“You don’t remember anything, do you?” He asked, a cruel smile playing on his lips.
I shook my head, unable to speak.
“Your father isn’t in prison, Fallon. He’s holding your brother in that picture,” he laughed, the sound of a victor.
“You’re fucking lying!” I screamed, feeling lost and vulnerable.
“I’m not. Your father was my stepbrother, and you killed him because I told you to. I knew your mother through him, and I knew how she’d do anything for money. When you and Brady were young, she came to me begging for help. Your father would beat the hell out of her, and she wanted to get you guys away from him,” he said, his words fading as my world crumbled.
My whole life was a lie, a secret I didn't know I was keeping, and it wasn't the secret I thought it was. My secret didn't even compare.
My father wasn’t in prison. He was dead, and I had killed him. Evander Foley hadn't simply appeared in my life; he had been there all along, thanks to my mother. I was related to a monster, and I had no idea.
The air thickened with the stench of mildew and decay as the revelation slammed into me, knocking the breath from my lungs. My mind reeled, struggling to comprehend the twisted narrative Foley was weaving. My father, the man I’d been told was a violent criminal, a man I hated, was dead, killed by my own hand? It was too much to process, a betrayal that ran deeper than the physical wounds I'd endured.
“But…but Brady,” I stammered, the name a strangled whisper.
My brother, the only constant in my chaotic life, the reason I fought to survive, was now the center of a different nightmare. Foley’s smile widened, a predator savoring its kill. He reached into his pocket, producing a small, tarnished silver locket. Heflicked it open, revealing a miniature portrait inside. It was Brady, as I remembered him from childhood. His young eyes, full of a light that was now gone, stared back at me, a silent plea hanging in the air.
“He’s always known. He might have blocked it out, but he knew.. After all, you’ve been protecting him from me. He would never betray you.”
My blood ran cold. Brady knew? Knew all along? The weight of it pressed down on me, crushing the last vestiges of hope. Had he been working with Foley again? Had he been in on the deception? Or was he another pawn, caught in the web of Foley’s manipulation?
“What do you want?” I finally managed, my voice hoarse.
I knew, with chilling certainty, that this wasn’t about revenge or retribution. This was about something far more insidious, something that preyed on the very core of my being.
Foley leaned closer, his breath hot against my face. "I want you to remember. All of it. The life we shared. The sacrifices you made for me. The love you had for me," he whispered, his words dripping with venom. "I want you to remember that, Fallon. Because it's all true."
He traced the scar on my cheek, the one I had earned when I was locked up in this place, the one that served as a constant reminder of what I had lost, what I had done. His touch was like a physical violation, each brush of his finger a fresh assault on my already fractured sanity.
I flinched away, desperately trying to shut out the words, the memories that threatened to flood back. My mind was a battlefield, filled with conflicting images, fragmented truths, and the sickening realization that I was caught in a trap of Foley's own making.
"And War?" I managed to ask, though the word felt like a shard of glass in my throat.
I couldn't forget the man I loved, even if I understood that his very existence was a lie. Foley chuckled, a sound that sent shivers down my spine.
"Ah, War. He is… complicated. A victim of circumstance, just like you. He's always been drawn to you, Fallon. In a way, you're the one thing he's ever truly wanted."
"Does he remember?" I asked, hoping he'd tell me no.
Foley shook his head. "I doubt it. His younger years were filled with so much trauma, he buried his life and started a new one. He thought working for me was by chance, but it wasn't. He found his way back home without even realizing it."
Foley cupped my cheek, his grip strong and threatening. I tried to move away but I couldn't, he had me trapped once again, but this time I wasn't going to just give in and let him win.
"You have something that belongs to me, Fallon," he said, and a shiver attacked my entire body.
