Four Brothers and a Bride

found out.

"| got another text from the stranger offering to tells us about our parents."

"| thought you deleted the number."

"I did." | answer Asher, "but | was contacted with another number. | have no idea how they got my contact in the

first place and why | am the only one being contacted about this but the only way to find out lied with following

the bread crumbs left by the stranger. | couldn’t keep ignoring it so | decided to go."

"What did you find out?" Ashal asks keenly. From the corner of my eye, | see Asher’s ears prickle with suppressed

interest.

"The address | was given ledto a graveyard. There was nothing about any particular names to look out for on

a gravestone. All | got from following the text was that our biological parents are dead." | hiss out a breath. "I

scoped the area because | suspected whoever must have ledthere must have been hiding afar, watching

me. | wasn’t wrong."

I lock eyes with Asher. "I think | saw her, the woman who blackmailed Ashley. It couldn't have anyone else. She

was wearing an all-black outfit and a nose mask to shield most of her features. She was too far forto give

her a chase and catch up to her but we stared at each other awhile before she left."

| sigh tiredly. "I feel drained. Not only were my hopes of meeting our parents alive dashed but I also couldn't get

my hands on the woman tormenting Ashley’s life. | needed a win yesterday to compensate for deviating from our

rules and when | didn’t get any, | was in a sour mood. | refused to take any calls and simply sulked at a café

nearby for hours."

Ashal pats my shoulder. "Your search wasn’t entirely fruitless. Thanks to you, we now know our biological parents

are dead."

"We don’t know that." | counter him. "Even if | had been given names on gravestones, | would still have

conducted my own research to ensure that | was mourning the right people. The address proved nothing without

direct evidence of who our parents are and proof of their deaths."

"That's right." Ashal concurs. "They could still be out there."

Asher shakes his head. "You are mourning people you never met?"

"Father makes it really easy for me." | throw the towel across my neck to head back into the mansion when the

sound of Ashley’s car screeches to a halt in front of the mansion.

We all watch him stumble out ahead of Demi as he makes a beeline for the entrance of the mansion while

holding a gift box. When he spots us by the pool, he makes a sharp detour towards us. | can tell from the

distance his long legs gradually eat up that he is unsteady. Demi trails after him with a worried look on her face.

"What have you got there, Ash?"

He merely shoves the box into Asher’s chest and rushes to sit down on the chaise lounge. Only then do | realize

he is shaking visibly. While Ashal questions him and Asher gently pries the box open, my eyes find Demi’s.

"What happened?"

"I found that," She says, pointing to the box in Asher’s hand, "in the restroom at the restaurant we had dinner. A

lady left it for me."

"For you?"

"Did you see her?" Asher interrupts me, passing the box toand Ashal to peruse. Anger wells insideas |

glance at Ashley who continues to sit quietly and even his breath. | head over to him and when | tacitly enquire

about his mental state, he givesa thumbs up.

"I did but very briefly. She was in the restroom when | cin, reapplying her lipstick but when | cout of the

stall, she was gone, leaving the box behind."

| head back to Demi. "TELLEXACTLY WHAT YOU REMEMBER. WHAT DID SHE LOOK LIKE?" | ignore how

flustered Demi must feel as she tries to recall. She must find everything very confusing but I don’t have the

emotional bandwidth to accommodate her feelings alongside Ashley’s right now.

"C'mon Demi." Asher echoes next to me.

"She had a little black dress on and sstilettos. Her black hair covered most of her face and her eyes...

couldn't see the color. She was wearing dark shades and | thought it was weird since it’s nighttime. | don’t recall

much else." She draws in a sharp breath. "Is Ashley okay? He hasn't said a word tosince we left the

restaurant.”

"Go in, Demi. We'll handle this."

"What was that note about?"

"Inside, please." Asher warns with a low growl. Demi is clearly startled at his reaction. To diffuse the tension, |

steer her away from the pool but only a few paces ahead.

"Someone thinks it’s funny to prank Ashley by making vile accusations capable of tarnishing his image. We'll find

them and make them pay. Go get srest now. Ashley would be fine." She nods at my words before leaving.

"They're watching me, aren't they?" Ashley says with a surprisingly calm voice. Save for the redness in his eyes,

he can pass for someone who didn’t just get a huge, traumatic shock tonight. "She was there at the restaurant,

watching Demi and I. She knew when Demi got up to use the restroom and waited for her. | don’t understand the

need to drag Demi into this? What do they hope to gain?"

| shake my head. "The message was meant for you. Demi was just a medium despite her nbeing on the box.

If anyone else had been out with you, maybe even Nicola or William, the sthing might have occurred in the

respective bathrooms. | don’t think she’s working alone and from what she did tonight, we know she knew you

and Demi were going to be at that restaurant for your date."

"| did book it early and in my name."

Asher strokes his beard with a hand. "So, they're not trying to attack you physically despite having been to your

office and now, the restaurant where you were out with your wife. Your life must not be the target right now."

"They haven't made any demands of me. Why these scare tactics? Are they hoping I'll breakdown from sheer

torment? What would they do if | carry on with my life like their efforts don’t faze me?" Ashley looks slightly pale

now.

I hold his gaze. "They suspect you fear something worse than death; your sexual assault and self-defense

against Tobias coming to the light and destroying the life you've managed to build for yourself as a testament to

your survival. They want to start with your mental health, wreck your mind, make you lose sleep till you probably

confess to a cryou didn’t commit before the entire country. After that, they could cfor your life." |

exhale. "Only someone who bears a deep grudge will want to see their enemy go down this way, slowly and

torturously."

"It has to be a family member." Ashal says. "Tobias’ death was swept under the rug, remember? Father dumped

his body over the bridge and when he was found, it was ruled as a homicide. Maybe his family always knew ours

was behind it even though he was found over the bridge."

"His family knew exactly how father handled any crisis he didn’t want to cto light. Tobias was his most

trusted friend and bodyguard. He knew a lot of our secrets too." Asher paces, punching his right fist in his left

palm. "This could get really ugly if we don’t find her and end this once and for all."

| go to crouch by Ashley's side.

"Demi, she must have questions."

"We'll worry about her later. Look at me. | won't let any harm cto you. None of us will allow it. | need you to

stay focused, okay?"

"What are we going to do? I just want it to stop, guys. | can’t live like this. I'm scared to think how far they'll go if

I don’t have a trauma attack soon."

Asher comes to loom in front of Ashley. "We'll figure it out and find them long before that happens. Ashal, please

help him inside and see that he takes a sleep inducer and rests for at least eight hours." Ashley's protest is

dismissed with a steely glare from Asher and I. "I wasn’t asking you. Go in and rest. That's an order."

Ashley obeys but mostly because he needs rest. He has broken out in a sweat now and his face has lost the

sheen it always has at the end of every day.

After | change and Ashley is successfully knocked out by the pill, the rest of us call father from his room. We

meet him privately in his study and show him the box.

"Why was this addressed to Demi?"

"| think they suspect she might be clueless about her husband's past and wanted her to pass the message along

to him with lingering doubts. She’s not very consequential here and Ashley remains the main target." Asher

moves closer to father. "She’s getting bolder as tpasses. We have to nab her now."

"Duncan and his team have made sprogress. | was informed that a member of Tobias’ family has indeed

returned to Danvarr. The family probably tried to hide this information to throw us off their scent when they

started coming after Ashley but Duncan unearthed it." Father, unlocks his side drawer, digs out a brown

envelope and tosses it at us. He stares atwhile Asher and Ashal quickly look through the files inside.

I don’t know what to make of the anger and frustration on his face so I look away. Once they're done, | retrieve

the file and peruse the pictures of Tobias’ daughter, Zoe. She seems like a decent woman in her plain clothes

going in and out of the grocery store."

"Who's the man next to her?"

"Her boyfriend." Father quickly answers me. "They've been spotted severally across cafes, restaurants and

whatnot." | focus on the glasses perched on Zoe's face and the slouched shoulders as she walks.

The height is right but she’s got sweight on her which is slightly more than our suspect should have.

However, that can easily be padding and she wants us to rule her out as a culpable suspect.

Though | can almost guess from the photo that she walks nothing like the woman who delivered flowers to

Ashley, | decide to make double sure before ruling her out as a suspect.

"I'll have them monitored." Father says, "and interrogated as well if necessary."

"Can they wrap it up in forty-eight hours? We can’t keep giving Ashley sleeping pills. He needs to be assured that

this shit show is over." Father nods at Asher. "Thank you." We bid him goodnight but while we're leaving, father

callsback. | suspected he would when he kept givingweird looks that strangely felt guilt ridden. My

brothers all give us sprivacy.

"How are you?" He asks to my surprise.

"I'm good."

Father fusses with the files and tucks them back into the brown envelope. "We-uh, haven't spoken since..." His

eyebrow slant upwards, half hoping I'll get his drift.

"Since you shockedwith a step brother?"

"You're still mad at me. That's justified. Look Ash, | know nothing | say will change your mind or Josh's

existence..."

"Then why bother? Why are we even talking about this right now?" Angrily, | walk away but freeze at the door

after the next few words leave his mouth.

"Do you hateso much as a father that you had to go looking for your other one?" Slowly, | whirl back towards

him.

"You hadfollowed?"

"| couldn’t reach you and | was desperate to. You kept cutting off my calls. | had your number traced." Instead of

the explosion of anger | am used to, he comes around his table with a somber expression to lay a sturdy hand on

my shoulder. "Ashton, YOU ARE MY SON AND MINE ALONE. | DON'T CARE THAT | DIDN'T SIRE YOU. | RAISED YOU

AND YOUR BROTHERS. Y'ALL ARE MY LEGACY AND YESTERDAY, YOU CAUSED A TEAR IN MY HEART WHEN YOU

WENT DIGGING FOR A DEAD MAN."

"Why did you keep our adoption a secret? It's about our lives and we had every right to know. You had no right to

keep that from us and let us find out the way we did." | shift my shoulders so his hands slip away. "You actually

wantto believe you give a shit about my brothers and | outside of how important we are to your business? If

you had been half a decent father, | wouldn't have doubted you as my father or gone looking for the man who

sired me."

"lI understand my parental skills might have been a little unorthodox...."

"Parental skills?" | laugh in derision. "Feeding and clothing children doesn’t make you a parent, Brett Rollins. You

ruined our childhood. | could never call you dad. You made us earn your attention and affection. No true father

would do that." | distance myself and suck in a quick breath. "You and | can’t be more than this. Save your

affections for Josh, the son you actually love." | storm out of there steaming with anger.

ork

Zoe Woodley and her boyfriend stare anxiously at my brothers and | across the living room. Father, Duncan and

other security personnel are the only other people around. Father had conveniently sent mother and Demi to

have sbonding tat the spa and splurge on luxurious jewelry afterwards.

"Mr. Rollins." Zoe begins with a faint smile. "I was surprised you wanted to see me. It's been so long." Father's

frown only deepens at her words. He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees and glares at Zoe.

"Don’t sit there and pretend like you don’t know why | have summoned you here." The icy edge of father’s voice

smokes away the cheer on Zoe's face. She scans the room and grows nervous. "Why have you been

blackmailing my son over your father’s death? Why did you go to his office to plant that note, and why did you

leave Demi the gift box at the restaurant? Your father’s death was investigated and ruled as a homicide. What do

you hope to gain from this?" He continues to chide her, recounting details of everything that has happened and

registers his disappointment in her.

"What?"

"Don’t test my patience by feigning ignorance, Zoe." Zoe stutters as her nervous eyes flit across the faces in the

room. Her boyfriend closes a hand over her shaky ones.

"Zoe doesn’t deserve the accusations being levied against her. She hasn't done anything wrong. We just got

back in town to shop for our wedding because Zoe was nostalgic. She hasn't even left my side ever since." Zoe is

crying heavily next to him now. "He kicks the gift box at their feet. "There’s no way she could have ridden a

power bike to go deliver flowers at your son’s office or left this box at a restaurant restroom while donning a

snug black dress as you described."

"Oh yeah" Asher interrupts. "And why is that?"

"Two reasons." The boyfriend says, matching the anger sizzling in Asher’s eyes. "Firstly, Zoe doesn’t know how to

drive anything, not a car, a bike or even a bicycle. | mostly do the driving and secondly," He pulls Zoe up with

him and lifts up her sweater to reveal a growing baby bump. "She's six months pregnant! You have the wrong

woman!"

We all stare in astonishment. So, that’s the reason for the additional weight on her. The woman behind this

blackmail is definitely not pregnant.

| turn to stare at Ashley who keeps a calm demeanor as his hope of getting back his peace of mind flies out the

window. | wink at him to reassure him that we'll get to the bottom of it.

There's no way | am letting him suffer for something I did. | should be the one being tormented. | can handle it. If

the blackmailer ever thinks of hurting a hair on Ash’s head, it has to be mine. | killed Tobias Woodley, and that is

why | have made a decision; | am going to switch places with Ashley till we nab his blackmailer!