Kenneth answered. \u201cBecause it was safer.\u201d I spun toward him. \u201cStop saying that!\u201d He flinched. \u201cI\u2019m sick of that word.\u201d My hands trembled. \u201cEvery lie was safer. Every betrayal protected us. Every secret kept us alive.\u201d I looked from one adult to another. \u201cMaybe you all just wanted an excuse to control what we knew.\u201d Amelia whispered, \u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d Everyone turned toward her. She wiped tears from her face. \u201cWe did.\u201d Rose\u2019s expression tightened. \u201cAmelia.\u201d \u201cNo.\u201d Amelia stared directly at her. \u201cHe deserves everything now.\u201d Rose laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything?\u201d \u201cEverything.\u201d Rose stepped closer. \u201cThen tell him where Simon came from.\u201d Amelia\u2019s face went pale. The hatred between them was immediate. Old. Deep. \u201cDon\u2019t do this.\u201d Rose smiled. \u201cOh, you\u2019ve had twenty-three years.\u201d I shouted, \u201cSOMEONE TELL ME!\u201d The room went silent. Amelia pressed Simon\u2019s jacket against her chest. Then she said, \u201cSimon was born six weeks before you.\u201d I could barely breathe. \u201cTo who?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at Rose. That was when Rose stopped smiling. My stomach turned. \u201cNo.\u201d Amelia nodded slowly. \u201cSimon is Rose\u2019s son.\u201d The words did not make sense. My brain rejected them. Rose was old enough to be our grandmother. \u201cNo.\u201d \u201cShe gave birth to him late in life.\u201d \u201cNo.\u201d \u201cMason\u2014\u201d \u201cNO.\u201d I looked at Rose. For the first time, she seemed human. Not frightened. Not angry. Ashamed. \u201cIs that true?\u201d<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n
I stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Simon your son?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose looked directly into my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cBiologically.\u201d<\/p>\n
The world shattered again.<\/p>\n
I remembered Simon calling her Grandma.<\/p>\n
Christmas dinners.<\/p>\n
Birthday cards.<\/p>\n
The way Rose sometimes watched him from across the room.<\/p>\n
Not affectionately.<\/p>\n
Studying him.<\/p>\n
Evaluating him.<\/p>\n
My skin crawled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is his father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
Amelia said, \u201cThat\u2019s why Simon left.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom who?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
My breath caught.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel told him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimon confronted him after leaving the workshop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Daniel said Simon left to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
She clutched the jacket tighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found me first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia hesitated.<\/p>\n
That hesitation terrified me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmelia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went after his father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose suddenly moved.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth stepped in front of her.<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
I stared at Amelia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is Simon\u2019s father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Before Amelia could answer, Rose said, \u201cVictor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
Beatrice whispered something under her breath.<\/p>\n
Amelia looked devastated.<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor who?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
My blood ran cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe company?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cVale-Hart had investors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCriminal investors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne controlled most of the money.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLast name.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name meant nothing to me.<\/p>\n
Kenneth continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor Mercer built the financial network Daniel and I helped manage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou worked for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Rose?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s expression hardened again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorked for him too.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the word I had seen beside her name in the ledger.<\/p>\n
Handler.<\/p>\n
My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were his handler.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth corrected me.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe handled us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s eyes flashed.<\/p>\n
Kenneth continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe recruited Daniel and me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou recruited them into a criminal operation?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose scoffed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t presented that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMason, twenty-five years ago Victor Mercer looked legitimate. Private investments. International banking. Political consulting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I discovered what he really was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich was?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cA man who owned people by learning what they were afraid to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sentence landed heavily.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow does Simon fit into this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose said nothing.<\/p>\n
Amelia answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor and Rose had an affair.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s expression flashed with rage.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t call it that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia stared back at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat should I call it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe owned my career.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe owned everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe threatened me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia softened slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
Rose looked away.<\/p>\n
The truth shifted again.<\/p>\n
Nothing was ever simple.<\/p>\n
Amelia continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cRose became pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Simon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Victor want?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose answered this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice sounded hollow.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me to get rid of the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger faltered.<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s eyes became distant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time, I saw the shape of someone beneath the monster.<\/p>\n
Not innocence.<\/p>\n
But history.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never knew you kept Simon?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, he knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
She smiled without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor knew everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why give Simon to Amelia?\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia took a deep breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth muttered, \u201cGod.\u201d<\/p>\n
Apparently even he hadn\u2019t known that part.<\/p>\n
Amelia continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cSix weeks before you were born, Daniel came home carrying a newborn baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood motionless.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me the child\u2019s mother couldn\u2019t keep him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou agreed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was eight months pregnant and terrified.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut then Simon wrapped his hand around Daniel\u2019s finger.\u201d<\/p>\n
A small smile broke through her grief.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Daniel fell in love with him immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
That sounded like Simon.<\/p>\n
Even as a newborn, taking possession of someone\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n
Amelia whispered, \u201cSo did I.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward Rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let Amelia raise him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed him hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose looked straight at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Simon was leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
Victor controlled people by finding what they loved.<\/p>\n
If he knew Rose loved her son\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cHe would use him against you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s eyes darkened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree years later.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we were adopted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the real reason the boys came to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot because Daniel disappeared?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat too.\u201d<\/p>\n
He rubbed his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor discovered that Rose\u2019s son was living with Daniel and Amelia. At the same time, he suspected Daniel was stealing records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you hid both of us together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd pretended we were twins.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia said, \u201cBecause if Victor found Simon, we wanted him to be uncertain which boy was Rose\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea was so cruelly clever that I almost admired it.<\/p>\n
Two brown-haired boys.<\/p>\n
Nearly the same age.<\/p>\n
Raised as twins.<\/p>\n
If Victor couldn\u2019t identify which child mattered\u2026<\/p>\n
We became each other\u2019s camouflage.<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Simon was hidden behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia grabbed my arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pulled away.<\/p>\n
\u201cMason.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou used me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou used me to protect him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s voice suddenly came from the basement doorway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used both of you to protect each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
A man stood beside Amelia.<\/p>\n
Gray hair.<\/p>\n
Hard face.<\/p>\n
My face twenty-five years older.<\/p>\n
Daniel Vale.<\/p>\n
My biological father.<\/p>\n
He looked at me as if he had waited half his life for this moment.<\/p>\n
I had imagined meeting him since I was a child.<\/p>\n
In every imaginary version, I either hugged him or punched him.<\/p>\n
Instead I simply said, \u201cYou lied to me on the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I didn\u2019t know who was listening.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at Rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
Daniel stepped into the basement.<\/p>\n
I studied him.<\/p>\n
This man had been a ghost my entire life.<\/p>\n
Yet the first thing I noticed was his hands.<\/p>\n
They looked like mine.<\/p>\n
Same long fingers.<\/p>\n
Same crooked little finger on the right hand.<\/p>\n
It shouldn\u2019t have mattered.<\/p>\n
It did.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Simon?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s expression became grave.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went to Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
I felt panic rise.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at Rose.<\/p>\n
Rose swore.<\/p>\n
Kenneth stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Simon go alone?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Victor sent him proof.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat proof?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Rose tried to have him killed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
I turned toward Rose.<\/p>\n
She stared at Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel removed his phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sent Simon a recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
Only slightly.<\/p>\n
But enough.<\/p>\n
Daniel noticed too.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know exactly which recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRose.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel played an audio file.<\/p>\n
Victor\u2019s voice crackled from the speaker.<\/p>\n
Then Rose\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Much younger.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe boy can never know who his father is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if he does?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
Then Rose said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThen neither of us can afford to let him live long enough to tell anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording ended.<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
Rose looked suddenly old.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not what it sounds like.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone in this family says that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s voice cracked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to make Victor believe I didn\u2019t care about Simon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy offering to kill him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was keeping him alive!\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia shouted, \u201cThen why did you spend twenty years hunting the witnesses?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose spun toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t hunting them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose reached inside her coat.<\/p>\n
Kenneth tensed.<\/p>\n
She slowly removed the missing ledger.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was moving them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI helped them disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at her.<\/p>\n
Rose held up the book.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery person Victor thought I killed is alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDifferent names. Different countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
She tossed the ledger toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at the marks beside the entries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth opened it.<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese aren\u2019t payment codes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are they?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNew identities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room fell silent.<\/p>\n
The woman we thought had been hunting witnesses\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2026had actually been hiding them.<\/p>\n
Rose looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI became Victor\u2019s monster so he would never realize I was dismantling him from inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know what to believe anymore.<\/p>\n
Then Daniel\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
Simon.<\/p>\n
He answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimon?\u201d<\/p>\n
A gunshot exploded through the speaker.<\/p>\n
Then Victor Mercer\u2019s voice said calmly:<\/p>\n
\u201cBring Rose.\u201d<\/p>\n
The line went dead.<\/p>\n
And in that instant, every family secret stopped mattering.<\/p>\n
Because my brother\u2014whether he shared my blood or not\u2014was in danger.<\/p>\n
I looked at everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to get Simon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor wants me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll kill Simon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMason.\u201d<\/p>\n
I moved toward the stairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou all spent twenty years deciding things for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat ends tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer Estate sat forty miles outside the city behind iron gates and acres of forest.<\/p>\n
I rode beside Daniel.<\/p>\n
Beatrice, Amelia, Kenneth and Rose followed in another vehicle.<\/p>\n
For the first ten minutes, nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
He glanced at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSimon.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though he\u2019s not yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel gripped the steering wheel.<\/p>\n
\u201cMason, I fed him at three in the morning. I changed his diapers. I taught him to walk before you were born.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice cracked slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlood didn\u2019t make Simon my son.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked out the window.<\/p>\n
That answer mattered more than I expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you love me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery second.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen where were you?\u201d<\/p>\n
That one hurt him.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was hiding.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let Kenneth raise us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let us think you were dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause every time I tried to come back, someone got hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought about Kenneth\u2019s fake death.<\/p>\n
Amelia\u2019s years of hiding.<\/p>\n
Beatrice\u2019s cruelty.<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s lies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were already hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mercer estate appeared beyond the trees.<\/p>\n
A stone mansion.<\/p>\n
Dark windows.<\/p>\n
Too beautiful to belong to something ugly.<\/p>\n
Rose called Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop the car.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pulled over.<\/p>\n
Rose walked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going in alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is between Victor and me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSimon is my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is my son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen act like his mother and don\u2019t walk into a trap alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at me.<\/p>\n
For the first time, something like respect appeared in her eyes.<\/p>\n
Kenneth said, \u201cVictor expects Rose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we give him Rose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beatrice frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s your plan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe give him what he thinks is Rose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Twenty minutes later, I understood.<\/p>\n
The estate had a service road leading to an old greenhouse.<\/p>\n
Kenneth remembered it from years earlier.<\/p>\n
Rose entered through the front gate.<\/p>\n
The rest of us went around.<\/p>\n
Inside the greenhouse, Beatrice whispered, \u201cThis is insane.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re welcome to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
Then, surprisingly, she smiled.<\/p>\n
Very faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounded like Simon.\u201d<\/p>\n
We moved through the service tunnels beneath the mansion.<\/p>\n
Kenneth led.<\/p>\n
Daniel followed.<\/p>\n
Amelia stayed behind with Beatrice.<\/p>\n
I hated leaving her, but Daniel said Victor would recognize her immediately.<\/p>\n
After ten minutes, voices filtered through a vent.<\/p>\n
Victor.<\/p>\n
Rose.<\/p>\n
I looked through.<\/p>\n
Simon sat tied to a chair.<\/p>\n
Blood covered one side of his face.<\/p>\n
Every instinct in my body screamed.<\/p>\n
But then Simon lifted his head.<\/p>\n
He was alive.<\/p>\n
Victor Mercer stood behind him.<\/p>\n
Older than I expected.<\/p>\n
Perfect suit.<\/p>\n
Silver hair.<\/p>\n
Calm smile.<\/p>\n
He looked less like a criminal and more like someone\u2019s wealthy grandfather.<\/p>\n
That made him worse.<\/p>\n
Rose stood across the room.<\/p>\n
Victor smiled at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou got old.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI got rich.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always were.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor looked toward Simon.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s expression didn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet him go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause this is between us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Rose. This has always been about inheritance.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
Simon did too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat inheritance?\u201d Simon asked.<\/p>\n
Victor walked toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never told him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth answered. \u201cBecause it was safer.\u201d I spun toward him. \u201cStop saying that!\u201d He flinched. \u201cI\u2019m sick of that word.\u201d My hands trembled. \u201cEvery lie was safer. Every betrayal protected … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,21,22,1,5,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aita","category-daily-article","category-reddit-stories","category-story","category-story-daily","category-viral-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6404"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6409,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6404\/revisions\/6409"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}